maudlin sappy americans

[datasuspect]

if "the man on the street" in london is as maudlin and as sappy about the bombings today as some of the people in the U.S are starting to become.

i hope not.

my grandmother lived in london during the blitz - sorry, although four bombs blowing up and the loss of life is a tragedy, it pales in comparison to much of what britain went through during the war or even IRA bombings.

in fact, all death has tragic elements, but there is so much murder on a daily basis ALL OVER THE FUCKING WORLD, how does one sift through so much calamity to decide which deaths are worthy of our self-righteousness?

how do people have the memory of bugs?

i am starting to feel that we here in the U.S. are going to turn this into 9-11 part II and use this as a justification for further atrocities/abrogation of civil liberties in the U.S.

don't believe the hype.

[indepat]

1. Eureka, if they hate of for our freedoms, elimination of our freedoms

would eliminate they hatred of us, or so it would seem to follow. Sadly, we have lost when our freedom is even abridged.

[salinen]

2. Laci Peterson

The first Pregnant women ever killed by her husband.

[bryant69]

3. Well it's fine line isn't it

Obviously I think it's appropriate react to these deaths with a certain amount of respect. And to say that these are just a few more deaths is not entirely accurate. These were terrorist actions - intended as a message to England and to the United States.

I do wonder if we will see these attacks used to justifiy further military adventurism - I hope not.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[datasuspect]

5. due to the high profile nature

of these attacks, yes, it will get more airplay.

and in the western mind, it is somehow more tragic and more offensive to our collective psyche to imagine people like US getting slaughtered on their way to or from or at WORK (something we can all relate to).

naturally, this will get wall to wall coverage, so we'll all know what happened and yes, untimely death is a sad thing and people should have a modicum of respect.

what i don't understand is the "urge to glurge" among americans and the desire to memorialize everything into some saccharine sweet and cloying almost religious context.

my point is, this is NOT the most horrific thing to befall a people and we should all be on our guard against the marketing and manipulation festival that is sure to follow this.

[RaleighNCDUer]

8. A lot would depend on exactly who the messenger is.

We have only one source saying Al Qaida, so far.

[Journeyman]

4. I just read this article before I saw your post. . .

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/featuredposts.htm...


The View from an American in London

Having always heard about the British behavior during the German bombing of London, the so-called “blitz,” I wondered what would happen today after news broke of the four bombs in the London subway and buses. Sure enough, there was no panic. There was even some stoic humor from the thousands who had to walk as public transportation ground to a halt.

Of course, this was not the World Trade Center in scale, in scope, or in the horror. But still, it would have been easy for people to panic or evacuate the city. Instead just a mile from the bomb sites, normal life went on. Workmen continued to repair houses. Kids stayed in school. People lined up for buses, borrowed bicycles, shared taxis. Sure this normal life was punctuated by expressions of concern and phone calls to family and friends and fear that someone they knew might have been among those dozen tragically killed or wounded. But I sensed for the first time the unique national qualities that led to the legendary British stoicism during World War II.

(more)

[datasuspect]

6. that is a national sensibility that inspires pride

i think (and even from things i've read in this forum) we, in the U.S., as a people, are gonna take this ball and run with it.

expect merchandising tie ins.

[moggie]

7. That's the London I know

I work near the site of the bombed bus (heard it go up), and I haven't seen any panic today. As I was on my way home, people were joking with much the same kind of humour we use after any big public transport disruption (something we're only too used to). The tube was still closed, but many buses were running, and people were using them without any reluctance. I don't know whether the drivers have been instructed not to take fares, but the driver of my bus waved everyone on, saying "nobody pays tonight, it's on me!". One can overplay this "blitz spirit" thing, of course, and the true story of London during wartime is much more nuanced than that, but it's true that we're not a people given to histrionics when under attack. God knows there are many things about my country which I'm not proud of, and we'll see some of it in the coming days, but...