localyokel Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 I wish that within the ridiculous new technological feat that is the Manx Radio website I could find (or be bothered to find amidst the hundreds of buttons and graphics) the "archive" button to pull up the comments on the two minutes silence from Roger Carey of IBS School fame yesterday. I don't totally agree with formally marking such an event with 2 minutes silence for the future as it glamourises terrorism, but this is the 1st anniversary so its probably very right to do so in this way .... BUT what does annoy me is who made him some sort of spokesman on international terrorist issues? And why did MR see fit to post a piece on "his thoughts"? I don't care what his views are about what is right and what is wrong with remembering 7/7 because he has no formal expertise in this area so why do MR think that we want to hear his views on such a subject? If it was the views of Noam Chomsky or even someone like John Simpson posted it might be different, but they might as well have a feature on "some bloke in Peel who thinks there are issues associated with remembering 7/7". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollag Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 It did seem to have all the hallmarks of a media/govt organised event, Tony ready with his "unity" speech, Chief Constable Blair with his "real danger" speech, news of plots foiled in the Usa, and videos of the bomber released by al jezeera. i may well be cynical but having lived through the 30 years off IRA bombings without alll this hoopla, i wonder sometimes if the victims are being used as springboards for spin and soundbites, they deserve better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
localyokel Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 It did seem to have all the hallmarks of a media/govt organised event, Tony ready with his "unity" speech, Chief Constable Blair with his "real danger" speech, news of plots foiled in the Usa, and videos of the bomber released by al jezeera. i may well be cynical but having lived through the 30 years off IRA bombings without alll this hoopla, i wonder sometimes if the victims are being used as springboards for spin and soundbites, they deserve better. I agree. What happened to those people was awful, disgusting, inhuman and should never be forgotten. I certainly won't forget. Blair in particular seems obsessed with displays of vulgarity similar to those George W Bush wheels out to use victims of these events to remind us poor "subjects" that we are at war with an invisible enemy, and should be thankful to our political leaders and the state that we have still got our lives. But it was right to have 2 minutes silence this year and they should find less public ways of remembering in future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRILLER Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 My brother was on one of them trains that blew up but had got off the train the stop before it happened...he was very lucky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThieBane Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 I don't care what his views are about what is right and what is wrong with remembering 7/7 because he has no formal expertise in this area so why do MR think that we want to hear his views on such a subject? If it was the views of Noam Chomsky or even someone like John Simpson posted it might be different, but they might as well have a feature on "some bloke in Peel who thinks there are issues associated with remembering 7/7". Er... Maybe because he is some sort of expert on international terrorism. He lectures on it, writes papers on it (see IBS website) and has written a book about it. Amazon And frankly, he's probably more comprehensible than Noam Chomsky. Dumbass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Back on thread: I'm not particularly fond of public outpourings of grief - I think they're part of the feminisation of our society - and really don't understand the need for a commemoration of such a recent event unless it is (as another poster suggested) politically motivated. If it was a special anniversary, such as a fiftieth etc., it would be acceptable. Personally, I find it unfortunate that the publicity surrounding this 'remembrance' tended to swamp the one on the 1st July - the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme in which 58,000 British troops were lost on the first day - the worse day in the history of the British Army. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollag Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Agreed entirely, it also followed on the heels of the " one year since we were awarded the olympics" day, a complete load of bolloxs with that knob Seb Coe telling us that the olympics will allow people in Aberdeen to establish a cultural platform, no explanation how of course just the usual buzz word ramblings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
localyokel Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Er... Maybe because he is some sort of expert on international terrorism. He lectures on it, writes papers on it (see IBS website) and has written a book about it. Amazon And frankly, he's probably more comprehensible than Noam Chomsky. Dumbass. Thanks for calling me a Dumbass ... how very American of you. Perhaps you could explain how being co-editor of 1 ten year old student text that is ranked the 1,248,863 most popular book on Amazon (and the only copy left) counts as being more comprehensible than Chomsky? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumble Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 I wouldn't dream of calling someone I don't know a dumbass...you may be a complete smartass for all I know! So who would YOU have invited onto MR to talk about terrorism, who knows the Island and could put these issues into a Manx perspective? Edited to add website help: Homepage>Manx News>Archive Search Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollag Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Not wanting to horn in on a private spat but i think there are enough "experts and pundits" on terrorism on the tele, perhaps we need someone from Sociology, Desmond Morris perhaps, to explain this recent phenomenon of communal and compulsory grief. I find it quite disturbing and of course there will always be someone who will manipulate it for gain. There are people dying every day under tragic circumstances, all over the world, i feel sadness for them when im informed but i cannot grieve for them all and i really dont like it when the direction of my grief is chosen for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladys Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Not wanting to horn in on a private spat but i think there are enough "experts and pundits" on terrorism on the tele, perhaps we need someone from Sociology, Desmond Morris perhaps, to explain this recent phenomenon of communal and compulsory grief. I find it quite disturbing and of course there will always be someone who will manipulate it for gain.There are people dying every day under tragic circumstances, all over the world, i feel sadness for them when im informed but i cannot grieve for them all and i really dont like it when the direction of my grief is chosen for me. Agree with you wholeheartedly Mollag. Without wanting in any way to diminish the grief of those directly affected by these events, there does seem to have been a shift in how the public, generally, reacts to such events. There was an article a few years' ago about the, then, recent practice of placing flowers at the scene of some fatal event. It was just never done years' ago and, from what I can remember of the article, was viewed as a very Mediterranean thing to do. I don't know, perhaps it is that premature mortality is such a rare event nowadays, with the improvements in health, nutrition and the general standard of living, that people have, to kind of, cut their teeth on bereavement vicariously to prepare themselves for such an event when it is closer to home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 We used to be part of a culture that admired a certain degree of stoicism; a disaster was met with a deep intake of breath, a gritting of teeth and a dtermination to carry on regardless. Triumphs were dealt with in the form of a satisfied smile, and congratulations (even on the football field!) consisted of a handshake and pat on the back. Then came the feminisation of our society. We were told that we needed to let our emotions have free rein because it was good for us. Personally, I think this particular pendulum has swung much too far and it really is time to consider a sensible adjustment of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
localyokel Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 So who would YOU have invited onto MR to talk about terrorism, who knows the Island and could put these issues into a Manx perspective? Edited to add website help: Homepage>Manx News>Archive Search Well since you ask. Nobody. That is what got me so annoyed. MR rarely even cover local news thoroughly, so what possesses them to engage an "expert" to provide indepth commentary on the why's and wherefore's of the London bombings when they are a local radio station is anyone's guess. If you want international or non IOM news they have a link to the BBC on their site where you can get the views of some of the UK's leading journalists and terrorism experts. It just seemed to me such a pointless exercise, when your local news coverage is lacking to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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