so an attack is imminent

[myoriginal3]

AIBU to be a little freaked, living in London?

Teresa May didn't raise the threat on whim or because she wants to look strong. I'm not her biggest fan. But she will have been advised by the experts to do this and thus allow armed police/soldiers on the streets. And it's natural to be scared. Who wouldn't be.

belfast i interpreted mrsjayy's post to mean that 'leaders' or 'heads' within the IRA ordered those attacks whereas in these instances 'lone wolves' that may have no connection to any 'heads' of terrorist organisations, are taking it upon themselves to carry out these atrocities.

Our disproportionate fear of terrorism is why terrorists kill - Just what fucking planet are you on? So because some of us are frightened of them that's the reason they murdered so many people last night is it? You truly believe that? You don't think it's because they despise us and our way of life? That they don't somehow see themselves as the superior race and that us infidels should all burn in hellfire? No? None of those things, it's because some of us have dared to say we're fearful. I cannot believe you can even suggest such a disgusting thing.

Our disproportionate fear of terrorism is why terrorists kill.

Are you high?

For me the difference between now & the days of the IRA bombings is being a Mum, towards the end of the IRA I was a young adult working in London, if anything happened I just had to look after myself, now the fear is being caught up in something and not being able to protect my DD.

Also agree that ramping up the fear is very handy for Theresa May to be able to divert attention away from the social care fuck up.

How about you grow up and get your facts right.

It isn't her decision for starters!

ah apologies mrsjayy and belfast the thread had moved on by the time i posted

TM didn't raise the threat level, JTAC did.

So much scaremongering! Social media is awash with it.

I am not in London or any big city that would be a likely target but I am scared. How can you not be scared? Not for myself but for other people?

I'm not scared in the slightest. Maybe it is years of growing up with IRA attacks, or maybe I'm just fatalistic. I trust our security services et al to do the best they can to protect us, I stay as vigilant as I can but ultimately there's an element of luck and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If it happens, well it happens. No point being scared.

The only time I'm scared/worried is after an attack has happened and I don't stop being worried until everyone I know and care for is safe. I grew up near Manchester. Already someone from my village has been reported as the first victim. I worry there will be more, I worry it may be the child of someone I grew up with. But me being scared won't change that.

A close friend of mine was in her office opposite the Twin Towers when 9/11 happened. I actually spoke to her after the first plane hit before they really knew what was happening. She was on the phone to me as they started being evacuated (just before the second plane hit). After that I couldn't reach her or her DP or her sister (who all worked in the area) for almost 12 hours. I didn't know if she was alive or dead. So yes, then I was scared. But now? No, not in the slightest.

I haven't rtft but I was in London during 7/7 - I commuted on the tube on that day and on 8/7.

My feeling is...if you stop doing what you do out of fear that the nutters will get you the...they have won. If you carry on and, in a billion to 1 chance they get you...well they didn't get millions of others.

I WILL NOT be told how to live my life. Not by my dad, my teachers, my bosses or some random saddos who laughingly think Allah will welcome their terrorising arses with anything but the proverbial poker.

I will do what I want. I will not be dictated to.

Lockheart That's exactly how I look at it all too. Living and working in London I feel there is safety in numbers; even if terrorists targeted the tube while I was using it, there are nearly 300 stations so you're unlikely to be affected.

I am travelling to Manchester tomorrow for a pre-planned work trip, and weirdly that feels less safe to me purely because it's a smaller city.

Theresa May is using the situation to show how robustly she handles terror attacks - y'know, two weeks before the election. Turning child murder into political capital, lovely.

how about turning child murder into a cheap pop at the tories? lovely.

I'm also amazed people don't remember the IRA bombings more vividly. They bombed the Conservative AGM and killed and maimed Thatcher's colleagues and friends as well as all the pub bombings etc.

I do agree with a pp though. The IRA had some very specific aims and had a leadership that yearned for a place in the political firmament so were ultimately open to negotiation and reason. The isis-type terrorists simply want us dead.

We need to address the fact that we went too far when the Blair/Bush brigade went on their Crusade in 2002. Rather than admit our mistake we've carried on in denial. And now our children are killed.

I'm white british hetero, etc, etc but we made a recent mistake, we are not superior to others but equals. We need to negotiate from an apologetic position to reach the PEACE that we all want

From what I've been reading today the bomb has been described as a 'sophisticated' device. The way ISIS cells operate (as was the case with the Brussels attacks) is that if they have someone in the West with the ability to make sophisticated bombs that person is unlikely just to make one bomb and blow themselves up. Instead they will send other people on as many missions as possible before they finally die themselves only when they know their capture is imminent.

Bearing that in mind I would say the raise in terror level is likely to be linked to worries that there is someone out there with bomb making skills who may be preparing another attack. I would also imagine that the risk is highest in the north as they're probably based here and won't be looking to move unstable explosives long distance.

Added to this Ramadan starts at the end of the week and we have a GE due which are both potential flashpoints.

I don't live far from Manchester and will be avoiding spending time in crowded public spaces until a lot more becomes clear about this.

It's okay to be scared, it's okay to be worried, it's okay to want to talk about what's happened. It's also okay not to feel scared or worried. Everyone is different.

With regard to the threat level being raised to Critical and an attack possibly imminent, please remember that this does not mean an attack won't be intercepted and prevented if there is one being planned.

I never belive in conspiracy theories so i have no tin hats. But it's naive to think that there things are not politically seized upon and used.

Our disproportionate fear of terrorism is why terrorists kill

I couldn't disagree more.

Ask yourself what these terrorists want?

Answer: For us all to die.

They've told us that themselves. There is no agreement to be reached, no compromise.

They couldn't give a fuck if we don't take children on a city shopping trip because we are scared. They just want you, and your children, dead.

And i don't want to dismiss past tragedies but this has really freaked a lot of people, outbecause it targetted children and teenagers he purpisely went out to kill children

I didn't see a disproportionate fear of terrorists at that concert while the innocents were all enjoying themselves.

The UK terror threat level has been raised to its highest level of "critical", meaning further attacks may be imminent, Theresa May has said.

That is a quote c+p from bbc. Attack MAY be imminent. If it WAS imminent they would know about it therefore stop it or at least evacuate where it is going to be.

*22-05-13 lee rigby
22-03-16 Brussels attack
22-07-16 Munich attack
22-03-17 London attack
22-05-17 Manchester attack
22-07-17 ?

Can you see a pattern?*

Am I being thick, what's the pattern?

The PM doesn't set the terror levels - it's the Secret Service and the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre

Nancy I had wondered myself if the difference in reaction to this was a generational and locational thing.

I lived through the troubles and had a family member killed. Therefore soldiers on the street and armed police isn't a new thing for me.

Also security checks etc aren't something new and frightening for me. I've been here before (in security terms) if you see what I mean.

We need to address the fact that we went too far when the Blair/Bush brigade went on their Crusade in 2002. Rather than admit our mistake we've carried on in denial. And now our children are killed.

Shall we start with prosecuting tony Blair for war crimes?