Yes, once again I quote the wise and famous words of Cpl. Jones from Dad's Army, even if, when he uttered them, he was always in a state of high panic! (If anyone asks you exactly what 'irony' is, use that as a perfect example!) Anyway, it is perhaps a bit early for me to offer this advice because as usual the GBP (Great British Public) show no signs of panicking in the face of sundry Islamist 'loony-toons' shooting them or trying to blow them up or chopping their heads off if they're actually daft enough to travel to Islamic countries. In my lifetime there was real cause for panic what with the Germans raining bombs down on our cities killing and wounding tens of thousands. Of course, I, being a true blue Brit did not panic because, er, well, actually I was only around two to four years old at the time and I had been evacuated to safety - pheeeeew! Had I been older, of course, I would have done a 'Cpl. Jones' with all the histrionics at my disposal! But wimps like me apart, the Brits of WWII did what they're awfully good at - they just got on with things the best they could.
Thus it is today but the contemporary GBP has to cope with a factor not experienced by our WWII generation, another sort of 'GBP' - the Great British Press! Even a glance at the WWII press gives an impression of quiet, factual reporting of events and, yes, I know they were under censorship rules but even so the language was restrained and sensible. Can we say that of the reportage of Islamist attacks on British people today? Well, they sort of try but, alas, I can only give them 'E' for Effort. The drive for sensationalism is such that all balance goes out of the editorial window. TV news with its relentless 24-hour coverage leads the way by showing the same gory pictures over and over and over.
One thing the media could lead the way on is language. I always used to smile at the amount of time various Communist parties spent on choosing the exact word or phrase to convey an idea, whether true or, usually, false. Thus, today, thanks to the media, all we hear about are 'terrorists'. Now that word has a definite romantic appeal to certain kinds of people, you know, the sort who still worship the memory of that disgusting, psychopathic 'scrote', Che Guevara. We need another word to define them more accurately and bring their image more into focus. 'Psychos', perhaps, or just plain 'Loonies'. Young people in particular might not be quite so keen to join an outfit generally referred to with disdain and derision.
I'm with you there. If instead of getting your faces on Time magazine you got no mention of name, just the title nutters go berserk in school and then put all their failings as a reason with no positive news or pictures. Could even make a few things up as they do now for their political patrons. There would be a lot less mass murders.
Posted by: Lord T | Sunday, 05 July 2015 at 13:33
How about "pathetic losers"?
Posted by: Cuffleyburgers | Sunday, 05 July 2015 at 13:35
Saddoes
Posted by: Cuffleyburgers | Sunday, 05 July 2015 at 13:36
Well, I wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, so I just call them Islamofascist savages. Who can possibly object to that?
Posted by: Backofanenvelope | Sunday, 05 July 2015 at 13:44
Well said, m'Lud!
Like #2, 'Cuffers', a single word strikes home particularly in a headline.
No, no, BOE, that's just what we don't want! They will adopt that a sign of pride.
Posted by: David Duff | Sunday, 05 July 2015 at 15:06
How about "sodomites"?
Posted by: Backofanenvelope | Sunday, 05 July 2015 at 15:54
That's more like it!
Posted by: David Duff | Sunday, 05 July 2015 at 16:04