Suspected suicide bomber shot at Stockwell station.

[cori]

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

nice one joash. i'm sure it was appreciated.

Flossam didn't say they're linked!

The bombers have been young Asian muslims with backpacks so other young Asian muslims with backpacks are now looked at suspiciously by some Londoners - doesn't mean they're all in it together.

I did like scummy's smile-at-backpack-person strategy.

no sophable that is not what i said at all. I will re read it and try and see how you could have thought that. That was not my intention at all.

ok, but our suspiscion is punishing innocent people that happen to look a tiny weeny bit like suicide bombers. do they deserve what they get?? isn't it up to us to do what joash did (assuming they are not sweating, looking anxious, nervous, etc...altho they probably would have good reason to look nervous even if innocent given how much suspiscion they are going to be under in the coming months as they go about their own business, equally at risk of terrorism as any of us.

evidently i can't spell suspicion. suspiscion? suspicsion?

Well we clearly read her post differently. As this thread demonstrates, the mass murderers have made people suspicous of anyone else matching their description. I thought that's what she was saying.

No still puzzled. Sorry it seemed that way.

but flossam you said that me feeling sorry for the innocent asian guy on the bus that aloha gets off of (sorry about this aloha) was 'hard to take'....why, cause he deserved it? understand why you would be backing away from this, but i don't think i misunderstood your first post did i?

Yes Edam. Thank you.

snafu, you seem to have misread my post in order to get a cheap laugh.

I wasn't saying that having my DS1's friend in the house was the same as getting on the tube and sitting next to a stranger with a backpack!

I was saying that it would be hypocritical of me to be friendly, on the one hand, to my son's friends whilst on the other hand, looking mistrustfully at a young man on the tube just because he (a) had the same colour skin as my son's friends and (b) was carrying a piece of luggage.

Because as I said, I would not bear ill will towards those who felt I was a risk to them. It might hurt my pride slightly, yes but my feelings of anger and disgust would be towards those who perputrated it all. I would understand why it was the case.

Gosh Edam, that was well put. I wish I'd written that.
It's so hard because I honestly, honestly don't want to upset people who I like very, very much in RL and totally respect.
But stuff one posts does get taken out of context. I know exactly the type of person I have in mind - I keep seeing that cctv footage of the four lads in their hoodies and baseball caps with their rucksacks. They don't look remotely like Blu's absolutely lovely, cool and gentle dp or, I'm sure remotely like Sophable's dad. The fact that those lads were asian is only one part of the 'look' that would make me, personally, nervous. And that nervousness would only apply if I happened to be on a bus with them when they were carrying a large rucksack. It is the combination of the whole appearance and demeanor combined with the very specific location that I myself would find scary atm.
Of course, someone being asian doesn't frighten me! Otherwise I wouldn't step outside my home in the part of London where I live. Let alone chat to the shopkeepers who grin at my baby and wave to my neighbours etc. I also like the rainbow-hued nature of London. But I am afraid of bombers.

I'm sorry this thread is so polarised and is really upsetting people who are good friends on mumsnet and in real life.

I like and agree with the posts from www, dino, blu, respectedposters, sophable and batters. Their posts are honest and heartfelt.

I also think aloha's posts are honest and heartfelt. I think she is expressing her fear- she is clearly very scared, like a lot of people. And fear doesn't always respond to logic unfortunately.

I've recently finished some work at a place where I happened to be the only white member of staff in my office. I found that at first it was sightly difficult to get to know people, as indeed it always is with a new group of people. But I did fleetingly wonder if being white English was making it harder for me to fit in. The thought made me uncomfortable. By the end I'd got to know everyone and was having a lovely time and one colleague, X, said to me "I'm so glad I gave you a chance and made the effort with you. You don't seem like a white person now I know you." A little more probing (together with assurances from me that I am very definitely a white person and, if not proud exactly, at least quite comfortable with that, thank you very much!) and it seemed that X's perception of white people was that they were apt to be unfriendly and racist. She'd found this through hurtful personal experience and, you've got to admit, history is on her side with that one too. You can totally see why she might have been wary of me. But she gave me a chance. She fought her perception, based, what is more on pretty consistently nasty experiences of white racism, and was friendly and welcoming and helpful, not to mention clever and funny. I am SO lucky she did. It benefited me, her, the rest of the office and the work we were doing.

Looking at the bare, grim facts I can see why people might be wary of young Asian male strangers on London transport just at the moment. It is understandable that people are scared, just as it is understandable that X thought white people were 99% racist. But... it's just not good enough to just accept our fears and stereotypes at face value and not fight them. If X had done that she would have lost out on knowing fab me and I would have lost out on knowing fab her. If we in London start mass boycotts of public transport and avoidance of people because of their skin colour we will lose out bigtime. And we will be dicriminating against people like lovely sis and her family, lovely blu, her partner and son, lovely www, her son and ex, both my sons' fantastic teachers, practically all their friends, REAL LOVELY FAB PEOPLE. Not good enough.

I honestly think that everyone needs to muster whatever courage they have on this one and try to fight their fears. The big grin test is the way forward.

I´d be worried if someone got on the tube with this BAG

Sophable here

I am certain Flossam didn't mean anything of the sort Sophable. What she meant (I feel certain) was, if there is a climate of fear it has been created by the bombers, and the bombers alone, and so we should blame them for the fear and paranoia. I think that's reasonable, surely?

As for 'deserving what they get' - um, think that is a bit strong since all I said was that I'd get off the bus quietly.

it was me that mentioned BNP
just to clarify in no way was this to connect with anyone on here! Aloha I don't for one minute think you are a racist
I am just saying that this fear feeds extremist groups and support for extremist groups in the gen population, and it's v sad

Thank you. And I tend to agree with you. This will feed BNP support, which I find repulsive.

and its just a phase anyway isnt it?

I mean, you'll feel anxious around rucksack boys for a while, then all the furore will die down and you won't notice them any more?

It doesnt mean you are never going to get a chance to be friends with someone who carries a big rucksack?

But Scummy, you have admitted to being a bit sacksist earlier in this thread,no?

enid sorry but lol!

Yep! Fighting it with the grin test though.

thank you Aloha, the boot is often on the other foot!

The bombers on the 7th of July commuted to London on dh's train. A train which I'll be catching most of August. I will be nervous of young Asian men carrying rucksacks on that train. Don't know yet if those nerves will make me change carriages (chance would be fine thing, usually). But the police told dh lots of people left the bomber's carriage ? the next one to dh's ? because these men did seem odd in some way. I'll certainly be looking out for young Asian men who are behaving in an odd manner. I imagine perfectly innocent young Asian men may well appear to be behaving in an odd manner because they feel shaky and under suspicion as a result of the bombings. Very sad situation all round.

right, can't post long as ds is awake, i'll come back later tonight.

flossam, you know what you meant not me, so i accept that i misinterpreted you.

ladymuck: on the second point - the purported US reaction to 9/11, i.e. the invasion of iraq, was the best thing ever to happen to al quaida. after 9/11 everyone even hammas (ffs!) offerred sympathy to the USA and condemnation of the bombings. but instead of reacting with a calm and loving attitude (which many of the victims' families had and have) the US govt capitalised on the fear of it's citizens to do what it had been planning for ages, invade iraq.

equally, the more hatred and fear of muslims there is, the more they come up against prejudice in their everyday life here in london/britain, the more recruits for al quaeda. the more we grin and show love and warmth to our fellow muslim citizens, the more we are individually doing to combat the terrorists.

hope that's clearer????