'S funny but until now I'd been able to shrug off the war on terror as being something 'they' dreamed up to keep us afraid. While terrorists were car-bombers in foreign cities or young militants raging against a world they'd yet become part of I was able to believe that the fabric of our western society would remain firm.
When I heard that the 2005 London tube bombings were perpetrated by a home-grown cell I believed that these young men had been led astray by militant peers, that they weren't representative of the Muslim Majority and that the British Public would see this. After all did we walk around scowling at every Irishman in the 80's and 90's? No. I went to a mostly Irish Catholic school and it never crossed my mind that my classmates parents for all their singing of Irish Republican folk songs, might be making car bombs for an evening's entertainment.
Talking to my Aussie counterparts I was able to laugh at Sydney being on 'high alert' during Summer 2004 - the Harbour Bridge and city with it's lights turned off at night as a deterrent.
Yet now I'm not laughing. The current wave of near miss attacks were perpetrated by Doctors. Was there ever a more likely representative for the assimilated emigre than that of the doctor - educated, intellectual, rational and middle class. If any person was more likely to be perceived as buying into our western values surely this was it. Of course this complacency becomes a weakness waiting to be exploited.
While not home grown, this new cell raises the greatest threat to our society - that suddenly everyone is a potential threat - as long as they have a certain skin tone: Suddenly class, social standing and profession no-longer exclude from suspicion. Margaret Thatcher said there was no such thing as society, and yet for all her efforts, she was largely unable to dissolve it from the remnants of our medieval consciousness - the last ten years have seen a return to society focused values, despite any remnants of that 'me and mine' era. And yet slowly but surely, the boundaries of our societies draw closer, smaller and we begin to exclude people from our circles of trust.
Yes, the threat is real enough; not that our society will be torn apart by bombs, but by the idea that we are no longer a cohesive whole, rather a collection of fragmented groups with no shared concept of values and no shared future.
http://www.independent.co.uk/
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article2730423.ece
I understand your feelings. It may be worth remembering that one of the July 07 bombers was a teacher. I don’t think the type of terrorist has changed, I think you are just more aware of them & their background. The fact that immigration and refugees are a hot potato at the moment, make the fact that they were doctors relevant. The IRA had people from all social backgrounds – some might say politicians even – who supported their cause, but as it would have had no bearing on immigration/refugees maybe that is why it wasn’t such an issue then, or maybe it’s because you were younger and didn’t pay as much attention (well I know I didn’t when I was younger).
ReplyDeleteOn a different matter, I scoff at how Australia run scared and then have the audacity to print headlines such as ‘Britain panics…’ when 1. It’s quite logical to close a bloody street/station if there has been an unexploded bomb in the vicinity – does that therefore mean we are panicking? And 2. Australia declare a national holiday for an APEC summit!? Who’s panicking?
You have to ask yourself though (& I’d be interested to know the answer) – how much does this realisation rest on the fact that you may be going back to London?
God I love u sis!
ReplyDeleteYou're quite right, it probably is the media we're exposed to and the current method of profiling the criminal. That said, ALL the people involved were from the same profession and the articles I read are in the Independent - usually less of a fan of scandlemongerry than it's red topped counterparts.
Either way, I can't help but feel this is a dangerous turning point...
We are so angry about the infiltration of these individuals who disrupt our daily lives and threaten our safety, yet it is worth remembering that these situations are still an everyday occurrance for many in places such as Bagdad, etc. We hear almost daily, of another 20, 30 or 50 + lives lost in yet another bombing and we become complacent, it doesn't concern us, why should we worry? But recent events are a rude awakening for us. If we want it to stop over here we have to also look at ways of stopping it over there. The English have always been known for their 'stiff upper lip', we don't let the terrorists get the better of us and we carry on as usual. In reality, we don't have any choice. The government aren't going to pay us for staying at home and, certainly in London, we still need to use public transport, otherwise we would never get to work! But this is the same for those under threat the world over. We all have to carry on regardless, life has to go on. We need to look at ways of co-existing with our neighbours in peace before we can consider existing without fear.
ReplyDeleteSue Ashby