I have to admit, I’d almost given up on my country. I felt its hard won rights and traditions were being dangerously eroded (thanks Tone). That we’d gone soft.
After yesterday and today I think somewhat differently, I might even have to give up my plan of marrying an American to gain citizenship and move to New Hampshire. Despite what I was hearing on German news about mass panic, every eyewitness they showed was remarkably calm. The emergency services were marvellous, despite the pc nonsense that pervades their upper echelons. The elites might be terrible, the foreign office might be full of appeasers, the staff of the Independent (Johann Hari excepted) awful, George Galloway positively unmentionable. Actually George, at least wait ‘til they’ve washed the blood off the pavement before you start trying to make political capital out of this, you wanker. But the vast majority, the normal, real people were great. Splendid. The idea that I might have a job there fills me with joy. For a round up of general feelings of how Britons feel, go and read this post.
Even the Guardian has an “even if we are scared, you’re not going to frighten us” story. For example, this quote.
The mood was also sombre on London’s bus network. Commuters on the number 30 route, which was targeted by a bomb blast yesterday, were anxious but determined to carry on as best they could.
“People have got to try to get on with things, but it’s very frightening, even just being on this bus,” said Aisha Husian, a languages student.
Look at that name. Look at the names of the multitude of eyewitness reports in the media. London’s a vibrant, lively, multi-ethnic city. People, especially second generation immigrants are pretty well integrated (at this point I could talk about a girl from Blackburn whose parents were from Pakistan and a story involving large quantities of alcohol and why I can write ‘in the Channel Tunnel’ in those “strangest place you’ve had sex” questionnaires, but it’s probably not the time). I haven’t heard any reports of mosques being burnt down, because the “people” that did this attacked the whole population of the city. Actually, if there are lots of Muslim casualities, and this is dealt with properly, this is probably going to be our best chance to “deal with” those second-generation Britons that have become home-grown Islamist lunatics: Of the 50 or so dead some of them have to be Muslims, and for those of you who know London, think exactly about the community around Edgware Road station. Maybe having their own killed will finally get UK Muslims to sort out that tiny, absolutely non-representative minority amongst them. Or we could go down the road suggested by L’Omble de l’Oliviere, although I sincerely hope not. And in the “been there, done that” spirit of the rest of his post, we now return to our regularly scheduled programming. i.e. I have yet another “locked myself out of my flat stories”.
Life needs to go back to normal. That is the best way for all of us to beat them. The reporting here was VERY positive of the British and how resilient they seem to be. Just the same, there are those jerks that claim we caused this by invading Iraq. How stupid. The World Trade Center and the USS Cole were attacked well before Iraq. I’m afraid that the Germans and French are hoping to make their own deal with the devil and turn on their real friends hoping to avoid attacks themselves. (of course, if we are defeated (not likely), what do the Germans and French believe will become of their countries?)
It’s good to se that the Blitz mentality (or Dunkirk spirit……or whatever it was called) is still alive in the general populus. I think its a defining quality of what makes us British. Backs to the wall and not letting the Bastards get us down. Makes one feel proud to be British.
820: Yes, of course I’ll be going about things completely normally (with the exception that I’ll hopefully be moving to London for a new job - crosses fingers, presses thumbs etc.) I want the SAS and co carrying on their job exactly as they always have done too. Okay, perhaps we could give the military a bit more money too. The best example of British getting on with it is this “Al Quaida? World’s foremost terrorist organisation? Is that the best you can do, you’re crap you are. Now fuck off before I lose my temper!” email which Nick, who got to watch the bus explode (for the record he works at BMA HQ and despite his anger at the “people” who did this, he moaned most that he wasn’t allowed to go to work today and he’d left his mobile phone in his desk. “Nick” is not his real name and yes, he is Muslim - either integration works, or humanity in general hates these kind of fuckers.
There are a couple of exceptions, I’d like to see the known terrorists that live in my country deported and, no I don’t care if they’ll be tortured or executed in their home country. The French DGSE doesn’t call it Londonistan without reason. The same goes for foreign-born muslim clerics that preach hate in Britain, get rid of them.
And I wouldn’t give up on the French and German people either, there’s at least one German girl I can link to with that London spirit.
Haddock: No idea what its technical name is either, but at least among the “proles on the ground” it’s obviously still there. BTW “Nick” quoted in the post above was born in the UK 4 years after his parents moved there. They must put something in the water. Doesn’t explain why he’s a Spurs fan though, which is just wrong (yes I saw the link on your page).