Somewhere between apathy and death.

The website was sinister in its simplicity. In large letters, "8.45am
24th October 2009". Underneath was message exhorting readers to post
this date everywhere, and finally, an explanation of what was expected
to happen.



"We can bring a western nation to its knees without killing. To give
oneself to Allah is the one true calling, but those not ready to take
the Final Step can still help their brothers in countries where their
persecution continues. The decadent infidels will learn what it means
to be occupied! Get on a train, and at 8.45am, pull the emergency stop
cord. Book a flight, then ground the plane by whatever means you can -
even by simply refusing to wear your seatbelt. Park your car across a
busy street. Stand in the doorway to a shop or a bank. Spray paint on
the windscreens of cars stopped at traffic lights.



"The decadent infidels prize money more than life - how else to explain
the slaughter our brothers and sisters have undergone in the West's
quest for oil? One suicide bomb can achieve great things - but make no
mistake, you are part of a community. And a community can achieve far
greater. We have thousands of soldiers! We can stop every plane, ground
every flight, block every road. A million acts of defiance can destroy
a society which demands absolute, mindless compliance. We will flood
their prisons. We will sneer at their pathetic demands for fines. Three
stolen cars parked across the motorway round London will cause misery
to millions of people if we do it once - but if we do it every day for
a year...



"We can do this. And then, next day, we can do it again. And again. And again…



"First we will target the UK. It is dangerously close to gridlock
already. We can stop the whole country up for months. Many will come
from all over the world, posing as tourists..." and so on.



When this occurred to me, this morning in the car, it seemed like the
most sinister thing ever - civil disobedience using a vast,
international, mobile population to bring a nation to a complete
standstill. After all, if there are hundreds of angry young men willing
to die, how many more are there who would laugh at a mere monetary fine?



In the cold light of day, it seems a bit less terrifying.