London shooting: the terrorists have won

[tgnyc]

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the number of incidents of race-based violence against people who appeared to be of Middle Eastern or South Asian origin exploded in the United States. Many innocent people were hurt or killed as a result of the resurrection of this nation's latent racial hatred of certain groups. It appears, sadly, that Britain is heading down the same path.

In so doing, it risks turning whole swaths of immigrants into Amadou Diallos. Diallo, you'll remember, was gunned down by four undercover New York City police officers outside his home several years ago despite being an innocent man not involved in any criminal activity.

It should not be hard to imagine that an immigrant approached by men in plainclothes and ordered to halt might get jumpy and want to take off. That's exactly what happened to Diallo.

It should not be hard to imagine that law enforcement officers, primed for whatever reason to think they see bad guys around every corner, might assume that such actions are a sign of potentially homicidal guilt on the part of the suspect. That's exectly what happened to Diallo.

The key, then, is to deal with the reasons law enforcement officers might find themselves primed to see a bad guy where there is none. And that points to the psychology of police work.

By altering the psychological state of London and it's law enforcement agencies, the terrorists have created a climate of fear that has outlived the bombers themselves. That climate has Britain at the point where police have carried out a summary executiuon of an innocent man.

In short, the terrorists have won.

more at www.intelligencesquad.com/id125.html

[Ready4Change]

1. I agree.

They've gotten the UK government to terrorize it's own citizens. At that point the nations state of terror is in a self sustaining loop unless conscious effort is expended to break out of it.

Here, in the US, that loop actually serves the desires of the Bush Administration. Maybe in Britain wiser heads will prevail?

[Benhurst]

2. In view of what has happened,

London's beloved Bobbies, named after Robert Peel whose vision of a professional police force led to the 1829 act of Parliament which created them, should be renamed "Tonies" after the current occupent of Number Ten, international war criminal Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair.

[mcscajun]

3. Some posts indicate it wasn't "bobbies" at all doing the chasing

and shooting...bobbies, after all, not being allowed to carry guns. Plainclothes officers from Scotland Yard were apparently the ones involved here.

UK posters please correct if I'm in error. :hide:

[Benhurst]

4. Thanks for correction, assuming your information is right.

At the very least though, those doing the shooting were officers of the Metropolitan Police, as I understand the reports. Perhaps those special officers should be called "Tonies."

[ochazuke]

5. My take

If it had been a white American girl who'd been shot, our media would be all over this story.

As I understand it, the coppers had the guy on the ground and subdued. Still they plugged him five times over.

This shooting (even if my paragraph #2 is factually inaccurate) makes me more angry than the London subway bombings. The reason is: I don't expect the terrorists to have any respect for human life, but when the Brits of all people adopt a shoot to kill policy like this!...