I wrote this over at Bicyclemark’s blog in response to his great and thoughtful 50th show – I noticed no-one responding was actually on the spot where it happened, so I wanted to reinforce my view from the ‘front line’.
I support the comments from bicyclemark, George Galloway and Ken Livingstone (although people have pointed out the irony of the latter) and my immediate response and since has been that the propaganda tactics, shocking pictures, and fear through SHOUTY HEADLINES have made people draw into line like little docile sheep.
The same sheep who weren’t on the Anti War marches, the same people who voted Labour without questioning their policies, the same sheep that have a go when people point out the links to Afghanistan and the Iraq war and say that ‘This isn’t the time for this discussion’ – when is the time? WHEN?
I get so angry at those people, so closed and ignorant that although there were obviously people in those trains and tubes who were against what Blair and Bush were doing – being ironically near large Muslim areas – but the idea of saintly innocence of everyone involved when all this shit is going down is seriously suspect.
That old chestnut – “good people to do nothing” is true here.
No people didn’t have to die.
Yes terrorism is wrong in a democracy as it’s dictatorial and enforcing the wishes of a few on the many.
Yes I’m glad I didn’t go to work early and get blown up – I have to add that sharpens the mind and your politics terribly. I’m grateful for those that contacted me to find out if I was OK. Apart from the initial and correct response of horror and worry, it’s easy to go ‘oh that’s bad’ when seeing pictures from Baghdad or Sudan or any other warzone; there is a difference when it’s in your back yard – as the people of Madrid, and now London have found.
I find it sad that the only time (as the IRA found out) that the British take note is when you take the battle to their door. Why is that? If we were so open and listening to the Middle East, or Ireland, and our politicians were doing their job, then this wouldn’t happen surely?
As a clip on Bicyclemark’s 50th show – if they are having a war against freedom why don’t they bomb Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Netherlands?
This is a direct result of the “war on terror”, pure and simple. And if this particular atrocity was not done by Al Qaeda it is still a reminder of what goes on in Baghdad every day. Aren’t they ‘innocent’ too?
BBC Radiophonic Workshop (something that regular listeners and readers to the show shouldn’t need any introduction to) hit 50 this year, and you might have seen or heard various events at the Electric Proms relating to this (listening to Coldcut remixing the works of the Workshop as I type this).
Even better – they’re re-releasing several album including the legendary pink album. This has been changing hands for upto £500 quid (!) as it was only briefly re-released in the early 2000’s. And another album of later work.
