If..Else Log

There's a lot that can be and are being said about the events that happened today and despite the rather frequent news updates that I posted earlier today, I've yet to post anything personal with regards to the attacks.

I'm not going to speculate on what happened; neither am I going to join in the old battles that such events to reignite. All I have to offer are a few words on what I perceived.

On the ground

Despite the obvious shock of the event, there was a relative calm to the whole proceeding. Thanks to technology, news of the events quickly spread and everyone immediately checked to see that all was good with their loved ones. There wasn't really any signs of panic; in fact, a lot of the calls were fairly light-hearted. "Of course I'm alright you big pansy" and such like.

The next course of action was to immediately tune into the various news outlet. In this instance, despite the supposed "news at the speed of thought" nature of the web, the TV coverage was always a step ahead and a chasm more in depth. However, for better or for worse, people would return to their normal routines and get back to work. We talked about what happened of course, but in terms of disruption, it was akin to the unfolding of a big football tournament.

The general atmosphere was more a case of "shaken but not stirred".

On a larger scale

It's important not to understate what happened but it's equally important that we don't overstate the impact. Despite what precautions are taken, despite what measures are rolled out, you can never guarantee that events such as these will not happen. What we can do is mitigate the risk and make preparations in case it does occur, and then carry on with our lives.

From what I saw and heard today, the authorities acted appropriately and confidently. Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair did the right thing in projecting a calm and reassuring message. Within a short space of time, the authorities had isolated and controlled the affected areas. The ambulance services displayed a welcome show of initiative in utilising the buses for ferrying casualties. The emergency services in general worked in a co-ordinated and measured manner. And services gradually returned to normal.

The worst thing that could happen with such events is paralysis by analysis; where you spend so much time thinking that you fail to act. And the best thing that you can do after such events is to go back to your normal life. We shouldn't let an act of lunacy dictate our lives. Our lives are our own and every day we remember that is a day to be proud of.

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