Please pray for those who lives were cut short in Manchester Arena Bombing

[bright rabbit 1]

Last night at 10:33 PM 22 people were killed, and 59 injured in the Manchester Arena bombing.

Please pray for all those who are missing and who were killed.

[Artemesia's Garden]

Praying here. Another shameful day for humankind.

[Koudoawaia]

I have been praying. That whole thing is just beyond terrible.

[Carrehz]

We were up all night watching the news when it hit. Just terrible My thoughts are with those who lost loved ones.

[EnaRocketQueen]

We did a minute's silence at our college this morning. It's so sad, especially as those killed were so young...My thoughts are with their families it must be so terrible for them

[lovesbabysquirmy]

It is so sad but also so very hard to NOT talk about it.  Most of my Internet haunts have strict rules about how we are allowed to discuss these things.  *pony hugs to all*

[ladybastilla]

A sad day indeed. My prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones or had people close to them injured. I pray they find peace and healing. May those who have heard of or witnessed this tragedy stay strong and not give in to despair.

Be safe, everyone.

[Taffeta]

It's just a sick feeling, especially the age of so many of the victims. Not that it's okay that anyone should be attacked doing something completely innocuous like going to a concert, but when it's targeted at a place where so many young people are going to be impacted, it makes it worse.

There were apparently army out in London today, and increased police presence, though I have to say I went to university to invigilate exams today and I didn't notice any difference. My university is very cross-cultural and it was really nice to invigilate exams for such a mixed group of students who were all there together in one room as classmates and friends looking to progress their education. I just wish that everyone felt that way. I just don't understand why people who don't like our way of life choose to stay living here. I mean, it's a free world, you don't have to live in our culture if you don't like it, but not liking it doesn't mean you get to kill folk...

As for staying strong, the UK is pretty defiant historically about events like this. We've had enough incidents in the past, with the IRA and all that unpleasantness and we have been targeted by these people before as well. The issue for me isn't the country as a whole, because it will make zero difference to the country as a whole and how we live/view the world. And, to be honest, our police are pretty good and thorough about rooting out those involved and stepping up security as needed because of that history. I think Manchester had IRA incidents as well in the past; it's certainly not the first time Manchester has been the victim of a terrorist attack, albeit the first one of this nature. As a country, therefore, we're metaphorically likely to stick two fingers up and just get on with things until everything calms down.

 For me the heartbreak is the incident as it happened on a personal level. It's with the children who won't get to grow up and the parents who won't get to see their kids grow. One couple were killed and they had just come to collect their kids. Those girls were orphaned in a split second, and it's just one of a bunch of horrible stories.

I can't help but think this was a deliberate attack on women, too, as the concert was Ariana Grande and most of the people attending were young women and girls. (Not all the victims are girls, but it just seems that way to me)

In my opinion, I think two points here really need to be kept in mind when considering this tragedy.

One, the people doing this are mostly those with criminal records, not people of religious conviction. If they were religious, they wouldn't be doing this. They're not muslims. They're criminals.

Two, this has affected us in the UK this week, and Europe and the world have reached out to us, which is great. But it is happening in other countries and other places too, often without our knowledge or without regular global news reports. It's shocking here because it's the first big bomb attack in 12 years. But there have been so many innocent victims of terror that we maybe don't hear about and their families need thoughts and prayers too.

[Leave a Whisper]

Doesn't surprise me, but it does disgust me. People like this are backward and sick in the head.

*prays for the healing hearts of the victims and their families and that the psychos who think its okay to do stuff like this will one day get their act together and start to act like rational, compassionate human beings*

[tulagirl]

Sigh there are just no words for me right now over this.  It is just so sad and I can't imagine what the families are going through with such a senseless, tragic loss.

[lostpony]

Thanks for starting this thread.

Best wishes and condolences to all who are affected directly or indirectly by this tragedy.

[Beldarna]

I am so saddened by this. All those lives ruined because of some fanatics.. I am so sorry for all the friends and family of those affected.

I just don't understand why people who don't like our way of life choose to stay living here. I mean, it's a free world, you don't have to live in our culture if you don't like it, but not liking it doesn't mean you get to kill folk...

Interestingly enough, I saw a video with footage made by IS women a couple of months back. They stood there and condemned our way of life and showed pics of how good they had it with their lives in the area controlled by the Islamic State. The pics where of them shopping clothes from an american or european brand (don't remember which one), ate candy from Germany (Haribo) and had cellphones from Japan (Sony). My mind was so confused. Like they don't like our way of life but like what we create. o.O

[Leave a Whisper]

I am so saddened by this. All those lives ruined because of some fanatics.. I am so sorry for all the friends and family of those affected.

I just don't understand why people who don't like our way of life choose to stay living here. I mean, it's a free world, you don't have to live in our culture if you don't like it, but not liking it doesn't mean you get to kill folk...

Interestingly enough, I saw a video with footage made by IS women a couple of months back. They stood there and condemned our way of life and showed pics of how good they had it with their lives in the area controlled by the Islamic State. The pics where of them shopping clothes from an american or european brand (don't remember which one), ate candy from Germany (Haribo) and had cellphones from Japan (Sony). My mind was so confused. Like they don't like our way of life but like what we create. o.O

Brainwashed or indoctrinated. Whatever you want to call it. They've been taught their whole lives how they must think, act, speak and believe. This is why fanatacism must not be allowed. It  creates a bunch of trapped crazies who bring unspeakable harm to themselves and others.

[Taffeta]

Those videos are also mainly propaganda, since the actual reports coming out of IS controlled areas from residents paint a different story.

Judging by the unity in Manchester following this, they really chose the wrong target. As a Briton I am the first to admit a lot of weird and stupid stuff comes out of this country. Not least Brexit. But in a crisis we do tend to show our best side. Probably the end result is that the attack will make the country stronger, not weaker, which is not what they intend, but pretty much the way this nation tends to work.

Since the attack there have been more people out on the streets in various different places. Big crowd events have gone ahead, like the cup finals and the Radio 1 event in Hull. The streets of London have been as packed out as ever with locals and tourists, especially as this is a holiday weekend and the weather has been good for once. In fact, I think the computer outage at British Airways has had a bigger impact on people's travelling than the Manchester atrocity.

National levels of defiance are no consolation for the families involved though, and the awful weight of the tragedy on their shoulders. And that is the bit that honestly I still have a hard time with. I'm not scared, but I am angry that someone was depraved enough to think it ok to kill kids. I don't like the bombing in Syria either, and nor do many people over here, but that's a decision made by our government without consulting us, not by eight and ten and fourteen year old girls at an Ariana Grande concert.