(no subject)

[cleolinda]

A bit of humor. As an American, I have to say... yeah, no one freaks out better than we do, so guilty as charged. Also? Mmmcake.

We. the undersigned, express our sympathies for the American victims of the London tube bombings. Many Americans fell victim to craniorectal inversion, such was the force of the blast. The bombings did not respect class, nationality, or geography, and missed more people than it hit, though a lot of these victims of craniorectal inversion were newly recovered from Acquired 9/11 Dislocated Victim Empathy Syndrome. It was also discovered that the severity of both conditions was directly proportional to the geographical and social distance to each event.

We, the undersigned, believe that therefore it is the responsibility of the Internet community to raise Internet dollars and present these unfortunate victims with money to buy a sense of humor. And also to bake a cake that looks like the British flag, because they like doing that sort of thing.

Comments

[elbales]

Buh?

[elbales]

w00t first post!
/fangirl

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I got the link from Fandom Wank. Apparently a lot of people who were not actually in Britain today and are not, in fact, even British are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Particularly, a few people in metaquotes who were like, "OMG U CAN'T JOKE ABOUT THIS TRAGEDY!" Meanwhile, actual British people have reported that they spent the day making tea and joking, "If France wanted the Olympics THAT bad, they should have just said something!"

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

Heh. Craniorectal inversion. Clever clever.

Cake!!

[mandy0x.livejournal.com]

I had to look that one up. I'm like, craniorectal? I had to get my etymology on. I was like, cranio = head, and rectal = butt, but that can't be! Then I was like, ohhhh it's a euphemism!

[soberloki.livejournal.com]

Bwaaahahaa... The Internets are now safe for democracy. I have signed the petition.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

Dude. Your icon rules.

[the-wanlorn.livejournal.com]

Heh. Did you read the wank that spawned that?

Hours of entertainment it was! Trolls are cute when you're in a good mood.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Heh, yeah--I fished that link out of the FW entry. Seriously, I was worried because I've come to know several people on LJ who were in harm's way, and then I felt a sort of general downness the rest of the day, because... you know, the way you do anything you hear about something terrible. It's so bizarre to me that people--Americans, unfortunately--would march around telling anybody else, particularly people OVER THERE, how to deal with something.

[redmapletree.livejournal.com]

Craniorectal inversion.

*gigglesnort*

[okaasan59.livejournal.com]

*is mesmerized by your icon*

[25775423.livejournal.com]

lol i'm glad i live where i do - it takes the rest of us in Canada a month to hear what happened outside of our country, and by that time, there isnt any fear left

[rhoswen-rosier.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I like, thank you for giving me something to make me smile. (c:

[prncssaurora.livejournal.com]

Bwahaha. So true, and I am also guilty. I've been reading today's Metaquotes... gotta love those Brits.

[majormeg7.livejournal.com]

One of the American reporters interviewing witnesses of the bombings kept trying to lead them, asking "so...did the bombings make you angry?" When people said the bombings made them shocked and sad, he kept poking at them, "but...you must have been angry?" I could just feel the man trying to coax some innocent Brit into bursting out with a "all the buggers must die!!111!!!OMG."

[sorchar.livejournal.com]

Hahaha. I adore the Brits so much and I must go sign this petition.

[rebel-waltz.livejournal.com]

now i want a cake that looks like the union jack. i wish i was good at making cakes.

[edda.livejournal.com]

*icon love*

[ashenmote.livejournal.com]

Tragedy trolls like too_soon_grl or whatshername are a different topic, but the overt fussing and worrying about the well-being of your friends and acquaintances is a very charming american trait, really. Besides, it gave the brits something to be smug about and that's what friends are for.

[token-girl.livejournal.com]

*smug* Yup. That's why you're our "special friends". *smug*

Seriously, as much fun as it's been being snarky about the USA until my boyfriend limped safely through the door, thanks to everyone who's sent good wishes to people on and off line. I don't post much (except OMG M15M is soooo awesome!!) so you probably don't even remember me, but it's much appreciated.

[yarha.livejournal.com]

Ah, well, immediate tragedy can be safely joked about by those who are the closest to it. For those further away to joke is a bit..uh..uncool? crass? In bad taste? Oh, I know! BAD FORM!

In other words, we, as Americans, are required to feel worse about your tragedy than you might by our own code of 'behaviour'. *cough*

Yarha, NONONO, SIT! BAD FORM!

PS: "On this day, we are all Londoners."
Only, like, dude! Don't try and feed me kippers for breakfast and whatnot.

[ninepointfivemm.livejournal.com]

The one thing that's really awful about yesterday was that everyone (and I mean everyone) got their panties in a twist worried about me. Which is endearing, to say the least, but it does get tiring to answer 50 IM boxes at the same time when I am clearly online and clearly not dead.

I think residing in England for 3 weeks has already loosened me up from the OMG FREAK OUT AMERICANISMS. My English friends? "Oh, you're alive. That's good." My American friends? "OMG I AM SO GLAD YOU'RE SO SAFE." *shakes head*

[bell-witch.livejournal.com]

I do not feel like such a dork, then.

When everyone is running around with the capslock posts about how glad they are that all of their friends are safe and giving *hugs*, I'm sitting here wondering what to say.

None of my f-list are in London proper and everyone is okay. I am happy about that. But I know that none of them are in London and knew they'd all be okay. I hope none of them lost friends or family, because that would suck. But I'm not a melodramatic squee-queen and am pretty much in the 'cool, they're alive' state. There are so many people begging to know that everyone's all right that I don't want to add my voice to the din. Seems stupid to me.

Of course it's nasty and sucky when these things happen. Those who plan them mean for it to be nasty and sucky and for stupid politicians to go off and say stupid things about how we'll catch the bastards when we won't, and so on.

I think it was The Onion that had the 9/11 cartoon of two smouldering towers with the caption 'Holy Fucking Shit!'. Not politician-worthy by any means, but it's what a lot of us were saying. I stand by my crassness. I make macabre jokes in dark times. We laugh or we'd cry. I still get the chuckles thinking about the idiot doctor who couldn't talk to me until I'd washed my face back when I was in med-psych. I OD'd, deliberately. Had to drink activated charcoal. My lips were black. I'd been talking to doctors and other people all day, but this dork couldn't deal with a black-lipped patient. My sister was in the room at the time, and he walked out until I could wash my face. She and I were totally ragging him to shreds for being a wuss. Not a situation for joking, but that's how I am.

I don't blame the French, because they're not militant enough to plan anything so vicious. Not since Napoleon died.

[chexzies.livejournal.com]

*snickers* Silly Americans. Oh wait, I'm one of them. xD

[dramedy.livejournal.com]

I'm not british, but i had all that "God that's sad," mood and then they were explaining it(it should be said that i don't understand Japanese news at all), and they put one near King's Cross, and my thought was 'They were trying to piss off the Harry Potter fans, and they MISSED.' then i felt all guilty and shit.
still...maybe it was france?

[yarha.livejournal.com]

maybe it was france?

Doubtful, as France would only go as far as recalling all their chefs in the UK and letting people subsist on native cuisine. A cruet fate!

Yarha, Crewel Lye

[queencallipygos.livejournal.com]

I observed two very different reactions yesterday. I'm still scratching my head at the contrast.

Both from Americans. First guy's family moved to London for a few years when he was a teenager -- about 20 years ago. He was all serious and saying, "I took one of those tube stations; that could have been me." ...Even though it was 20 years ago. Okay.

The other guy's parents are in London right now, and his whole reaction as soon as it happened was, "Wow. ...Pfft, the folks are probably fine." And he went on with his day. (His folks were in fact fine, and nowhere near the blast.)

[tari-elanesse.livejournal.com]

hey ended up here from your m15m site and as a brit my dad travels to london everyday n i was like hes fine...i guess we worry but we dont obsess or panic or wteva. However when he got home like half our friends had called to check he was ok. its weird i mean its not like this is new folks anyone remember the IRA they tried to scare the crap outta us for years....failed.

[bibliotech.livejournal.com]

*dies*

[shesnotallthere.livejournal.com]

Ya know what saddens me the most about all this? America's reaction to the London attacks proves how completely we've ignored the rest of the world.

Of COURSE, Londoners aren't going to be OMGSOSHOCKED by a bunch of explosions. They're sad, and they're worried, and they're not taking it lightly...but after Hitler's blitzes and the IRA blowing shit up every other week, they know how to deal, as do most other nations...terrorist attacks are really only uncommon HERE, in the States.

I think that's why the U.S. was SO thrown by 9/11. The sheer magnitude of the attacks was part of it, but so was the fact that, while the rest of the world has been dealing with this for a WHILE, we were pretty oblivious. We're still having a Terrorism Lightbulb Moment, hence the knee-jerk reactions.

[witsendlw.livejournal.com]

True but not true. Terrorist attacks are also uncommon in Canada. On the flip side, Canadians have to deal with having us as neighbors, so that probably makes up for it.

hee.

[gothicsquirrel.livejournal.com]

I like that article :)
I think the reaction that I felt to finding out was "Oh, no you don't!" like in the Punch and Judy shows, for some reason... And the headline on the front page of a newspaper this morning was "The message from London to the bombers - Go to Hell."

There was a story in a different newspaper with the headline "Why is it that Londoners don't DO panic?" Hmmm... And meanwhile, people who have been to London, like, once, are runnning about like headless chickens going "OMFG I've BEEN there!!!!!" Yes... And? I've been twice, and plan to go again this summer (we live up North and are always looked at strangely because of our Yorkshire accents when we go down South :D) and we recognized some of the places on the photos, which felt weird.

The Queen and Prince Charles and Camilla were visiting victims in hospitals yesterday, which was kinda nice.

Awesome!

[rectpropagation.livejournal.com]

I think some people took Blair too literally when he said this was an attach on all nations.

I got so angry at CNN when I got home from work and heard what happened. They were talking about ramped up security in New York and before they went to commercial they said they were going to talk about American celebrities in London when they came back. I was like, "Dude, it's not about us!"

I had to watch Fox News to find out what was happening in London. Fox News! This is unforgivable.

[witsendlw.livejournal.com]

I find myself similarly appalled at the way Americans are OMGSOFREAKEDOUT by London being bombed.

And I offer this discussion from the WashingtonDC community where the feelings of annoyance are mutual: we're shocked! (http://www.livejournal.com/community/washingtondc/958232.html)