ciphergoth: (Default)
Paul Crowley ([personal profile] ciphergoth) wrote2005-07-14 12:05 pm

Two minute silence

At 12:00 BST today, London and many around the world observed a two minute silence for the 48 people who died in the terrorist attacks on London on 7 July.

During those two minutes, approximately 42 children worldwide died due to poverty.

We are not going to let terrorists cause us to lose perspective.

[identity profile] simm42.livejournal.com 2005-07-14 11:37 am (UTC)(link)
Really? You dont think its worse that 42 children died because we in the west couldn't be bothered to give them the money instead of spending it on an over priced coffee of a fuel guzzling lump of metal? That we ignore that fact?

I think that is far worse. What happened in london atleast had a reason behind it, a message they were trying to convey. The reasoning was insane, the message stupid and the delivery barbaric, but to let children die because we as a whole just cant be bothered to fix it?

No there are far worse things that can and do happen in this world and our hands are dirty from them.

[identity profile] adjectivemarcus.livejournal.com 2005-07-14 11:42 am (UTC)(link)
No, I do not think we should ignore it. I apologise if you took me to mean that.

I think we should fight poverty and terrorism. Death from neither is 'better' than the other.

[identity profile] simm42.livejournal.com 2005-07-14 11:47 am (UTC)(link)
Both should be stopped.

Deffinatly.

But I think the billions being put in to add new liberty infringing anti terrorist messures could have far far better uses.

The scales of the problems are confused in politics and the responses disproportionate to the actuality

[identity profile] ajva.livejournal.com 2005-07-14 11:51 am (UTC)(link)
to let children die because we as a whole just cant be bothered to fix it?

You dont think its worse that 42 children died because we in the west couldn't be bothered to give them the money instead of spending it on an over priced coffee of a fuel guzzling lump of metal?


This isn't the way I see it, actually. I don't think it's possible to fix poverty by just giving people money. That might seem counterintuitive, but I genuinely believe it. I certainly don't think we are ignoring poverty. I understand and share your frustrations that poverty can't be cured with the click of a finger; the fight goes on to address the underlying problems and I think we are actually beginning to tackle them effectively. It will take time, but I am an optimist. I genuinely believe we will get there in the end.

[identity profile] adjectivemarcus.livejournal.com 2005-07-14 11:53 am (UTC)(link)
I genuinely believe we will get there in the end.

I believe this too.

If not in their lifetimes, hopefully within ours.

[identity profile] simm42.livejournal.com 2005-07-14 12:11 pm (UTC)(link)
I agree - giving people money or food isn't going to fix it - but it is going to take money to fix the underlying problems.

Things like wiping out the debt of poorer countries, setting up fair trade laws and sorting out farming subsidies