Sympathy

[+jeff35080]

I just wanted to post another note letting all our friends in the UK that we are once again saddened by more attacks by terrorists in your country

 

There's not much I can do as a single American, but rest assured that as our friends and allies, our thoughts and prayers are with you!

[+Simply Paul]

It's getting to be a habit, isn't it? - Thanks for the kind thoughts.

 

It would appear, as I write this, that it was more of an attack intended to disrupt rather than kill and maim - which is something to be thankful for.

 

I hope (and expect) no one has been badly hurt and that London, Britain and geocachers therein will go on, steadfast, staunch and as boldly (geocaching excluded! Cachers skulk) as ever.

 

I suggest We're not afraid.com as a good place to have your say.

 

SP

[+third-degree-witch]

The british people wont be dictated to by murderers with bombs.....its been tried in the past with a negative result.

[+mongoose39uk]

I came back from a week in London last night. I will be going back next week and will continue to use both the tube and the buses.

 

I may even get to do some caching next time.

[+Alibags]

I still intend to go caching in London at the weekend, everything else being equal. For all I know they might chose to bomb the M1 next, so I may as well carry on as usual.

[+derrylynne]

Thanks for your kind thoughts. The british will never bow to murderers and cowards. As has been said that has been tried a few times before and never worked.

[+Sparrowhawk]

There's a question floating around the nets: "Where is the Muslim outrage?" My american sense of "be fair and don't be prejudiced against anyone's race or culture" was clashing with this question.

 

Then I found a book called "What's Wrong With Islam Today" by an outraged Muslim lady living in Canada. Well-written! She has a website!

So the needed outrage on their side is alive and well. That's one brave lady.

 

(later) Oh wow, it gets better.

Edited July 21, 2005 by Sparrowhawk

[+Learned Gerbil]

What outrage are you looking for? Having stood in Trafalgar Square for the two minutes silence and seen Muslim work colleagues some yards away in streams of tears I have no doubt how ordinary UK Muslims feel about this.

[+mongoose39uk]

There's a question floating around the nets: "Where is the Muslim outrage?" My american sense of "be fair and don't be prejudiced against anyone's race or culture" was clashing with this question.

 

Then I found a book called "What's Wrong With Islam Today" by an outraged Muslim lady living in Canada. Well-written! She has a website!

So the needed outrage on their side is alive and well. That's one brave lady.

What? Plenty of Muslim outrage here, I live in a mostly Muslim area.

 

More embarrasment expressed than outrage.

[+macroderma]

I stepped off the tube at 1300 today - phew !

 

Took me nearly 2 hours to get to Paddington on return, nearly 6 times the normal time, but who cares, it is only time

 

The main thing is no-one was killed

[nobby.nobbs]

don't fall into the trap of banding people together by religion etc.

 

these people are twisted sick psychpaths using religion as an excuse, if it wasn't that it would be some other reason.

 

looks like yesterday was a lucky escape with this team not making the bombs as well hence fail to detonate.

 

keep going doing what we do. be more aware and observant and try to not make people worried by acting too suspiciously. the police have too much to do already without having to check out loads of caches.

[+Teasel]

Having stood in Trafalgar Square for the two minutes silence and seen Muslim work colleagues some yards away in streams of tears I have no doubt how ordinary UK Muslims feel about this.

Indeed. So the answer to the "where is the Muslim outrage?" question is "in the West". I doubt many middle-eastern Muslims will be out on the streets in tears. The issue is global politics, not religion. The attacks are being carried out "in the name of Islam", but to retaliate against muslims in the UK will only alienate that section of the population. That's almost certainly one of the aims of these terrorists.

 

We did not bow down to attacks made in the name of Irish Republicanism; nor did we let those bombs stop us from working with Republican leaders to seek a route to peace. How is it any different this time around?

 

But what's with all the name-calling? Equally matched enemies tend to fight by lining up two formations of soldiers on a battlefield and shooting at each other until there's a winner. Fights against superior, or physically remote, military forces require different tactics. OK, I realise that whatever the style of warfare it is, of course, necessary to invent offensive names for one's enemies. But describing our enemies as "individual murderers" and their commanders as "criminal masterminds" seems designed only to con the British public into believing that there are only a handful who would be prepared to die for their cause in this way. I strongly suspect this is not the case...

[+The Forester]

I think the best way we can metaphorically stick two fingers up at the bombers is to get on with our normal lives, specifically including responsible urban geocaching.

 

Cheers, The Forester

who hates bombings and all other forms of terrorism

[+sTeamTraen]

We did not bow down to attacks made in the name of Irish Republicanism; nor did we let those bombs stop us from working with Republican leaders to seek a route to peace. How is it any different this time around?

Well, when it was the Irish Republicans, Britain didn't always have the wholehearted and unequivocal support of the United States.

[nobby.nobbs]

yes we did cave into the ira. plus there is a huge difference, we all know what the ira wanted (other than the obvious criminal activities they enjoyed protection rackets etc).

 

the extreme muslims doing these attacks are different, have you heard on any demands? they want little more than complete destruction of the western way of life. note i said extremists not muslims.

 

hard to negotiate with someone who wants something that you can't give. it's not as simple as just getting out of iraq or afghanistan. we weren't there before 9/11 were we?

 

this is going to be a lot harder to resolve than the incredilbly hard ireland problem.