Originally Posted 27-July-05
On Friday, an electrician from Brazil was shot in the head five times by police who suspected he was a bomber in London. When they tried to stop him, he ran (apparently his Visa has run out). This is surprising for England. There is a general abhorrence of guns that I never saw in the States.
So I walk through London at lunchtime and wonder whether it is likely I would ever be mistaken for a bomber and killed on site. Then I realized that it was unlikely– because I’m white. London is full of Muslims like no US city I’ve ever lived in has been. It must be terrible to have this weighing on Muslim parents minds when their kids go out– will they too be mistaken? This electrician wasn’t even Muslim–he was just brown. What a terrible blunder.
It makes you think– would you rather live in a world with terrorist activity (and risk of death every day) but knowing the authorities are on your side?
