Britain: The Sob Factor – Quiet grief and private dignity are now things of the past.

City Journal ^ | November 11, 2004 | Theodore Dalrymple

[quidnunc]

Three British soldiers, members of a famous regiment called the Black Watch, died recently in a car-bomb explosion in Iraq—the first British soldiers to perish this way in the terror-plagued country. For a few days, the British press and broadcasting media treated the event as if nothing else in the world mattered. The reaction was little short of hysterical, no doubt to the encouragement and pleasure of future car-bombers.

As is now usual whenever tragedy strikes, the press and broadcasters went straight to the relatives of the victims and asked them what they felt. Quiet grief and private dignity have become things of the past in contemporary Britain, replaced by sensation-seeking and shameless prurience. Journalists recently swarmed the survivors of a recent train crash and the doctors treating the injured, looking for tidbits to stimulate the jaded palates of the folks at home.

A sibling of one of the dead soldiers said in an interview that his brother had not volunteered in order to die on foreign soil but instead to bring home a paycheck. He never expected to go to war. Moreover, he believed this war to be wrong: ergo, Prime Minister Blair had innocent blood on his hands.

We may marvel at a society in which people join an entirely volunteer army for the pay alone, allegedly unaware that their lives might one day face danger at the orders of the government, whether they liked it or not, as if an army were some kind of alternative social security. Will medical students one day complain because they never knew they might one day see blood and death?

-snip-

[Pukin Dog]

The early comments of relatives and friends of the dead should never be taken seriously. The MSM is terrible for the way they seek quotes from these people that fit their agenda, and ignore comments which don't.

[squidward]

"A sibling of one of the dead soldiers said in an interview that his brother had not volunteered in order to die on foreign soil but instead to bring home a paycheck. He never expected to go to war."

Anytime I hear somebody say this I feel like smacking them. What the hell do they think the military is for?

[nmh]

It's nearly always sad when someone dies. I say nearly because I consider Arafat's death a blessing. Of course the emotional driven left will bring any kind of emotion to new heights. They also don't approve of this war so they will increase the crescendo of their feigned grief accordingly.

[nmh]

"Raw, undigested emotionalism now prevails in the British press and broadcasting media, whatever the subject. Weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth in public are almost compulsory if one does not wish to appear indifferent to the sufferings of others. Sobs are the ultimate argument, the QED of our age. The stiff upper lip belongs to a Britain that is no more."

Nor America either. Look at how liberals have reacted to the creep, Kerry not being elected. Some are seeking the help of a psychiatrist.

[Edgerunner]

The people who lived through the battle of Briton are rapidly dying off, and those left were never threatened in their lives, due to the protection of the USA. One must expect these people to have no clue of the true danger or nature of the world around them. Only when they have suffered near annihilation will they understand their peril. Seems that Europe is also headed for catastrophe and there is nothing we can do to stop it, short of what we are doing right now...

[BenLurkin]

The reaction was little short of hysterical, no doubt to the encouragement and pleasure of future car-bombers.

Exactly. The Wwest is riddled with shameless traitors.

[Darkwolf377]

"Look at how liberals have reacted to the creep, Kerry not being elected. Some are seeking the help of a psychiatrist."

You'd think they'd have sought that help back when they first considered supporting Kerry, but better late than never.

[bubman]

Feminism and male emasculation. The end of a civilization being witnessed before our very eyes.

[eastsider]

I can't help thinking that attitude puts them in greater danger.

[trueblueconservative]

LOL...couldn't agree more! But they'll want our taxes to pay for their 're-education'

[Darkwolf377]

I think they'll form AA-like groups, where they hide in basements and pretend they're rebels who meet in secret because they don't like Bush. When in reality no one gives a damn. But admitting that would make them feel less special.

I bet we will soon see a kind of cult reported with a little symbol they'll wear on the lapel. They'll walk by each other, see the symbol--probably a crying baby would be best, but you know how they are about babies--maybe a coathanger or something--and they'll nod and smile. They will model themselves on the early Christians, feeling all cool and subversive.

Of course, when people find out about their little secret society they don't turn them in, they just laugh at them.

[skepsel]

I liked one old vet's comment to me when the guy from the 1/124 FLANG deserted after 3 years active time and 5 in the NG because he suddenly discovered he'd become a CO. Said Bob, "What, did he think they gave him a rifle to keep him from putting his hands in his pockets?