Suspected suicide bomber shot at Stockwell station.

[cori]

Have just heard an unconfirmed report on the radio. Anyone else?

I have to be honest and say that yesterday's events have made me jumpier, even though we were warned that it would probably happen.

My parents both have strong Irish accents, and Mum used to work in Oxford Street (for the "youngsters" on here, it was generally considered to be a prime target for Christmas shopping attacks). Whilst she never enjoyed the automatic suspicion that fell on her and her friends, this was never an issue when there was actually an attack, or an explosive found. The offensive racist attitudes were much more on the line of "Oh you can't trust her to tell the truth, she's Irish", or "He's Irish so he's a drunken sod", or whatever. Nothing to do with the bombings at all.

I'm sure that the terrorists will continue to be keen to avoid detection. But, given the groups and motives of those apparently behind the attacks, then it isn't redhaired professional looking women with briefcases who are most likely to be the next suicide bombers. Yes there are many white muslims out there, and likewise there are many asians who are not muslims. But how many redhaired Al Quaeda supporters are there?

This for me is part of the difficulty with the message of "Keep doing what you normally do, but be alert" - alert for what? We don't have idientikits of who may be a risk. We are being invited to make those deductions for ourselves, based on limited information.

I already have avoided a tube carriage where a young asian man was waiting who had been behaving most oddly. I don't think I am rasist, but more than anything else I want to be as sure as I can be that I will be able to get home to my baby boy.

These people have stigmatised their own people, they are to blame here. Arguing amongst ourselves about whether or not we should avoid people of a certain appearance or carrying certain accessories is pointless. We should all do whatever we feel comfortable doing. No-one should say we shouldn't do that if that is what it takes for us to feel safer. If race wasn't involved I doubt this would be an issue. If you told a Mn'etter she was rasist for avoiding a person on a tube and it turned out that he/she was a bomber - how would you feel about that. Freedom of choice. We all have it and have to right to execute it.

I find it very sad that following these awful events that we are arguing amongst ourselves and not just being accepting of people acting in a way to make them feel secure.

But surely as educated grown-up women we should be able to use logic to overcome fear? And think of the damage we could inadvertently do if we allow our fear to think for us?

DS1's friend Abdullah and his brother Muhammad were round at ours last night and we exchanged presents. How could I invite them into my home and then look with suspicion on some young man on the bus who could, for all I know, be their cousin or uncle - and not be the worst kind of hypocrite?

Sorry, I refuse to do it. If my doing so I increase my own personal risk by some infinitesimally small eensy-weensy amount - and that is a very big "if", well, too bad. Weigh that up against the certain damage caused by encouraging racist attitudes, or at least standing by whilst others whip up fear and suspicion. No.

hear hear Flossam

I think we all just need to keep checking ourselves and our motives and try not to let that fear get out of hand (like Wiltshire). To stay vigilant in more ways than one.

I woudl like to think that I wouldn;t move but of course that is very easy for me to say when I am sat at the other end of the country knowing it is a decision I am unlikely to make.

You are of course right repected posters but fear makes us act in very illogical ways.

RP, might I suggest that there is a big difference between having your son's friends round to tea and sitting on a tube next to a complete stranger carrying an enormous backpack?

I reiterate. I would not get off a tube because I thought someone looked 'suspicious'. I would use logic to overcome fear. Doesn't mean I wouldn't, somewhere in the depths of my psyche, feel that fear in the first place. In fact i think I'd be pretty strange not to.

sorry but SNORT@snafu
(no offence to anyone but that made me larrrrf)

I've just been out for a walk as tbh I found it pretty upsetting to called racist and being linked with the BNP.
If I lived in Yorkshire at the time of the Ripper attacks, I would have been absolutely bloody terrified of being alone at night with middleaged white men with gaps between their teeth. Is that racist? Is that 'making assumptions'?
If Abigail Witchall's attacker hadn't (probably) killed himself I would be extremely frightened to find myself alone on a country lane in Surrey with a white man with multiple earrings and near a blue car.
I am also extremely wary of groups of youths of any colour wearing hoodies. I would walk a long way around in a park to avoid them.
I am nervous of the white blokes with tattoos and cans of Special Brew in the park at the top of our road.
Is all this racist?
I just am not convinced that if a 19year old Asian guy wearing a hoodie and baseball cap sat down next to you and your kids on the bus tomorrow with a big black rucksack on his lap and a nervous expression, that you'd all be so pleased to see him.
I am not afraid of anyone who is not like me. I am not racist. I am afraid of being killed and I don't think that's particularly cowardly or strange.

FWIW I understand your POV completely aloha. how anyone can brand it racist is behond me.

I think monkeytrousers is right, they are creating fear and trying to create splits in society.

Blimey, I'm quite shocked at this thread.

I can't understand how anyone has misunderstood Aloha - she makes perfect sense to me and is definitely not coming across as racist. I'm quite surprised so few others felt the same.

I'm also curious as to how far being cautious is being seen as being racist. I live in an area which is very white (just in our immediate area - I live in Geater London) In the last few weeks there have been several armed burglaries by black young men - in one instance (a few hunderd yeards away) a mum and her 2 children were held at gunpoint after she had opened her door to the men. The men have still not been found.

In the 3 years I have lived here I have never had an unexpected call from any black person (and frankly due to the nature of the road I rarely get any unexpected callers though occasionanly get people raising money for charity).

Am I racist if I don't answer the door if 2 black men call unexpectedly?

god this thread has descended into bedlam!

Have just spent quite a lot of time reading the thread I can see how some people may have felt that you were being racist by wanting to avoid asian - and perhaps also black - youths carrying bags. Bearing in mind that a few of the posters are married to black or asian men.

Crossed with Aloha (who can type/spell more accurately than me).

ladymuck- Would you answer the door if 2 unexpected white men knocked at your door?

A friend just told me I am clearly being sacksist.

Is it not possible to read this thread as people saying they would avoid/feel nervous around those who appear to fit descriptions we have so far been given of suicide bombers? That's all I have read into aloha and other's posts.

And before you all jump on me, yes, I know suicide bombers can come in all shapes, sizes and colours. I am well aware that the next bomber could be a white-skinned, redheaded woman. Unlikely, but possible. But until that time, I will continue to understand, if not altogether support, people's feelings of nervousness in certain situations.

Done, well I can't. It's only because one of the distinguishing features here is the race/colour of the person that people are getting so het up about it. Aloha also said she'd also avoid a carriage with a lone male in it, and so would I. However, that lone male could quite easily be my dh or one of my brothers but I wouldn't be offended. She would not be to know that they have no intention of attacking her but obviously she wouldn't take that risk and neither would I.

That's right aloha. I think we are all a little guilty of discriminating against rucksacks! I am also bombist. I don't like bombs, would not employ one and none of my friends are bombs.

Kid, good question - again I would probably make a decision based on what I would perceive as a likelihood of trouble. 2 white middle-aged guys - I would probably assume were gardeners looking for work. 2 younger hoodie-wearing guys - I probably wouldn't answer.

I DO understand an instant response of fear, but I am very concerned about the way that we are allowing that fear to do the terroroists work for them. 'These people' - the bombers, have, because of the effect of that fear, stigmatised my dp. They are NOT his people, they are bombers, he is not muslim, he is an asian man on a train, with a rucsac, (until tomorrow, when i wll get him a differnt bag...in part because I have realised from reading this thread how much the wider world WILL be watching him warily).

I don't feel 'accepting' of that, I feel that something very very valuable amongst different human beings in one diverse, cosmopolitan city, has been destroyed. Yes, the bombers did it, the bombers, not people who look like them, or pray on a mat facing mecca like them, the bombers have done it, but by accepting that fear, we are allowing them to do it.

Good post RespectedPosters.

police to hold press conference shortly

I too can't understand how Aloha's honest and clear posts have been misunderstood.

I'm also surprised that more people haven't spoken up to say that they too are in fear on London Transport and admit to judging people by their appearance.

I would have thought that, at this point in time, those in fear and wary of people around them would be in the majority in London.