Fear and terror
Somewhat ironically, the one day we get out of work before 7, there happened to be a bomb scare on the train which meant I might as well have stayed for another half hour getting some more research done. Instead I spent 20 idly considering Wembly stadium whilst waiting for some stupid fool to reclaim his bag. It lead me to consider 1) it’s not actually an unattractive stadium, in fact it seems something of a shame to waste of good architecture to use it for sport; and 2) do people really feel threatened by terrorism?
Now although one gentleman was concerned enough to pull the communication cord (I’m probably showing my age in the use of that term…) no one on the carriage looked at all worried, just irritated in a resigned fashion. Yet from what the papers say regarding opinion polls, we’re all terrified of the the possibility of another “7/7”.
Which leads me to ask, is it possible to distinguish between the emotional fear one has when confronted with, say, a burglar in the wardrobe; and the intellectual fear one has of a perceived potential material threat- i.e. the worry that there might be a burglar in the wardrobe. Or are they merely variations in intensity in the same phenomenon?
25 Sep 2006 19:32
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Tags: Pondering Terrorism Trains
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Hamid Sirhan
I think that most people in the UK are sophisticated enough to realise that the risk of being killed from a bomb placed on the tube is less than being killed during day-to-day London life (heart-attacks, muggings, being run over by idiots in their cars)...
There is also the possibility that Londoners are used to the risk of bombs now – there’s a reason you can’t ifnd a bin anywhere on the underground these days ;). And suspect package scares were happening long before 9-11. I can’t tell you how many delays I had at Hammersmith or Earl’s Court when I was younger because some tit had left behind his suitcase or briefcase.
25 Sep 2006, 21:26
mike
“Now although one gentleman was concerned enough to pull the communication cord (I’m probably showing my age in the use of that term…) no one on the carriage looked at all worried, just irritated in a resigned fashion. Yet from what the papers say regarding opinion polls, we’re all terrified of the the possibility of another “7/7”.”
^ Yes, but… it just goes to show that maybe it is true the the papers try to instill a sense of fear? – it does sell papers, pass laws and justify war’s you know!
15 Mar 2007, 20:12
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