Man shot dead in Stockwell unconnected to terror inquiry

[QueenOfQuotes]

Just seen a ticker on the BBC website saying that

WWW - My friend is married to a Jamaican man and she was distraught yesterday when he left the house with his work files etc in a small rucksack.

So much so that he came back and put them all in carrier bags.

Its worrying times for many people right now, as she said, a few hard stares on the tube won't kill him but another mistaken identity could

flossam - i for one understand that you not only working and living in London but doing the job you do and IIRC your dh too, you are bound to feel the pressure more than I would for instance. I am safely ensconced in a town about 10 miles out of Brum so am in a safer geographical position than you are WRT the London bombings. If I worked in Central London right now I wouldnt hesitate to hand my notice in but i am a wimp!

No QoQ, I'm not assuming that. The point I was making is that if you are not personally involved, you may be able to take a more dispassionate view. (And you may not, of course!)

MGR - really, I wasn't looking for an argument - in fact I was trying to be lighthearted given what had already gone on!!

As a general guide, if I'm being argumentative I don't put any smilies on my posts - double one just to make sure you know I'm not being lighthearted!

Mea Culpa

Bloody knackered...................>.......

Flossam - saying you feel frightened is fine - many of us are. And I suspect London may not be the only place affected before this is all over, whenever that might be.

I have a nasty feeling you might be right SB.

I suspect that too, soapbox, but for the time being London has the lot

MHR shake - and very rare for me [[[[hug[]]]]

Mrs GR - I have only scanned this thread but your comment about him being a decoy leapt off the page as dh and I were discussing this possibility this afternoon.

It's tragic but as someone else said, how would we all be feeling if the police had done nothing and he had been wired?

yes I see what you mean peacedove (in terms of our police learning from the Israelis how to deal with suicide bombers) and I too hope it doesn't start changing - when I went through the airport at Israel, I was 'interrogated' (I put that in inverted commas because it wasn't physical or threatening, just persistent questioning) about exactly why I was visiting and who I had come to see by 2 different people to check my answers came up the same! You feel oppressed before you've even entered the country.

"Whatever" (said it typical 'teenager' style)

But please just remember that some of us may not "live" in London, but do have family who work in the city, as well as family that live there.

And while some of use have never lived under the fear of suicide bombers, have lived under the fear of terrorists using other means.

But we can't stop our society from 'changing' by ignoring whats happening and carrying on as usual.
It's not our society that is changing.
I also think this is a global issue, concentrated here at the moment.

Anyway, I have said and seen enough, it's time to leave this now.

"concentrated here at the moment."

There I'm afraid I have to disagree

In the last 2 weeks the UK, Egypt, Iraq, Turkey and Lebanon, have all had bombs explode killing people. (and that's just the ones I've heard of on the news!)

Very true QofQ. But then I said , it was a global issue.

a litle contradiction here, MrsDoolittle

you say: "But we can't stop our society from 'changing' by ignoring whats happening and carrying on as usual."

then you say: "It's not our society that is changing."

I think the society is changing. We have laws that have taken away some of our liberty. We have tolerance for actions that would have been questioned by everyone in a not too distant past. There is real risk of us surrendering our freedoms out of fear. This has happened to others, you know, and we are humans too.

What the British have excelled at is learning in time and applying in time. Don't copy those who keep going around in circles, and have only worsened their plight.

I am the wrong man was killed if he turns out to be innocent of everything.

I am that you lot have kicked off so mightily about it before all the facts are known.

I am worried that the police might hesitate a split-second too long next time and cause major loss of life when a real suicide bomber manages to get his/her hand to the trigger.

I am a Londoner, a regular tube and bus user, somebody who also has "inside knowledge" of quite how horrific the injuries of some affected by the first bombs were. I was very close to Shepherd's Bush, at work in what is potentially a very big target for bombers in the future (as it has been in the past). But I don't think that my feelings are any more important than others - and I also don't think that anyone on here has said theirs are either.

However, on Thursday, I was a bit worried about getting home safely. Then yesterday, I was worried about the reported sniper sightings (later unfounded) near where DH was. Should I not be worried about these things, or post about them, just because it might make someone else feel that I'm trying to outdo them in the "my feelings and opinions are more important" stake? FFS!

(just a thought but puddytats father-in-law thread has been mainly ignored and im sure we all agree shes shaving a shit time and could do with some suport - its top of active convos now)

I'm sorry, a poor post of mine.
I don't believe we can stop our society from changing. It's the terrorist activity that will change our society and we have to respond to that.

Who do you think endangers our liberty? Not the government, why would they want to? It's the forces we have to protect ourselves against that jeopordise our freedoms.

Hopefully, that is better put. I am going now - dh think she is being ignored.

Good night.

FWIW man shot was brazilian

QoQ, my mother lives in London, my brother lives in London and drives a bloody taxi there every day, and most of my friends live and work in London. I have no need whatsoever to be reminded that people who don't live in London may have loved ones there.

"The man, who died at Stockwell Tube on Friday, has been named by police as Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, 27."

I know the convo has moved on somewhat since my last post but just want to clarify.

Doesn't matter whether the guy was travelling by bus or not, the fact remains that unless he lived right next to the station, came out of his house and immediately ran like hell, then the police must have had more than a couple of minutes to stop him before he got to the tube station in the first place. So what on earth were they doing?? Granted, its not a great idea to risk shooting a suspected terrorist in the street but a better bet than risk letting him get away. So what were the police playing at in letting him get to a tube station and then turning on the panic stations?

Still want to know more about it before I mourn his passing, I'm afraid.