Nationwide Minute Silence For Tunisian Victims.

[Gromit]

Why?

[Mamyalynne]

I give thanks everyday that I am here, cared for and lucky and spare thoughts for those who aren't, that is my upbringing.

[Sqad]

A difficult one.

On balance, i tend to agree with the "feelings" of Gromit.

I don't know any of them and the terrible atrocity hasn't altered my life in any way.

Selfish am I?

[jno]

Mamya, I can do that (and have) without the government setting aside a minute for me to do it in. It's one thing to commemorate those long dead who fought for their country in, say WW1; but those who died only days ago, and are fresh in everyone's memory, hardly need this sort of official intervention. Of course I can ignore it, but it still raises the question of why it was done in the first place.

[Gromit]

Why was there not a National Minute Silence for Drummer Lee Rigby?

[Baldric]

I reported the OP not because I disagree with it 100%, but for the implied lack of respect indicated by asking it in the first place, it really did not need to be asked and when the silence goes ahead you do not have to join in if you don't want to.

[jno]

very few questions need to be asked, Baldric - but do you have an answer to it, and to the points others have raised? What exactly is the moment's silence meant to do?

[-Talbot-]

Did we have this debate when the French had a minutes silence for 'Charlie hebdo'?

And that minutes silence was observed by people from many parts of the globe.

[Baldric]

You've really not understood my post @ 1544 have you jno?

[Prudie]

Either observe it or not. Not very nice to say they don't deserve it. Silences have been held at football matches for players who've died haven't they? It's just something we do when we are powerless to do much else. I shall certainly observe it.

[jno]

you could argue (though I personally don't) that the staff of Charlie Hebdo died for the much broader principle of freedom of speech. It's hard to say that tourists in Tunisia died for any such cause. They were just innocent victims of a madman.

[jno]

I took direct issue with one of the things you said in your post, Baldric, and asked if you had an answer to the question; which so far you haven't.

[Prudie]

The fact they died for no cause makes it worse IMO.

[-Talbot-]

What exactly is the moment's silence meant to do?


What exactly is any moment's silence meant to do?

[Gromit]

Baldric,
Two posts but but no answer to my question. Why?

[mushroom25]

//What about a few seconds to consider the 5,000 children worldwide who died from malnutrition on the same day. //

who would you blame for that canary - a planet that clearly shows a complete inability to support an unsustainable human population?

[jno]

Talbot, I did try to answer that at 15.39. I think there's a logic behind official commemoration of great events at a time when personal memories have faded, though it won't go on for ever (we only remember Waterloor and Agincourt at 100-year intervals these days).

But I can't see the point of "commemorating" an event that only happened a few days ago. Yet what else will the silence do?

[chaptazbru2]

I will observe it.

[MallyJ]

I wonder why I may be expected to show respect for people or persons I don't know and who have done nothing to earn my respect by the very fact I did not know them. Their deaths are tragedies for those that knew and loved them not for anyone else. I wonder how much the media is using this to create fear and, it could be said, hatred of others. Did we feel the same when the IRA (funded by Americans) were killing in England? Did we honour those killed at the time?

[Prudie]

So we shouldn't care about anyone unless we know or love them? That would bring the end to charity for a start. Because of the circumstances I do find this a tragedy - lying on a sunbed and being machine gunned - horrendous