Why isn't London lighting up for Orlando?

[Cleo1303]

All over the world prominent landmarks were lit up in rainbow colours to show respect and solidarity for the victims of the Orlando massacre and their loved ones.

After the Paris and Brussels massacres London lit up the London Eye, the National Gallery, the London Eye and other landmarks. Why aren't we doing the same for Orlando? Is it because they were Americans, or is it because they were gay?

This thread has turned really weird

Oh the eye was lit up, that's good.
Kitchen, from that response I'm guessing you've not been in touch with the new team
That's not a criticism of them btw, it's just funny atm but I am sure they will be ultra professional very soon.
Anyway, I shall be off now as clearly this is today's designated batshit thread.

RunRabbit You are absolutely right. I shouldn't moan about it; I should do something about it.

I shall find out who arranged the other lights and lobby them.

Lobby them to do what though? Lobby who?

[Agree batshit thread btw]

Wow, you've been given a really hard time on here op. Mumsnet can be weird as fuck sometimes.

Lobby them?! Get a fucking grip!

I'm reporting, it's too bloody stupid to be real.

What exactly was it that you wanted lit up that wasn't ?

And what checks have you made to ensure that you just didn't miss it, since you mentioned the London Eye in your first post and have been told that it was lit up.

Lying, please accept my proffered polo mint of apology. I think your batshit radar went off well before mine.

The minute you go in for all this daft public posturing you leave yourself open to what about this, and this, and this other thing that has happened

Absolutely. It's the curse of the social media age. If you don't make a public declaration of disapproval/support, you're a bigot. Everything has to be visible or it doesn't exist.

It's tedious, and I cannot fathom how it's sustainable when every gesture needs to be bigger than the last.

She's not getting a hard time.

There has been a large response across the UK, including bloody London.

She's basically saying that thousands on the streets in London - and lit up monumnets (whatever you may feel about that) didn't happen.

It did! It did! It did!

It's a complete fantasy that there was no response.

This is a complete green ink thread.

I shall find out who arranged the other lights and lobby them

Do let us know how you get on with that.

I genuinely was expecting the rainbow lights

That must have been very disappointing for you.

OP, did you go to the vigil and pay respects? Or is someone else doing the hard work for you with some pretty sparkly lights more palatable? Get a grip. Read the news. THOUSANDS of Londoners turned out last night to pay their respects. Did you?

Yes a bit more virtue signalling and displays of "solidarity" is what's needed here to tackle this defining problem our age.

I'm sick to death of terror attacks and I'm sick to death of the toothless praying for peace bullshit that follows them. Our civilisation is going down in flames and all people want to do is post a hashtag and light up a building in pretty colours.

This thread has turned really weird

This thread started really weird, then received a lot of pragmatic and factual responses.

I genuinely was expecting the rainbow lights and I think it is a good thing to do.

Do you think the LGBT+ community is some kind of bloody Christmas tree, put there for your entertainment?

this is the most baffling thread I've read on mumsnet recently and I've read alot of weird shit stuff. And I don't mean that the op is baffling, but that the replies are baffling. And quite unpleasant. I doubt very much that there's any ill intent and for the life of me can't understand why she's getting such a tough time. A couple of my facebook friends have asked similar questions over the past couple of days.
I don't think it's grief vampirism to want to express solidarity with the country and the lgbt community. Whoever calls it grief vampirism, I assume you feel the same about the soho vigil?

papaya so you find the responses baffling? Not that the op was clearly wrong, clearly hasn't being paying attention to the news, yet is taking offence to an imaginary slight? And now is going to lobby someone to light up things that have already been lot up?! It's utter crap.

Why aren't we doing the same for Orlando? Is it because they were Americans, or is it because they were gay?

for the life of me can't understand why she's getting such a tough time

Really?

I don't know anything about lights or not in London but I was definitely puzzled by the lack of reaction on Facebook and had the exact same though re subconscious anti-US or anti-gay feeling.

After France and Belgium my newsfeed seemed to be one giant French and Belgian flag filter. After Orlando I haven't see a single US flag filter at all. I thought maybe it was because it was further away but people always justify our close coverage of US events vs those in, say, Nigeria on the fact that we are culturally similar and quite linked together. I'm not judging anyone for not displaying a US flag on social media - I didn't put a French or a Belgian one up, I think it's pointless really - just observing the lack of a past trend.

However, I think the most likely thing is that we're getting weary and possibly even desensitized to horror attacks. We expect them and they don't hit us as hard. I don't think it's anti US or anti gay. Just depressed resignation.

That's exactly it, in a nutshell manic.
And there's simply no justification for the full scale bullying of the op. I know people love a good rant at a random stranger on here though. So crack on....

Manic that must just be a reflection of your FB friends. My feed has been chocca this morning of various photographs and videos of the Compton Street vigil, and choir.

manicinsomniac maybe that's a reflection of who you're friends with on Facebook. My feed has been full of posts reacting to Orlando, just like Paris etc.

Here is a link to a video of the performance by the choir of Bridge Over Troubled Water. It's beautiful. Gorgeous and heartbreaking

See that exactly the problem manic

You, and presumably by extension everyone else, measures the depth of feeling about terrorist attacks and other atrocities by facebook statuses

It's fucking tragic and makes me want to weep.