Suspected suicide bomber shot at Stockwell station.

[cori]

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

Cd your goatee might put me off, after all at least two of the bombers had them

prejudiced means to pre judge someone doesnt it, dont have the dictionary dialogue atm

CD, there haven't been bins on the tube for years for that very reason...

Are the men in the pictures Asian?

this is all stupid now

wouldn't it be sinister if suicide bombers did dress as frogs though

Just a straw poll, if any youngish person sat next to you on a train or a bus with a large ruck sack would you honestly not worry a little? Would the worry not even begin in your mind?

If I am being honest I would worry a bit. Nor enough to get off the bus/train, deff not enough to ask insensitive questions, but I would be a little nervy.

people have posted that very thing, CD.
but of course, secretly i spend loads of time firebombing my local cornershop and daubing swastikas on walls. it's obvious, i must do.

Quite easy to spot though, enid, so probably not quite so effective Then we could all be accused of being amphibianist...

yes they would stand out

and would a frog wear a rucksack?

probably not.

could hide the bomb in its throat pouch though.

Horrid.

Fio - the term "racial prejudice" is rather more specific than what you are implying. So yes, people are going to be offended if they are accused of this!

There would, however, be significant problems for the general public teling the difference between frogs and toads

Aloha isn't racist.

Maybe she is prejudiced, but we all are. We discriminate everyday of our lives, thats just how it is.

I discriminate with who I have sex with, who I talk to on the bus, who I ask the time from on the street, between the childminders who can probably all look after my son perfectly well, with who my friends are, who I tell my secrets to, who I ask to clean my windows... What don't do is discriminate by the colour of these peoples skin.

This is not a cut and dry issue, in fact it may well be a dilemma that we can find no answer to. But we know Aloha, and we know she is not racist. Prejudiced perhaps, but like I said, who isn't?

Hope you understand that in the way it's intended Aloha.

But if these 4 aren't plainly identifiable as "young Asian" men, as 3 of the last 4 were, then it's all a bit academic anyway, isn't it?

The one in the New York top looks a bit like an old boyfried of mine..'cept he'd be older

I'm not looking for any particular response, I just don't think these attitudes are fair or right and I've debated against that.

I agree with monkeytrousers that aloha is not racist, but IMO is discriminating racially - a racist act. I'm not trying to say she is a fully paid up member of the BNP. I do understand where ppl are coming from who are nervous atm, but if we all acted in this way London would be a very unpleasant place to live. We cannot allow the terrorists to win by fearful attitudes.

That's my lot for today!

There was an ex-MI5 security expert on BBC news 24 in the early hours of this morning.

He was more or less saying what Aloha and Springchicken and others have said. If you see a young Asian male with a rucksack or briefcase then you have to heighten your sense of awareness.

As he said, its not because we are being racist, but because in security speak, they meet the profile!!!!!!!!

Thats all there is to it really, the colour of their skin, religion, age is incidental. The fact is that the profile we have right now is what we have. We can't change that, only the bombers can!

I suspect that the Modus Operandi will gradually change and in time we will be looking for different risks - possibly female, possibly white, possibly 50+ who knows?

I work in London and commute 4 days a week, it would take me all day to get to work if I got off the bus everytime someone fitting the profile got on it and waited for another one to come. So I don't expect to be putting much of this into practice myself. However, I can understand how someone might not be prepared to take that minute risk right now.

On the other hand I am desperately sorry for the vast majority of people who meet the current profile who are just going about their business. What a miserable position to be put in! But the people who put them in this position are the suicide bombers.
Blu, WWW et al - i really am sad for you and your families right now

so i'm back. and this afternoon i unexpectedly saw my (liberal) American cousin in law (if there is such a thing...she's married to my cousin).

On the train from the airport to Clapham Junction she was in a carriage where no one would sit next to a young asian man. She sat next to him because she understood how utterly crap it is that people are behaving like this. She has also been trained as an air stewardess to talk to people that she thinks may be suspiscious as this is the very best way to ascertain if there is indeed something fishy going on. He was a really sweet guy by all accounts. When they were stuck on the train between stations for 45 minutes they had a long conversation during which they discussed how hard and horrible life is going to be for him in the coming months.

Aloha, i don't (like i said before) think you're racist. I doubt that you're prejudiced IRL. But really, do you still stand by something that you probably said in the moment and that has been jumped all over, but that you might (I hope) see wasn't really what you meant?????

You're absolutely within your rights to be scared. But to enact that fear in that way, sorry if this is annoying, but to me it just doesn't seem like you tbh.

I've been stewing over this. Would you criticise one of the bombing victims for feeling the way about asian decent young men that have been on here? Because I think it is all too easy to forget that it is not just the dead whose lives have been ruined. Lots and lots of people have lost limbs, sight hearing. Life will never be the same for them again. I know I have first hand experience of these people which is perhaps why I am so over sensitive about it.

I'm surprised to see so many people jumping on aloha like this. Anyone who has read her posts over a period of time will know absolutely that she is not a racist. Full stop.

i would never criticise anyone whose life had just been damaged in the way you describe. but i would sincerely hope that they would react in a constructive rather than hatefilled way to what had happened to them. like i said, there were lots of family members of 9/11 victims that went out of their way to say that what had happened had been the act of terrorists and had nothing to do with the vast majority of muslims.

i don't critisise aloha (or anyone else) for this view and as i keep trying to tell her i don't think she's racist i just don't think its a productive or useful way to think (not that i can come up with another way to deal with the situation)

I have been reading this thread and wanted to comment.

BTW, I used to post on MN a lot, but have recently stopped (new baby and all).

I can see where Aloha is coming from. It is not right perhaps (and she has apologised for feeling that way) but it is how she and many feel. Just as I would not get on a train carriage with a man/men with shaven head and tattoos for fear they could be Nazi skinheads (I am Black)some would feel the same about getting on a train/bus with young Asian men, with rucksack, acting suspiciously (as Aloha has stated) for fear of them being an suicide bomber.

I think it is sad and as someone had said before, we all have our prejudices. But I think it is a little simplistic to say that it is 'racist' to feel that way. I am sure there are White, Black, indeed Asian people who feel the same fear. The majority of the bombers fit the profile of 'young Asian Male with rucksack' so that is what you would be looking out for when trying to be vigilant.

Also wanted to pass on my sadness at the fact that Blu's partner and others have felt victimised.

As I was reading this a plane went over really low, and I realised I am still jumpy about loud planes since 9/11 so I guess that could be a similar reaction - whenever I hear one the possibility of it being used in terrorism comes into my head and I'm relieved when it's passed over.

It completely saddens me the repercussions of this War against Terror. It makes life worse, not better and now entire cultures / people of particular beliefs are not safe and all this fear is encouraging ugliness and not freedom.

Like i said on another thread - 1984

If I had one wish for this planet it would be this. In forthcoming elections NOBODY votes for political parties who participate in War and EVERYBODY voted 100% anti-war. With any hope the anti-war parties would have good environmental policy also. Well thats my wish.

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