Two minutes silence to remember London victims

[Miller]

If we had a moment of silence every time someone somewhere in the world died tragically, no one would ever speak again.

Obviously, this idea has some advantages.

[Celyn]

Sorry if this is a bit old now, but I hapened to read this article today, re. the “silence” thing.

@MGibson

I’m cuious, does anyone know if these moments of silence were common in the past? Did the United States have a moment of silence after Pearl Harbor was bombed? How about when Custer was defeated? Has this always been common or is it a more recent occurance?

Marc

http://www.sundayherald.com/50801

…
It’s generally accepted that origins of the minute’s silence lie in the commemoration of Armistice Day and an idea first mooted by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, formerly High Commissioner in South Africa.

Fitzpatrick had instituted a daily three-minute silence in the colony in 1916 as a means of marking the roll call of dead, also a daily occurrence. On November 4, 1919, he wrote to Lord Milner, secretary of state for war and a signatory of the Treaty of Versailles, suggesting its implementation across the Commonwealth. “Only those who have felt it,” he continued, “can understand the overmastering effect in action and reaction of a multitude moved suddenly to one thought and purpose.”
…

[grimpixie]

@WotNot

Perhaps if I was a better kind of person, I wouldn’t need a couple of Yorkshire teenagers to remind me to care for my fellow man – but apparently I do.

Perhaps I’ll be a better kind of person tomorrow.

Very well put.

[TwistofFate]

Sadly, tragedy is now branded and used to increase circulation or advertising rates.