Should The 'angels Of Woolwich' Get An Award For Bravery?

[sp1814]

I can't think of a good reason why not.

Can anyone?

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/give-woolwich-angels-medal-for-bravery-8644819.html

[naomi24]

Fred, I'm sure I read they tried to hack his head off - but as you say, a terrible outcome anyway.

[emmie]

that was reported by a number of bystanders...

[FredPuli43]

The decapitation was reported from a first report at the time. It fits a narrative; Islamic terrorists who have captives are disposed to decapitate their victims, so it would be natural to think that of these terrorists , armed as one was with a machete, did that.

[voulezvous]

I don't believe lives need to be saved for someone to show outstanding bravery, often with disregard for their own safety.
These women had no idea what may have happened to them in the face of guys with knifes and guns.
They chose to comfort a dying man, and reason with two murderers..........it doesn't come much braver in my opinion. Most would have run away as fast as they could (me included).

[naomi24]

Fred, so if it came from eye witnesses, which being a first report, I presume it did, why do you think that didn't happen?

[Peter Pedant]

I can think of a few

They didnt tackle the men with an award in their minds

(unlike the countless time servers and placemen who move not their asses unless a pay rise is in the offing)

They may not wish to be seen to be in the same basket as
time servers, faceless bureaucrats and party donors
party lobbysits, adulterers and perjurors


The issue with gongs nowadays is that one has to 'earn them' so step forward countless faceless eurocrats who have battled long and hard often in foreign languages over the clotted cream schedules

I went off ginging and gonging when I heard that the Honours Committee was agonising over whether Nobel prize winners deserved the very hard-to-earn honours they themselves had. [given themselves]

[Peter Pedant]

No Fred is right -

Honours committees are like that (do you sit on one Fred)

Hacky head off (or attempt) - then gong (small one of course, save the big ones for the permanent secretaries)

no hacky head off - no gong

[sp1814]

Here's why I think they deserve an award (bear with me...it's a bit convoluted)...

It's not so much for their bravery, although they did show admirable selflessness...it's because we (or perhaps just I) need something cathartic to come out of this.

When someone acts so inhumanely, we (I) need something to tell us, "There IS good in the human spirit".

What these fine women did is the polar opposite of what they saw.

They not only comforted Lee Rigby, but by extension, the rest of us.

Does that make sense?

[emmie]

it does.

[voulezvous]

Well put SP1814

[Peter Pedant]

yes it does make sense sp1814

( for which reason it will be ignored by the great and good doling out these things )

[naomi24]

SP, it's philosophic, but I don't need something to tell me there is good in the human spirit, so that didn't occur to me at all.

[jackthehat]

Don't forget that these two murderers were still armed with their knives/cleavers/machetes at the time that 'The Angels Of Woolwich' made their stand.

They couldn't have been sure that neither of the fruit-loops would take it into their tiny minds to attack them or any other bystanders.......and yet they still behaved with great compassion and dignity.

Perhaps in some small part they *did* prevent additional loss of life? And even if they didn't I couldn't think of two more worthy recipients for 'any' gong going.

[voulezvous]

agreed, Jackthehat!

Which brings us back to their outstanding bravery, in my opinion!

[jno]

thereare several gongs going... but for the reasons I suggested before, I don't think the George Cross is the one, others have undergone much more terrible trials to earn that one.

I don't know about "Pride of Britain", though, that always sounds like a brand of biscuit to me.

[emmie]

three women, two comforting or even praying for the soldier and one standing up and trying to engage the other man with bloodied hands.

[voulezvous]

They didn't walk away. They stayed, when two madmen were still present. Brave by anyones standards!

[Peter Pedant]

Oh God one viddy shows a MCE englishwoman pushing a push chair past -
clearly getting the child out of danger - the blood drenched man.


Perhaps it should be the I-didnt-walk-on-by award.


(DOI I fell over in the street - sober - and someone hauled their push chair over me)

[voulezvous]

Takes all sorts, Peter, but these women were plucky.

Personally, I'd never pass someone in distress by. I've helped out more than once with elderly people. One had fallen and ended up with a broken hip, the other collapsed with a heart attack behind the wheel. I still remember the lovely letter his wife sent, thanking me for helping. Unfortunately he died, but still, I tried to help and that was appreciated.