"You ain't no sympathiser with mental illness, bruv!"
On December 5th (my birthday, incidentally), 29-year-old Muhaydin Mire of Leytonstone attacked three passengers on the London Underground using a 3-inch knife. The attack, which took place at Leytonstone Station, left one victim with serious injuries and the other two with minor stab wounds. At the height of the assault, the perpetrator was heard to say, "This is for Syria" and "blood will be spilled", leading police, the media and the public to interpret the attack as a "terrorist incident". In response to Mire's words, one man was heard to shout, "you ain't no Muslim, bruv", prompting the hashtag #YouAin'tNoMuslimBruv, which denounced those who use the Islamic faith as a reason for their violent behaviour, to trend on Twitter. The Guardian noted that the phrase was "a perfect riposte to attempts to spread violence and terror in London", while The Independent stated that "the phrase has become a unifying call among peo...