There was an exchange on Today this morning between John Humphrys and BBC reporter Andy Moore about the panic at (and around) Oxford Circus yesterday afternoon. Andy Moore called it "hysteria" and an incredulous-sounding John Humphrys said it was "weird" that a bit of a punch-up (if punch-up it be) led to such "great panic", and that the panic itself was "slightly frightening". As a result, I think this tweet from Spiked applies to Today too:
The Twitterati are mocking the panic at Oxford Circus today. But violent Islamists have slaughtered 36 people in Britain this year: young girls, revellers, tourists. So people are a little on edge. The media might prefer to forget these acts of mass murder but the public doesn't.
It's a "little weird" how quickly the media forget terrorist events. The BBC went out of its way for years, still does I would say, to forget 9-11 and not just 9-11 but the horrible months after when there were anthrax attacks and so on. Apart from the 10th anniversary it hardly gets a mention despite 3000 (including over 200 Brits) dying in horrific circumstances - in a tower inferno...contrast perhaps with the Grenfell Tower experience where the BBC is only too keen to keep this in the forefront of our minds, so it gets covered on local news, national news, in documentaries and so on, despite it being a very localised tragedy, the implications of which can and are being addressed. How often have you seen interviews with the families of British victims of 9-11? I honestly can't recall any though there must have been some around the time I guess.
ReplyDeleteI’m down in the smoke, via train, maybe 3 or 4 times a month. You tend to see armed police, and it’s usual for the tannoy to say “if you see anything suspicious report it to a member of staff or British transport police”.
ReplyDeleteNo I don’t think it strange if something like this prompts panic, in the circumstances I’d say getting away from the perceived danger as quickly as possible is the most sensible thing you could do.
My god is better than your god etc
ReplyDeleteThis event didn't seem to align with the "#notafraid" narrative about the British response to terror attacks, stiff upper lip and don't make any attempt to apportion blame or do anything about it.
ReplyDeleteStill I expect the people involved in the "fight" and all those in the ensuing panic were all far-right racist,sexist,homophobic brexit-supporting bigots just down in town to buy some black-friday tat with their benefit money or just stealing....