Chin Up: British Papers Poke Fun at Terror

July 06, 2007 3:18 PM

Dana Hughes Reports:

Chinupbritish_mainKeeping with the tradition of a "stiff upper lip," newspapers in the United Kingdom are publishing cartoons, poking fun at the circumstances surrounding the foiled terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow last week.

The Daily Mail published a cartoon showing a man on an operating table asking a doctor, who's reading a manual on how to perform an appendectomy, "Before you start, Bernard, are you absolutely sure all the NHS doctors are terrorists?"

Another cartoon shows a patient on an operating table being told by a doctor, "I'm afraid there's been a slight mix-up -- the surgeon has inserted a detonator instead of a pacemaker."

Michael Clarke, a terrorism expert from King's College London, says using humor to address scary national security situations is part of British tradition.

"Black humor has always been part of the culture here. If something is regarded as being beyond humor, it's too serious," says Clarke.

He draws a parallel of al Qaeda and terrorism in the U.K. to the threat of Hitler.

"During World War II, we always regarded Hitler as funny. There were newsreels and cartoons poking fun at him," says Clarke.

Clarke says the cartoons that are being published following the most recent attacks are not surprising.

"The British use humor as a way to cope, to say, 'Let's get on with it.'"

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July 6, 2007 in U.K. Bombing Attempts | Permalink | User Comments (40)

User Comments

Use humor to deal with terrorism rather than spreading fear as our administration does over here. Novel concept? I wonder which way is the most consistent with the goals the terrorist are trying to achieve???

Posted by: Roy | Jul 6, 2007 3:29:18 PM

Ahh, that's cool! Seriously!

Posted by: mark | Jul 6, 2007 3:55:02 PM

They are being dishonest with themselves. That fact is that they are only laughing about it because these specific British Jihadist attacks were unsuccessful. Statistically, all of the British Jihadists will not be unsuccessful in their terrorist attempts, and then such articles will be looked back on with embarrassment.

Posted by: Jeff | Jul 6, 2007 4:06:34 PM

Roy - the answer is simple - an enemy at war with you wants to kill you - what is the best response - to ignore them or to fight them? Only those who continue to ignore that Jihadists are waging war don't understand this.

Posted by: Karen | Jul 6, 2007 4:17:43 PM

....It's a "little" funny...Ha Ha, but wait until something "like this" does happen, who will be "laughing" then?!!
Think about it......

Posted by: Kim | Jul 6, 2007 4:45:08 PM

Jeff, I doubt that. The bombing runs to England during WWII weren't all unsuccessful either. Yet still they coped with the typical British humor overlying their typical British iron.

Posted by: hawkechik | Jul 6, 2007 5:02:42 PM

The Brits have almost 2000 years of history behind them. During that time, they've been bombed, burned, raided, razed, and so on. We're talking about a country whose sailors sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" while their ship (HMS Sheffield) was sinking. They're long past the self-pity and victimhood that's all the rage here in the states.

Posted by: Ed | Jul 6, 2007 5:13:37 PM

It is racist is what it is. "All" asian doctors are terrorists? Asian doctors like to install detonators into patients.

White British racism.

Posted by: amil | Jul 6, 2007 5:22:18 PM

And what do you intend the British should do about it Jeff? Sit there and actually worry? There will always be some scumbag somewhere that wants to blow someone up for some reason or other. Should people change their lives and sit there in fear? It's never going to happen. I guess these terrorist morons think that they can somehow "win." They should think again. If there is a successful attack and people look back at these comics, I'm sure they won't look back with embarrassment. I'm sure they'll laugh just as hard then as they do now. And that will be exactly the right thing to do.

Posted by: informedone | Jul 6, 2007 5:43:21 PM

Jeff, you just don't get humor.

Posted by: Deb | Jul 6, 2007 7:11:57 PM

The British people have always been an inspiration to me. No matter how bad the situation is they work together for the common good. I applaude them and their humor.

Posted by: susan | Jul 6, 2007 8:03:34 PM

Beep Beep... Those terrorist probably went to the Wiley Cayote School of Bomb Making ...

Posted by: Miguel | Jul 6, 2007 8:27:13 PM

I congratule the british on their approach to terrorism by poking fun at the latest acts of terrorism. God forbid a successful terrorist attack, because I rather laugh at it than cry about it. Long live the Queen.

Posted by: Edgar | Jul 6, 2007 8:27:34 PM

No Jeff, they are not being dis-honest. The truth is that the British - as a whole - will not be scared into submission. You only have to look at the US after 9/11 to see what happens when fear grips a nation. The consequence of fear is the retraction of personal freedoms in the name of "security".

Posted by: Matt | Jul 6, 2007 10:39:10 PM

I saw this article and had to reply. I am English and live in England and so saw the cartoons. I also live near a city that was bombed 11 years ago as well as in World War Two and know bombings are serious and humor might be a strange way to cope with terrorism but over here we cope with terrorism in whatever way we can including humor. We have dealt with terrorists for centuries and being vigilant and dealing with them is part of the British way of life. Terrorists win not but by how we deal with it. All these threats make us more vigilant but we can’t let it affect our lives too much. I got on a tour bus in New York after 9/11 and the tour guide asked where we were from when we said we were from England he said "well they're scared of nothing" and it is true. As Winston Churchill said "We will never surrender". We will deal with it with humor and what is now known as “The Dunkirk Spirit”

Posted by: Alison | Jul 7, 2007 3:30:26 AM

You're all saying 'if' a successful attack happens. But does anyone remember the 7th of July 2005? 52 people dead, 700 injured. Three bombs on underground trains and one on a bus.

Posted by: andrew | Jul 7, 2007 4:25:16 AM

At least the majority of the British aren't as stupid as the majority of Democrats are.

Posted by: John Kantor | Jul 7, 2007 4:49:46 AM

The Daily Mail published a cartoon showing a man on an operating table asking a doctor, who's reading a manual on how to perform an appendectomy, "Before you start Bernard, are you absolutely sure all the NHS doctors are terrorists?"

Eh, I'm pretty sure the man in the cartoon performing surgery isn’t a doctor. Just an ordinary guy carrying out an operation on a dining table in a house (with the help of the kids).

Did Dana Hughes even look at the cartoon?

Posted by: Nic | Jul 7, 2007 7:27:16 AM

Dishonest - What planet are you on. Us Brits have been dealing with terrorism for years and defeated it (N Ireland). The last5 thing we want is the american way of dealing with it. Remember which country raised funds for the IRA Terrorists....The USA. The USA conveniently forgets this.
Dishonesty = USA = IRAQ.
Humour is better than blind rage (IRAQ).

Posted by: Lee (UK) | Jul 7, 2007 7:29:17 AM

As a Brit who regularly travels to the US on business I sure wish that the American authorities would "lighten up" a bit - that way you might actually catch some terrorits whilst retaing simple human dignaties.

Posted by: John | Jul 7, 2007 7:30:49 AM

Edgar, Edgar, Edgar the Brit have past many laws which give the police and goverment much more room to investigate suspects and many of these new laws have been pasted in the last few years.

And please tell me Edgar exactly what personal freedow of yours have you lost?
Now come on and tell us or I'll think you just another person who doesn't know what the heck your talking about.

Posted by: positiveman | Jul 7, 2007 8:58:00 AM

Yes dishonesty and denial. UK has lived in dishonest denial about the Islamist scourge in their nation, which they have allowed to grow. UK is the largest non-Muslim nation exporting Jihadists in the world, with British Jihadists in Israel, Somalia, USA, around the world. This is more of the same denial, which someday will come back to haunt Britons. Nearly one year ago British Jihadists tried to kill thousands of Americans with jetliners. But those in denial believe that British Jihadism is a laughing matter.

Posted by: Jeff | Jul 7, 2007 10:25:38 AM

Alison, as an english person in England I spell humour H U M O U R.

Posted by: Brit | Jul 7, 2007 10:31:48 AM

Loads of jokes doing the rounds here: ‘One of the suicide bombers at Glasgow Airport has just been named as .... Sinjed Injeep!’ or ‘Apparently Al-Qaeda has decided next time to pack their bombs with breakfast cereal. They still might not explode but at least they’ll go snap, crackle and pop.’ Not all that funny but there’d be something wrong if people weren’t joking about it.

Posted by: mickbonton | Jul 7, 2007 5:10:58 PM

That's OK, Jeff. You can think what you will. As a dual citizen I am proud of how people in my home country deal with horror. Make fun of it, yeah.

Sinclair

Posted by: Sinclair Hugh | Jul 7, 2007 9:37:04 PM

I would find it rather astounding if our esteemed cousins did NOT laugh about an apparently bungled attack. Whilst some here in the US might cower at their shadows, consider these events,

Blackouts, falling bombs, V1 and V2 rockets, and all the while overhead, over your homeland, was an air battle for your very survival.

The US has never experienced anything remotely like this. Pray we do not.
I for one, praise their humor and courage. They have been through the fire.

Posted by: Tar and Feathers | Jul 7, 2007 10:42:58 PM

World War II was a long time ago. Very few Londoners have any memories of it. What nearly all Londoner do remember, very clearly, is 25 years of IRA bombs. These bombs weren't planted by London based jihadists. They were planted by Irish Christians and paid for by American Christians. For most of my adult life bombs have on occasion exploded in my city. I was close enough to the Oxford Street bomb to hear it going off. That one killed a young bomb disposal soldier. This sort of thing is new to you guys but we’re old hats at it. Y’all need to develop a sense of perspective. After the 7/7 bombings London Major Ken Livingstone said; ‘Whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail.’ That’s 100% correct and it’s important not to forget it. We will win this fight because we have right on our side and because we don’t give up.

Posted by: Mick Burke | Jul 8, 2007 3:39:07 AM

Mick says: "We will win this fight because we have right on our side and because we don’t give up." This is NOT the IRA you are fighting. And the British Jihadists believe precisely the same thing as Mick does. Until the UK takes this enemy seriously, the UK will continue to be used as a planning and logistics base by British Jihadists for attacks on the USA and other countries, as well as on UK itself. There are 40 British Jihadist terror cases yet to go to trial, with over 100 terror suspects, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. As former MI-5 chief said today: "It remains a very real possibility that they may, sometime, somewhere attempt a chemical biological, radiological or even nuclear attack".

Posted by: Jeff | Jul 8, 2007 5:14:33 PM

It' s so funny, from the cartoon, we know the Brits much more life style. It's Brits spirit.

Good Luck, God bless Brits.

Posted by: Michael Cool | Jul 8, 2007 9:57:35 PM

As an Conservative Englishman, living 20 miles from our Capital, I agree strongly with some of the stiff upper lip laurels which have been slung over our collective shoulders. They are I assure you well placed - broadly speaking. Americans should be aware, however, that there is a growing minority of English who better fit descriptions seen on this notice board, i.e. fearful, reactionary, overtly suspicious etc. I also note reference to WWII (and don't forget the scores of death in WWI Zepplin raids). Remember that the psychology is different - air raid sirens + mass building evacuations is not the same as the possibility of a suitcase packed with explosives at an airport. And yet the spirit is the same - one of resilience.

Posted by: Cheetawatch | Jul 9, 2007 9:06:16 AM

"...UK has lived in dishonest denial about the Islamist scourge in their nation, which they have allowed to grow. UK is the largest non-Muslim nation exporting Jihadists in the world.... Posted by: Jeff | Jul 7, 2007 10:25:38 AM"

Try looking at it another way. It is successive weak governments which have allowed the above scenario, which is accurate, to foment, not the British people themselves. it si a situation which has been quietly accepted for decades - with intelligence services tied up with the USSR and the IRA at the time. The British Spirit, on the other hand, is a unique ability to get on with life without bellyaching at every turn. About getting on in spite of problems which, generally speaking, governments cause or assist with.

Posted by: Cheetawatch | Jul 9, 2007 9:12:03 AM

The British will go down in history as a nation of fools, to concerned with political correctness than their own survival.

Posted by: Andy | Jul 10, 2007 9:58:42 AM

Many years ago when we first went to live in the UK, the IRA bombings were in full swing and I remember with great happiness a tv interview with a middle aged, very ordinary British worker. On being asked if he had been frightened when a bomb exploded on the tube (train) he was catching to work, he replied "no" (to the evident consternation of the reporter who was expecting histrionics) "because I was standing behind a British Rail sandwich". 30 years have gone by, but British Humour still rules - thank goodness.

Posted by: kim | Jul 11, 2007 1:20:37 AM

Hey George! "You've covered yourself, now get out" Now, would be great.

Posted by: Richard | Jul 11, 2007 9:41:50 AM

Brits are afraid of nothing? Their extraordinary immigration problem would indicate that they are deathly afraid of being branded as "racists". Now they're chuckling at the consequences of their "tolerance" while congratulating themselves on their bravery? Cowardice brought them to this point. People deserve what they tolerate.

Posted by: Geo | Jul 13, 2007 7:39:31 PM

Brits are the most smart people in the world. I applaud their attitude. That is why more than half of the civilized world speak English!

Posted by: Nora | Jul 13, 2007 10:50:08 PM

Re: Dana Hughes Reports. Of course I realize there are larger issues here, but talk about getting your facts wrong!
The cartoon is not a man on an operating table talking to a doctor. It is a woman on a kitchen table talking to her husband.

Posted by: sbauer | Jul 14, 2007 11:22:02 AM

theres a msg from amil saying that the british are racist forusing the word all asian doctors are terroists efering to the joke about detonators and pacemakers. hey amil, wherever you are-- i am also an asian and i dont believe in terrorism. being asian can also include chinese, japanese,indians,filipinos, vietnamese, thais etc and christians, buddhists, hindus and muslims. do u see buddhists, hindus and christian asians bombing and maiming innocent civilians in the west. they keep their wars within their territory as in sri lanka.

Posted by: krishna | Jul 15, 2007 12:45:06 PM

With friends like the Americans, who needs enemies, eh?

For those thinking that the British can only do this because the attacks failed, maybe you didn't hear about the jokes being made as people made their way calmly from the trains of 7/7, along the lines of 'ah well, at least we got the Olympics.' Hearing that made me prouder to be British than anything in recent history.

Of course, maybe we are just more used to being a target for bombings after all those years of American-funded IRA bombing campaigns, but we would still appreciate a little more respect from our friends across the pond for having basically put ourselves into the position of number 1 terrorism target while they get over the trauma of 9/11.

Posted by: Keith B. | Jul 19, 2007 8:33:09 AM

To all those bad-mouthing the British for our reaction to the Glasgow attack
I am British, my grandparent's generation joked about Hitler when his airforce was bombing our country, my parent's generation mocked the IRA when they were setting off bombs in London and now my generation is doing the same thing with a bunch of sad jihadi nutters. Lots of people died in the London attack in 2005 but we made jokes about it because that is how we deal with life and death in my country.

Posted by: Nick | Jul 20, 2007 11:58:36 AM

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