Originally Posted by civilservant

My wife just said to me 'why are they calling this a terrorist attack?' When I said because it was clearly a bombing she said 'yeah but it could have been an american'.

Unfortunately for many Americans terrorist = muslim.

Originally Posted by yellowroom

I haven't seen a single post on this thread expressing pleasure in yesterday's terrible events. I think you need to take a deep breath and re-read the thread fully. No-one is saying what you think they are saying.

Originally Posted by MarylandNed

That's like wondering why Palestinians born in Israel have a problem with the Israelis. The fact is The Troubles were directly created by oppression - e.g. religious intimidation, discrimination in jobs and education, gerrymandering of political boundaries, police intimidation and the absence of "one man one vote." That situation of course was borne of a much longer history but let's at least acknowledge the circumstances that ignited the whole thing. I'm not condoning the IRA or their methods (or the loyalist groups either - let's not forget them) but they didn't mount their murderous campaign to preserve real ale, save the whales or bring back red telephone boxes.

Originally Posted by SultanOfSwing

a) I know why the Palestineans have a problem with Isreal.

b) that has nothing to do with what I posted.

Again, the similarity is from both the way it was carried out (widely/well attended public event - i.e. Enniskillen/Omagh) and by the fact that many think it was US nationals involved, rather than Islamists.

I didn't go into the whys and wherefores. Those (wrt the Troubles) are entirely irrelevant here.

Originally Posted by Giantaxe

Great, but so what? Al Qaeda can make similar rationalizations for their terrorism as well.

Originally Posted by MarylandNed

See that's the thing. People want to decide for themselves what is and isn't relevant. They think they can mention the IRA because the IRA used bombs and bombs went off in Boston yesterday. And they think they can mention "Irish Car Bomb" and also mention that Americans (including Bostonians) raised money for the IRA. And then they think that should be the end of it because they've had their joke, made their insinuations and snide comments, and now no-one else should take it any further. Er - sorry - but this is an open forum and you don't get to decide what is and what isn't relevant when you start making stupid comments that, ironically, really were not relevant at all to begin with.

Originally Posted by MarylandNed

See that's the thing. People want to decide for themselves what is and isn't relevant. They think they can mention the IRA because the IRA used bombs and bombs went off in Boston yesterday. And they think they can mention "Irish Car Bomb" and also mention that Americans (including Bostonians) raised money for the IRA. And then they think that should be the end of it because they've had their joke, made their insinuations and snide comments, and now no-one else should take it any further. Er - sorry - but this is an open forum and you don't get to decide what is and what isn't relevant when you start making stupid comments that, ironically, really were not relevant at all to begin with.

Originally Posted by MarylandNed

And they think they can mention "Irish Car Bomb"

Originally Posted by SultanOfSwing

All I made mention of was the similarity in style of the attack and how it seems to be of a domestic origin, rather than foreign. That was it. Yeah, I'm backing up a few members because I feel you have popped in with an axe to grind and have in my opinion chosen the wrong thread in which to do so.

Originally Posted by MarylandNed

And JerseyGirl, just because you feel like you're beating your head against a brick wall doesn't make you right. It might actually be a sign that you're wrong. Try to remember that.

Originally Posted by MarylandNed

And what on earth does any of this have to do with what happened yesterday?

I lived in Northern Ireland through the absolute worst of 'The Troubles' and I experienced things that I'm still trying to forget. I see nothing good in glorifying that period at all and I see no need for sick jokes. I don't even know how we got on this track because the suggestion that the IRA had anything to do with yesterday's events is one of the most ludicrous things I've heard.

My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by yesterday's horror and with the law enforcement officials who are tracking down whoever was responsible. Let them do their job and hope they bring the sick coward(s) responsible to the full force of justice. Let's stop speculating and jumping to conclusions - especially ridiculous speculation that begets really bad and inappropriate attempts at humor.