Good sense finally overcame irrational fear yesterday as parents of the Fort Myers High School pupils voted to let their children risk their lives right here in Lononistan:
American pupils are to be allowed to take part in London's 2007 New Year parade after a ban over safety fears was overturned. Florida officials stopped Fort Myers High School pupils taking part over fears of "trains blowing up" in the wake of the 7 July bombings. But organisers protested and pupils' parents overruled the decision on Thursday night, voting 87% in favour.
Our favourite American of the moment Herb Wiseman, a modern Confucius, had already uttered such deep proclamations as "we don't have trains blowing up in America". And a jolly good thing too as Londonist has a soft spot for the American train system after spending five weeks Amtraking from coast to coast, doing our best to get to know the place up close and personal.
It'd be easy to list all the horrible things that can happen to you in the US as British officials did when this silliness first made the press, but in all honesty we've travelled to America many times and always had nothing but a great time. We're happy that these kids now have the opportunity to come here and get to know our city first hand instead of buying into and repeating the nonsense of dickwads like Wiseman.
Perhaps there's still hope for the States to wake up from its fear driven, self destructive isolationist stance... Travel does indeed broaden the mind.
As long as you're not doing it from inside an armour plated humvee.
Previously:
