Hope not hate

The worker bee has been a symbol / motif that has represented Manchester for a very long time. I think it harks back to when Manchester had a thriving textile trade and it symbolised the Mancunian workers in the mills and beyond.

The horror of the events of last night at Manchester Arena has continued to amplify through the day. The realisation that for many, the ripple effect has been more of a tsunami of emotion. It's been at the forefront of our minds at work, for some they have been acutely aware and directly affected.

The person who did this was vile, barbaric and utterly without an ounce of humanity. I am not one to feel hatred, but I really do feel so full of contempt for anyone who uses extremist views to justify their murderous intent. To target children and young people this was was especially cold and callous.

Manchester is stronger than those evil people know. Their support of each other and for complete strangers has been inspirational. Manchester, with all of its wonderful communities, of different faiths and backgrounds, stands together, undivided, whilst the region, the country and people around the world stand alongside, with love and hope, not hate. Even when faced with attempts by racists to claim the incident as another reason to continue to spout their own special form of hatred, Mancunians have called that behaviour out for what it is - another example of extremist views.

We will live our lives. We will go about our business. We will shop, eat, dance, sing, meet up, drink coffee, people watch, complain and moan, laugh and love. Attempts to stop us will simply make us more defiant. Our freedom is precious. We will not relinquish it without the very best fight that we can give.

Thoughts are with families who have not yet had answers.

Be excellent to each other

#hopenothate.