We have all heard urban legends and most of us have been taken in by them, be it the gruesome tale of the Doberman choking on a burglar’s fingers or the poodle in the microwave. It is heartening to seethe David Blunkett (whose recent diaries have made him about as popular in labour circles as a turd in a swimming pool) is equally gullible.Blunkett seems to have fallen for the “person who does an Arab a good turn and is advised to stay away from x on such and such a date” tale. It is a tale that seems to have been given new life since 9/11 but it is older than that. Years before when the IRA were still committing acts of terror the story would, have been about an Irish man telling someone to stay out of x. Natually it never happened.
According to the BBC the tale crossed David Blunkett's path in late 2001. An entry in his diary reveals how he had spoken to an old school friend, who had heard the story involving the return of a wallet to an Arab man and a warning not to be in London on 11 November.
"I immediately registered the significance of this," Blunkett wrote at the time. "The 11th of November is Armistice Day, the one day in the year when all leading politicians from the three parties, the Queen, other members of the Royal family, and the leading personnel of the armed services are in the same place at the same time - a known time, in central London. I decided that I should at least tell Tony Blair as it was absolutely clear that nobody had fully thought through the significance. We agreed there was no way we could possibly cancel Armistice Day, but we were certainly going to have to take increased precautions”. Then later: "Sunday 11th of November: And we've come through Remembrance Sunday safely. All the worry was for nothing, thank God."
According to Albert Jack, author of “That's B*ll*cks: Urban Legends, Conspiracy Theories and Old Wives' Tales” The tale dates back as far as a myth surrounding the Hiroshima bombings in which Americans were apparently warned to get out of the city before the atomic bomb was dropped.
The urban legend is essentially modern-day folklore The stories may have an element of truth, they may reflect public fears or they may simply be morality tales updated for our times. Where once they spread by word of mouth the internet means that they travel the world with far greater alacrity, often as cyber-age chain letters
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I am surprised I missed this story. It was aware of it until I checked the breaking news section on the Fortean Times website. Althoughit may not be quite as good as it was 20 years ago when it was a labour of love with a circulation of about 2000, the Fortean Times is still a worthwhile read – Truly no FT, no comment! I would highly recommend Snopes which is a goldmine or urban legends
David Blunkett urban legend
2 comments:
A work colleague told me that one of her friends received a similar warning shortly after 9/11. She was amazed when I told her it was an urban myth.
A few months later she turned the tables on me. When I recounted a second hand tale relating to the foot and mouth outbreak, she informed me that it had been a story-line on Emmerdale.
Doh!
Turn about is fair play I suppose but we've all been caught, Roger
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