I see what you are saying Andrew .. but I also understand that he was emphasising that these wanton and cruel acts do not make us buckle. As I watched events unfold in the small hours today, I was struck by a word used by one reporter there .. an air of defiance in the way people outside the arena responded .. that courage and will to help those fleeing the arena, from first responders and arena staff who put others' safety before their own, to the people of Manchester who came out to help those escaping the arena, right down to the taxi driver from Liverpool who had drive over with a group of cabbies to offer free lifts home to Scousers.
Yes, today I feel great anger at such a callous and wicked act by some deranged and cruel person; heartache for all those directly affected, for those slaughtered, those injured, and all those who are today stunned by grief or in vigil at bedsides; horror for those parents who have no idea if their children are safe or not, and for the city of Manchester and its arena where I have spent so many joyful evenings. just as last night should have been for so many .. and such sadness that it was ruined, even for those who escaped safely. But above all a deeply sad despair at such senseless acts of terror that will never bring us to our knees.
It's also terrible that despite all the safety and searching of people going into a concert we now have to find ways of maintaining security as they leave .. a nightmare, as thousands all move out en masse to catch public transport, get to their cars, or in the case of young people to find parents who have come to take them home.
Wicked, senseless, pointless and devastating. Yet again I am reminded of the words of Blue Sky .. When will we hear and live by these words ..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaKlLevzEzc