Leytonstone terror witness: I sets new standards for heckling like a hero
“Oi! You ain’t got no ticket, bruv”
What do we think of ‘John’, the man who can be heard declaring “You ain’t no Muslim, bruv” as suspected knifeman Muhayadin Mire, 29, allegedly attempted to murder a man at London’s Leytonstone Tube station?
As Mire waits for his Old Bailey trial, the man praised by David Cameron for shouting “You ain’t no Muslim, bruv” is revealed to be a 39-year-old security guard. And he’s no Muslim, either.
He speaks to the Sunday Times:
“Isis should be wiped out, because they’re not Muslims, because Muslims don’t do that. It’s as simple as that. For people to be like that, they’ve obviously got stone hearts, they don’t care about society. They don’t care about anyone. They’re evil, pure evil.”
More vital than John’s views on Islam and ISIS are his actions. This is how the paper describes what John did when he saw the attacks and the blood:
The security guard from north London explained how he walked into Leytonstone Tube station last Saturday and was confronted by a man shouting and brandishing a knife. He pulled out his phone and began videoing the knifewielder, who attacked two men…
One man was left in a pool of blood and required five hours of surgery in hospital.
As police Tasered the suspect and wrestled him to the floor, John leant over the ticket barriers and shouted: “You ain’t no Muslim, bruv. You ain’t no Muslim.”
Someone else might have vaulted the barrier and used their training as a security expert to protect people and maybe help others beat down the assailant. We could be generous and say that John preferred to keep order by making sure the entrance and exit remained secured, thus preventing any fare dodgers or jihadis from causing more problems. Or we could be critical and say that when you see a man allegedly trying to decapitate another man and think you’re presence would be best served watching it through your mobile, you have issues.
John is surprised that he is now regarded as a hero.
He’s not the only one.
“I just said how I felt, to be honest — that just came naturally,” he said.
John’s at heart a documentary film maker.
“This was the first time I’ve seen any major violence like that. It just happened so quick. I tend to say how I feel. I didn’t see the knife at the time, but afterwards I realised. I saw a little flash of something and that’s when I shouted.
Adding:
“I’ve got a kid, he’s 20. He just said, ‘Dad, you’ve done the right thing’. I said what I had to say, and for someone to agree that is close to me made me feel good,” he said.
Because hecklers are heroes, too.
Posted: 13th, December 2015 | In: Reviews Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
