Not just London Suffers

Yesterdays dreadful attacks in London have really soured what seemed to be a an uplifting and happy week in which to be a citizen within a society within this green, wet, occasionally warm sceptred island we call Britain. A remarkable island, based on a rich variety of creeds and cultures, developed over years by the (sometimes uneasy) co-existence of different races and beliefs. This co-existence is not always harmonious but time breeds familiarity, which in turn pisses over the fire of contempt caused by misunderstandings and ignorance. The prime example is The Romans. They came and they conquered but ultimately after many years Roman culture became integrated with Anglo-Saxon culture, not replacing it, but merging it to form something new over generations.

Evolution not revolution.

So, yesterdays cowardly acts did not attack Londoners as an isolated group as some commentators in the blogosphere would seem to be indicating. Understandably as London based bloggers they feel the pain, suffering, shock and fear at a closer range than many of us. However, speaking as an London ex-pat who still has far more years behind him of living in London than the (sunny?) South Coast my own feeling is that London was not attacked yesterday as a city, nor were Londoners attacked as residents of a fabulous city which, in the words of Bono at Live Aid in 1985, like all cities has it’s good and it’s bad.

No, the attack was on Britain. It was aimed at you, and me. At our friends and family. Against those we love, like and even dislike. Peoples sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers. It was aimed at the way we live, the way we work, the way we play, the way we think, the way we pray. It was an attack on our freedom, our independence and our ability to make choices. It was an attack on our society and our choices to live our lives as we choose within the realms of generally fair and just laws. By hitting London they hit us all and as stoic as Londoners will be, and as united as they will undoubtedly become, this is merely a euphemism for Brits as a whole, be they black, white, blue or fucking green. To the perpetrators of this obscenity remember this - the harder you hit us the more we will stand in your face and stare right into your souls. You have forgotten one thing. We are as fucking hard as we think. And we don’t need anyone else’s army.

We’re not scared, but the people who support, fund, plan and carry out this shite fucking should be.

Read the increasingly impressive Ken Livingstone’s stirring and passionate speech here.

Later, GrocerJack