In the wake of the bombings in London I was phoned twice by concerned friends here, and a nice little email message from someone else asking if my family was OK; the level of care an concern for an expat Brit living in the USA was high. What I think people didnt understand was my apparent lack of reaction to the bombings. Dont get me wrong: I feel bad - sick to the core, outraged - but not to the degree that everyone seems to expect.
The 9/11 attack on New York was horrific, coming as it did out of nowhere. Folks I’ve talked to have had that in mind when they’ve asked “are you alright?” What they’ve failed to apprehend is the 30 years of IRA terroist violence that I’ve grown up around. I’ve lived through bomb scares - while working in Burger King in Guildford there was a bomb threat (accompanied by a suspicious package) on the bookshop across the street due to it carrying Salman Rushdie’s book “The Satanic Verses“. I’ve seen railway stations remove their left-luggage services for fear of there being bombs in bags, removing trash containers around the stations for fear of a bomb in the wake of IRA terrorist actions. I’ve been in a railway station as it’s evacuated due to a “suspect package” on one of the platforms. In other words, although horrific in and of itself, this bomb attack is just more of the same, to be processed and lived through. We’ve learned as a nation to keep going, and that’s exactly what the terrorists in this case will find happen: we will go on.
I loved the quote, lifted from comments in another blog, that said
To quote an old Londoner who lived through the blitz and got caught up in the Canary Wharf explosion: “I’ve been blown up by a better class of bastard than this!”
and on a more serious note, lifted from an article in Christianity Today,
Britons are traditionally stoic and defiant when it comes to bombings. When the Luftwaffe devastated much of the East End in 1940 and 1941, the people exclaimed, “We can take it.” King George VI - arguably our greatest king - refused all suggestions that the Royal Family be evacuated to Canada, and His Majesty refused to leave London.That same defiance has been in evidence today. A young woman who emerged from one of the tube trains with blackened face and scarred legs said, “This is nothing.” People, as far as possible, are determined to go about their normal business. As one of our patriotic songs Rule Britannia declares, “Britons never, never, never shall be slaves,” and, “Thee haughty tyrants ne’er shall tame: All their attempts to bend thee down … Will but arouse thy … generous flame.” Al Qaeda needs to learn what we taught Hitler - Britons don’t do cowardice.
What I am impressed with is the faith community’s reactions -
Sir Iqbal Sacranie, head of the Muslim Council of Britain, said he utterly condemned the attacks. He was joined in his condemnation by church leaders who have been preparing a joint position between both faiths in the event of such an attack.“We are simply appalled and want to express our deepest condolences to the families,” said Sir Iqbal. “These terrorists, these evil people, want to demoralise us as a nation and divide us. All of us must unite in helping the police to hunt these murderers down.”
and
Churches and Christian groups have already mobilized, in prayers if not in direct service. The Evangelical Alliance released a statement that called on its members “to pray for the families of those killed and injured by the multiple explosions in London and for a spirit of peace and mercy, not panic or revenge.” EA general director Joel Edwards, said: “We pray earnestly for those who have suffered loss or injury today and call on God to bind up the broken hearted. I have found Psalm 46 a great comfort at this time.”Bishop of London Richard Chartres, who has been in contact with Edwards, was similarly somber yet hopeful. “This is a grave day for London,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and the bereaved and also with the emergency services who have responded so rapidly. London’s clergy have been working alongside the Emergency Services since early this morning, and churches close to affected areas have been opened for shelter, aid and prayer.”