lobsterchick's Diaryland Diary

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London

As I've said before re: the death of Princess Diana and the 9/11 attacks, I never feel quite right about grieving in situations like this. I feel like I'm co-opting someone else's grief and acting like it's my own, making myself important in the situation, when really I'm just sitting at home, watching the news like everyone else.

I think the most prominent emotion I've felt in regard to the London attacks (and will we call them the 7/7 attacks? I guess time will tell) is this: Admiration. NBC News reported that the buses were back in operation within a couple of hours of the bombings, and they were full.

Full.

Full of people who said, "Yeah, maybe it's scary, but so what? Life is scary. We live in a city that was regularly bombed during World War II. We can live through this."

Dude. After 9/11, the entire airline industry almost shut down because people in this country were paralyzed with fear. It took months to go back to normal, and even then, it was a new normal.

The British are made of sturdy stuff, and when one man interviewed by a reporter said, "Well, that's the point, innit? If you're afraid, these evil cowards have won, haven't they?", it sounded a lot less trite than it did when we said about the same thing here.

So, yeah, if anyone from London reads this, I'm thinking about you tonight, but you don't need me. You've got more strength in your little British pinkies than I have in my entire fat American body.

5:48 PM - 07 July 2005

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News Flash: Iraqis Are Not Terrorists

Coworker: So I guess everyone heard about what happened in London.

Me: Yes! Isn't that crazy?

Same coworker: I just don't understand. We've been in Iraq for how long, and this just keeps happening?

Me: [Sound of my head exploding]

9:05 AM - 07 July 2005

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