It has been one month since the terrorist attacks on London. as the picture above shows, the city is almost back to normal. One underground transport line is still out of commision, but it does not affect travel across town that much really. This line above, the Picadilly Line, was the final major artery to get back running. And as of this morning, 4 weeks on, it is.
I've been reflecting a lot on how I feel about things today, and trying to work out what the general mood is in London. I've done a lot of soul searching in the past few weeks. There's nothing like a bomb attack to focus the mind and to work out what is important and what is not. After the first bombings I just felt disgust for the people who had done this. In a way I felt bitter that they had killed themselves in the process of the attack becaue I would love to have seen them being made to pay for what they did. As I think I wrote on the day. Unfortunately they took the easy way out and all we can do now is hunt down those who helped them, and try and figure out what made these killers do it. I just hope there is a real and logical grievance and not just some twisted and false interpretaion of Islam or some such thing. If nothing else to help those who lost loved ones deal with this tragedy.
I feel relief in a way that no-one close to me was involved in the attack. I know people who know people who have lost friends and partners, but no-one directly connected to me. I really feel for those who are currently burrying their dead and remembering them (especially today I would think). But I do not feel guilty for knowing my friends and family are all still about.
After the first attacks I felt nothing about being back ont he London transport network. No fear, no determination, just carrying on as normal. It wasn't bravado, just a logical take on my situation. Maybe it was my way of dealing with it I don't know. But I got up on the Monday morning and followd my usual routine and went back into london as I do on most days. Same shit, different day, that kind of thing. I didn't even really notice much disruption which was heartening. I felt good about that becasue it signified that London would recover fast from something like this. and whatever was thrown at us we would bounce back stronger.
Then came the second attacks. Or attempts anyway. I was abroad during the first attack, but in my offcie during the second one. Luckily the idiots who tried this attack were so incompetent that they couldn't even set the bombs off. I'm relieved about that, but also feel even more contempt for the people who tried this time, than for the first lot. At least they have all been caught now and hopefully we can get some straight answers to why. Even the coward who ran abroad has been caught. I guess I just want to know why more than anything. What have the people of London done to make them hate us so much?
The morning after the second attack a man was shot dead by Police when he refused to stop when challenged and then tried to board a train. I have had people criticise the Police for allowing this to happen, but I personally would pat the officer on the back for doing probably the toughest thing he has ever done. He will have to live with his actions for the rst of his life. But he did what he thought was right and did it to protect the many innocent people on that train. It turns out the man was not a terrorist and that is a tragedy, but he was in this country illegally and refused to stop. Which in the current situation is ill-advised at best, and (as we have seen) deadly at worst. I've also noticed that the vast majority of peopl who have criticised the Police do not live in London. Many people who live in the capital I think agree it's a tragedy, but have no problem with the Police trying to protect us.
The second set of attacks were on a tran line that I use every day. And the guy who was shot was in a station that I pass through all of the time. The first time I went through the station I felt a bit strange. It was a momentary feeling and I have not had it since, but it did cross my mind that I could have been on that train. Or one of the trains the bombers were on. I think the second set of attacks made me realise that this could become a wave of terror in London. The randomness of the attacks is probably the most scary thing. Although the dumbness of the second group is heartening.
And how do I feel today? There are a lot of Police around which is comforting. I think people generally are looking out for each other, more than watching each other now. as was the case in the aftermath of the attacks. I think London as a city, and it's population have risen magneficently to the challenge of what has happened, and it shows that the spirit of stoicism is still strong here. I am a lot more aware of foreigners in the city now. But I am equally determined not to think of them differently and treat them differently to what I was before. I have no fear about being on the transport network, and even if I did have concerns I would still go on it anyway. I think attitudes and life changed dramatically in London on July 7. As it did in New York in 2001. I don't know what the future will bring, but we can never go back to how it was now. I hold out great hope for us as a race and I think seeing that London has recovered from this shows that we can exist as a multi-cultural population.
My final comment would be to all those who checked I was OK in the immediate aftermath of the attcks. To all of you I say 'thank you'. You have been true true friends and I am indebted to you for your concerns. I will never forget it ...
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