Unhappily, it's not that unusual of a reaction. People - whether in the United States or anywhere else - simply don't have a rational idea of risk. The idea that, because of the terrorist strikes last July, local educational authorities in Florida would turn down the chance of a lifetime for 140 kids to march in a parade in London is just plain stupid. What would the decision be if the Fort Myers High School band was offered the chance to march in the Thanksgiving Day parade in New York - would Lee County say that since there had been a terrorist attack in New York, "we don't think it's worth the risk"?
I sure hope that wiser heads prevail and they get to go.
All trips involve risks, and there is no way that you can avoid them entirely. I think, however, that the possibility of any one individual (or 140 individuals, for that matter) being the victims of a terrorist strike in London absurdly remote. The possibility of a missed connection, an upset stomach or a lost suitcase is far greater than being the victim of a crime.
Even in an area where there is supposed to be disturbances, the risk of something happening tends to be overblown (and you can use your own common sense in deciding on the spot whether or not the situation may get out of control.) Just one week ago, I was in Paris (visiting Paris
Disneyland, of course!) at the same time as there was a massive demonstration against the proposed youth employment law in France. My hotel happened to be two blocks away from where some anarchists (who were trying to incite the otherwise overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrators to violence) set fire to two cars and smashed the window of a store. To get to dinner, we had to pass through the line of march two times, and didn't have any problems at all. We joined many other Parisians in an outdoors cafe who were relaxing over their coffees and Pernods, totally oblivious to the demonstrators only a block away. A few days later, I read in the newspapers that not only Americans, but other tourists were avoiding all of France because it was too dangerous.
Another example: over the past years, I remember quite a few people reporting in on the Dis boards that they had decided to go to Orlando even though there was the slight possibility of a hurricane - and when they got there, they were able to enjoy all of Disney World pretty much at leisure, since so many had cancelled their plans.
Come to think of it, I might start planning our vacations on the basis of newspaper headlines ...
