Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Deffeh
Part of the difference is how we've dealt with it. Sure, theres always been racial tension in Britain, sure its heightened. But for the most part we're all going on with our dailly lives and not buying in political/emotional crap, hanging flags out our windows, crossing the street if you see a man in a turban. Dont get me wrong, the bombings concern and interest me, but i can also load a website, turn on the tv or radio without being smothered by people telling me why Britain is so morally right and these terrorists are morally wrong, and how its time to unite and celebrate our freedom and liberty. We're discussing with the Islamic leaders in Britain how to deal with it, and theres a sense of empathy with Islamic (or frankly, just asian looking) Britons who are going to get a hard time of things in the coming months which you just didnt get from America. Im not making any real point here, just a few observations.
|
The london bombings were hardly comparable in scale to 9/11 (which incidentally caused several changes to British law, none of them especially pleasant). Yesterday, the most popular newspaper in Britain wrote on its opinion page that harsh new laws were needed to combat the terrorist threat, and included the following gem; "MPs should also heap pressure on Mr Blair to announce that he will ditch the Human Rights Act and the UN Asylum Convention. These ridiculous statutes have shackled and hindered the fight against extremism for too long. ". Derogatory phrases like 'the civil liberties brigade' are becoming increasingly common in popular discourse. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens, but I doubt its going to be particularly praiseworthy. If the london bombings had been comparable to 9/11, I assume it would be a lot worse.
The British 'stiff upper lip' attitude is largely a cultural myth - it has very little bearing on the actual responses to these kind of events.