An open letter from the mayor of London...

[Slicksuit]

I came across this the other day, and I found it interesting, an open letter from the mayor of London after the attack last week:

I have no doubt whatsoever that this is a terrorist attack. We did hope in the first few minutes after hearing about the events on the Underground that it might simply be a maintenance tragedy. That was not the case. I have been able to stay in touch through the very excellent communications that were established for the eventuality that I might be out of the city at the time of a terrorist attack and they have worked with remarkable effectiveness. I will be in continual contact until I am back in London.

I want to say one thing specifically to the world today. This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful. It was not aimed at presidents or prime ministers. It was aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Jew, young and old. It was an indiscriminate attempt to slaughter, irrespective of any considerations for age, for class, for religion, or whatever.

That isn't an ideology, it isn't even a perverted faith -- it is just an indiscriminate attempt at mass murder and we know what the objective is. They seek to divide Londoners. They seek to turn Londoners against each other. I said yesterday to the International Olympic Committee that the city of London is the greatest in the world, because everybody lives side by side in harmony.

Londoners will not be divided by this cowardly attack. They will stand together in solidarity alongside those who have been injured and those who have been bereaved and that is why I'm proud to be the mayor of that city.

Finally, I wish to speak directly to those who came to London today to take life.

I know that you personally do not fear giving up your own life in order to take others -- that is why you are so dangerous. But I know you fear that you may fail in your long-term objective to destroy our free society and I can show you why you will fail.

In the days that follow look at our airports, look at our sea ports and look at our railway stations and, even after your cowardly attack, you will see that people from the rest of Britain, people from around the world will arrive in London to become Londoners and to fulfill their dreams and achieve their potential.

They choose to come to London, as so many have come before, because they come to be free, they come to live the life they choose, they come to be able to be themselves. They flee you because you tell them how they should live. They don't want that and nothing you do, however many of us you kill, will stop that flight to our city where freedom is strong and where people can live in harmony with one another. Whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail.

 

[Slicksuit]

I think that Londoners should be applauded for their mature reactions and seeking solutions to the matter at hand through intelligent debate and discussion, rather than just venting or promoting a particular political agenda.

 

[MK]

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I really like his reply. That is the only real way to respond to these scum. Don't ever give in to terrorist. Good for him.

 

[Deleted member 259]

A mature, effective, and well-spoken response.
I wish my own gov't would take a step in the same direction.

 

[Lee M Roberts]

Yes a very stern reply that holds dear to civil values. If everyone acted in this civilized way the world would be a much better place for all of us. my sincerest respect, condolences and admiration to the courage of all my fellow countrymen down south in London.

 

[Leporello]

As a Londoner I don't feel in any way heroic. The reality is that we have no alternative but to get on with our lives as best we can. The echoes of these explosions will ring loudly in the ears of the extremists and the stupids of all persuasions in our community and will cause more pain and grief.

I have no sympathy with mindless zealots of any faith or creed. However, as a Londoner I can't help thinking about the so far unquantified number of innocent children who've been killed by "friendly" fire in Bagdhad, so when our politicians and comic book newspapers start praising me for my fortitude in the face of "evil" terrorists, I'm tempted to reach for a sick bag.

This is a bad situation whose roots lay in many injustices perpetratred over the years. Adopting heroic postures is unlikely to improve anything much. As an athiest I don't believe that God serves any useful purpose on Earth other than to provide alibis for stupid people to do stupid and brutal things like blowing up underground trains in London or abortion clinics in the States. Every nut on the planet seems to have God on his side regardless of what side the nuts happen to be on.

This is my first post here, I'm sorry it strikes such a sour note, particularly in the light of the well meant messages of sympathy and goodwill posted on this thread.

 

[MK]

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It is a good thing for you God holds you in higher regard than you do for him.

 

[Slicksuit]

This is a bad situation whose roots lay in many injustices perpetratred over the years. Adopting heroic postures is unlikely to improve anything much. As an athiest I don't believe that God serves any useful purpose on Earth other than to provide alibis for stupid people to do stupid and brutal things like blowing up underground trains in London or abortion clinics in the States. Every nut on the planet seems to have God on his side regardless of what side the nuts happen to be on.

This is my first post here, I'm sorry it strikes such a sour note, particularly in the light of the well meant messages of sympathy and goodwill posted on this thread.

Agreed, to a point. My belief is that God is not some judgemental supreme being whose sympathy and regard that we need to cultivate. Pursuant to my previous post (The Observation Bar:"T.S. Eliot 1939"), God is not some C.E.O of the planet Earth. No appeal to God vs. Evil was implied in starting this tread.

 

[Leporello]

It is a good thing for you God holds you in higher regard than you do for him.

I take your point. The Tooth Fairy has played a bigger role in my own life than your God. However, my point was more to do with carnage wreaked by people using one or other variety of God to alibi their madness.

 

[Leporello]

Agreed, to a point. My belief is that God is not some judgemental supreme being whose sympathy and regard that we need to cultivate. Pursuant to my previous post (The Observation Bar:"T.S. Eliot 1939"), God is not some C.E.O of the planet Earth. No appeal to God vs. Evil was implied in starting this tread.

Forgive me Slicksuit, but in these trying times my normally dormant athiestic fervour is at a higher than usual pitch. I have enjoyed T.S. Eliot's work but I'm rather disinterested in his or anyone else's religious views.

We've already had fire bombs thrown into mosques and the followers of Allah are feeling intimidated and attacked by the followers of Jesus and vice versa. In the meantime we, the religiously disengaged, are getting caught in the cross fire.

These are not times for heroic or religious postures but for serious reflection on the real issues involved here, rather than the alibis provided by the mosques and churches for self interest. Perhaps if we were to pay more attention to the recent rather than the ancient history of the middle east our mind's might be a trifle clearer.

I arrived in the Fedora Lounge whilst doing some research into buying an A2 jacket. I was delighted to find some enthusiasts here and to take their advice. I now own a terrific russet horsehide A2. Given that this is such an excellent source of advice on matters sartorial, I wonder if some kind enthusiast here might post some hints on buying a stylish flack jacket that I might wear for my journeys on the London Buses and Underground? I'd prefer something a trifle more substantial than a St. Christopher's medallion.

Many thanks.