Editor's Blog May 24th 2012
Armchair Warrior
A war is being fought, a war that has been raging for hundreds of years. It’s not fought with cannons or with muskets or even with Assault rifles and grenades. No, this war is being fought with words and as of recently with a keyboard and an Internet connection.
This is a war that is not being fought by soldiers either, at least not any soldier worth his weight. Soldiers seldom require words to carry out the task that have been issued to them.
Armchair warriors will call to arms, hiding behind their computer monitors, as do politicians and the more vociferous militant racist waste of skin that exist solely in the ethereal world of the world wide web.
It’s all about spreading rumours, hate and ultimately fear. They do this in the comfort of their own home or in their office with a hot beverage in-between carrying out their daily tasks.
Misinformation, hearsay and conjecture are they order of the day, with smatterings of hate. What occurs in reality is seldom what is voiced on the message boards of social media. Everything from twitter to facebook pulsates with a creature that has been brought to life by the new breed of warrior, sat in a swivel chair with further life being blown into the lungs of the beast by the machinations of politicians, who on one day is giving candy to kids and the next day taking it away.
My distrust in politicians is my own and not entirely unfounded. I am a strong believer in action rather than words, I also see things in black and white, and therefore I see no reason why politicians should work in shades of grey. Of course I am not the smartest tool in the box, but at one point I was definitely the sharpest.
With the local security forces hands tied to international law, issuing limp warnings, which the Spanish choose to ignore, the situation is made worse by the complete lack of any tangible comment issued by the likes of The Convent, The Government, The MoD and Police; all citing when asked that they are not in a position to give away any information due to operational reasons at this moment. My Grandmother would always say ‘If it smells like shit you can bet your last pound that it is’. I ask what operational reasons?
What moment is better than now? The general consensus with the man on the street is one of fear and muddied third hand information; surely these are the sparks that could reignite the ever-smouldering embers of dissent into a raging fire.
When Governments do nothing and misinformation takes root and it is taken as the truth, the people, rightly or wrongly, will inevitably take matters into their own hands. Something that can be avoided by issuing clear statements and showing strong action as demanded by the people.
Ed.
