According to ITV News tonight, the outrage in Nice is the seventh terrorist atrocity in France in the course of the last 18 months.
We are in distressingly familiar territory.
Never mind how often well-meaning people tweet supportive hashtags or candles are lit or British PMs offer to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the French or the First Night of the Proms opens in tribute with La Marseillaise, here we are yet again. What are we to do?
Meanwhile, this morning's Today on Radio 4 laid out the case (through its interviews with a socialist MP, a liberal MP and two security experts) that the main issues were:
Plus (except possibly for the socialist MP who refused to take Justin Webb's bait about the risk of the far-right having its hand strengthened by this atrocity), all of the other interviewees stuck to this same set of narrow messages.
It's all utterly depressing. Muslim terrorists cause terror and our leaders of opinion (including the BBC) try to shift the focus of the blame - and, especially, to shift the focus of the blame away from 'true' Islam; hence all the remarkable streams of circumlocution on Today, The World at One and BBC One's News at Six today.
It's all utterly depressing.
P.S. (Update): As Newsnight begins, James O'Brien is emphasising that the lorry driver has no known links to terrorists. He may just be a lorry driver with a criminal background.
We are in distressingly familiar territory.
Never mind how often well-meaning people tweet supportive hashtags or candles are lit or British PMs offer to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the French or the First Night of the Proms opens in tribute with La Marseillaise, here we are yet again. What are we to do?
Meanwhile, this morning's Today on Radio 4 laid out the case (through its interviews with a socialist MP, a liberal MP and two security experts) that the main issues were:
- the failure of recent French government security measures
- the long-term failure of the French authorities to properly engage with people who are prone to being radicalised
- the sense of alienation that lack of engagement engendered along a particular part of the French population.
Plus (except possibly for the socialist MP who refused to take Justin Webb's bait about the risk of the far-right having its hand strengthened by this atrocity), all of the other interviewees stuck to this same set of narrow messages.
It's all utterly depressing. Muslim terrorists cause terror and our leaders of opinion (including the BBC) try to shift the focus of the blame - and, especially, to shift the focus of the blame away from 'true' Islam; hence all the remarkable streams of circumlocution on Today, The World at One and BBC One's News at Six today.
It's all utterly depressing.
P.S. (Update): As Newsnight begins, James O'Brien is emphasising that the lorry driver has no known links to terrorists. He may just be a lorry driver with a criminal background.
No comments:
Post a Comment