British black humour a weapon in fight against terrorism

You can always trust the British to handle bad news in the most unexpected way.

In fact, so much bad news of late has given us plenty of opportunity to hone our special skills. From Brexit (depending on your point of view — either the worst thing to happen since Boris Johnson or the best since the return of Strictly Come Dancing) to the terror attacks of recent weeks, you can guarantee the stiff upper lip will kick in and we’ll find a way to say — in the most polite way possible — up yours to those who try to destroy us and our way of life.

Outside Britain, there were many people shocked by the apparent levity this week of social media posts about the now-famous picture of a man running from London attackers with a half-finished pint still in hand.

The posts varied from praising his thriftiness in an area of London famous for expensive ale, to those saying he deserved a stiffer drink.

Contrary to some commentary, I don’t believe the posts belittled the severity of the situation, nor were they designed to demean those who lost loved ones.

Black humour is a part of the coping mechanism for Brits and the ultimate f... you to those who would try to tear us down. In response to the New York Times headline after the latest attack, suggesting Britain was “reeling”, we posted pictures of real reels ... those danced by the Scots or Irish and suggested alternative “disasters” that left us truly shocked using #thingsthatleaveBritainreeling.

Those included people who insist on making tea in the microwave or losing half your digestive biscuit to the bottom of your teacup while dunking.

As a survivor of a terrorist attack, watching the area where I was born targeted again by people who deserve far worse than a body full of bullets, I can assure you I don’t take such acts of extremism lightly.

But I can also assure you that, like my fellow countrymen, I will not allow these bastards to get me down. If that means I fall back on the sense of humour ingrained in my DNA as a Pom, so be it.

I’m off to dunk my digestive and pray I keep it in one piece, because I won’t let a coward with a knife or bomb scare me.

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