Terrorism, Mental Health and the London Knife Attack

‘How quick one judges. The warning about taking the draught of knowledge deeply, as opposed to a shallow sip, before assuming all is clear, should be borne in mind. A knife attack in London’s Russell Square by a nineteen-year old youth, leaving five injured and one fatality, becomes an instant magnet for terrorist assumptions and a rampant phenomenon. (True, it was terrifying for those attacked, but an act of terrorism?)
At work here is the surfeit of spectacle, and availability. Images, raw and unprocessed, race through the social media sphere, hurried on by clicks and “shares” with viral purpose. Twenty-four hour channels do the rest, adding spin and padding to what really happened. The packaging, on being released, gives the impression of being unprecedented. We never saw the like, and some such.’
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