So, here we go. Another senseless moment of violence gripping us all. A man killed in broad daylight on a Woolwich street, seemingly targeted purely for being a squaddie out and about. Two men, whatever the whys and wherefores, appear to have simply hacked him to death, then stood around filming speeches about their reasoning whilst waiting for the police to turn up.
It is horrific. It is unquestionably wrong in every way possible.
Now, with that said and plainly stated, I am going to put aside the reasons of who and why for a little while.
The inevitable reaction at this point is one of grief and anger. You will be sad that someone could be struck down like this, and you will be angry that someone dared to think themselves judge, jury and executioner on an apparently innocent and random person. And there is nothing wrong with any of these feelings.
But where we end up with a problem is where this leads to people pronouncing that we should 'Bring back hanging' and even worse a number that stated that we should allow the people involved to be tortured in public as recompense.
Still more are now speaking of Muslims in general and how evil they are, and how we shouldn't allow immigration anymore because it lets in the wrong sort, or that we've lost our identity.
I'll tell you what our identity is. Its a nation of cosmopolitan people, that once included all of the commonwealth - people of different backgrounds, races, colours and creeds - who created a great country where no-one is allowed to be persecuted, and everyone is entitled to human rights.
Everyone.
This doesn't change because of a crime like this, regardless of how public. Think about it for a moment. How many times has something like this happened in our country, but in less public circumstances, and without the 'Terrorism' brand across it? How many times has one person murdered another in cold blood, and never had the situation treated in this manner.
The truth is that we need to be maintaining the human rights of everyone, including the people that commit the crimes, because if you start making exceptions to who does and who does not get treated with basic human rights, then you will make more and more until damn near no-one has them.
It is a lesson that is taught to us throughout history, time and again, that when you change the rules of basic rights to live for any demographic, you introduce change that results in the removal of rights for far more people, and the detriment of society for everyone.
And who is entitled to judge who is worthy of those rights? Who would make those choices as to who can live or die, who can have the right to not be tortured and who will be lynched on the street like the atrocities of old?
Not you.
Not me.
Because we have always got it wrong. It always escalates. It always ends up being a chapter in history that we end up telling our children and giving it impressive names such as Holocaust. Holomodor. Great Purges. Ethnic Cleansing. When we decide a group no longer deserves to be treated with basic human rights.
It is only by applying true societal rules that we can achieve sanity. By all means, these people will be judged, but they are still people. They still must be allowed to stand and made to answer for what they have done, but not placed on a scaffold as entertainment. Not placed on a gibbet for all to see.
These people do not represent Islam. If you read Islam properly, it is just as peaceful or otherwise as Christianity or most of the other religions. I have known countless Muslims, and all of them just as good as you or I. Just as sane as you or I. So don't let the actions of these individuals reflect on an entire demographic.
Whether they be criminals or not, whether they are a particular religion or not, how they did this, why they did this. None of it matters as far as human rights go. You cannot simply dehumanise them offhand for this. Know that they are evil, yes. But still a human.
For if nothing else, the very fact that we, as stiff-upper lipped British folk of different races, colours creeds, religions and persuasions, can stand united and show that our system of rights for all and justice for all will not fail in the face of their actions...
Then we have already won. Their acts will be, in the long view, tragic but inconsequential. We will not bow.
We are one race of humanity, composed of many peoples, all of whom must have rights or you cannot guarantee that any of us will.
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