Many people believe bad things happen on Friday the 13th.

Last Friday fell on that date, which also happened to be the day of the worst attack in France since WWII. It took the lives of over 150 people and wounded many more.

ISIS, also known as Daesh, a loose acronym the group hates being called, claimed responsibility for the attack. Rumors and bad information lead to people believing the majority of the attackers arrived as Syrian refugees, which caused a lot of people to question whether we should give refuge to people fleeing from the chaos going on in Syria.

Now, more than 50 percent of the governors in the U.S. have refused to accept any Syrian refugees, as if they even have a choice over where refugees get settled by the federal government.

Our own governor has decided to write a letter to Obama about his objection to refugees being settled in North Dakota.

However, France, the country that was the victim of the attack orchestrated by Daesh, has taken a different approach than the xenophobes we call our leaders. According to the New York Times, France has announced that they will continue to take in 30,000 refugees over the next two years. Obama only plans to take in 10,000 refugees.

In spite of just being a victim of a heinous act, France decided to not give Daesh what they want, validation that the West is at war with Islam and all Muslims, not just the fraction of a percent of Muslims that are bat-shit crazy extremists.

It’s honorable that they are sticking to their core values that all life is valuable and that people should be judged as individuals rather than by the actions of a small portion of nut jobs.

I would also like to acknowledge Mark Dayton, the governor of Minnesota, for sticking to his values unlike the xenophobic governors of neighboring states.

Dayton took a stand against bigotry and xenophobia at a meeting Tuesday when he essentially gave Minnesotans against immigrants and refugees being brought to the state a bit of advice: They can either grow up and help the new Americans adjust to life in the U.S. or find a new place to live. Intolerance will not be tolerated in Minnesota.

Action like that of France and Dayton do far more to harm Daesh than dropping bombs over locations where we believe Daesh is, inconsiderate of the innocent civilians in the same location.

These actions send a strong message not just to Daesh, but the 1.6 billion Muslims in the world.

We know who the real enemy is and we will protect those who need our help.