The bombing in Manchester, England, brought a raucous, joyous night of music and dancing to a terrifying, tragic end.
Photo by Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images.
The blast between Manchester Arena and the adjacent Victoria Train Station near the end of an Ariana Grande concert left at least 22 dead, dozens more injured, and hundreds stranded near the arena.
As we've seen in too many cities around the world, attacks like these — which put the worst of humanity on display — often also bring out the best of humanity. The attack in Manchester was no different.
If the goal of terrorism is to terrorize, the city failed to give the perpetrators that satisfaction — at least for now.
Dozens offered their homes to people stranded by the bombings.
If you need a place to crash l live around the corner from Manchester Arena on Jefferson Place. Feel free to contact me #roomformanchester— Gez B (@Gez B) 1495495011
#RoomForManchester 10 mins taxi from city centre, can provide a safe place to stay, a cup of tea, charge your phone, please message me— laura (@laura) 1495496666
I live in sale close to the arena, I'm free to pick anyone up! I have a spare room and I can drive people home !! #RoomforManchester— Demi❤️ (@Demi❤️) 1495499860
Taxi drivers, many of them Muslim, offered free rides to scared concert-goers.
@X5265015119 It was a Muslim who pulled up in his taxi and drove us home to safety. A very compassionate man who wa… https://t.co/M3e0frI0HL— hannah (@hannah) 1495504563
One taxi company even offered their headquarters as a shelter.
Anybody stranded can stay a night in Streetcars headquarters #ManchesterArena #ArianaGrande #MENArena #RoomForManchester #PrayForManchester— Street Cars (@Street Cars) 1495499623
Manchester residents lined up to give blood.
Long queues forming outside a Manchester blood centre. Some feeling helpless, and some enthusiastic to help. https://t.co/FaWg3j0SWk— Jason Gallagher (@Jason Gallagher) 1495529921
Blood banks told potential donors eager to help they were already full — but urged people to keep pre-made appointments.
In response to last night's tragic incident in #Manchester - we have all the blood required for hospital patients a… https://t.co/jAtRey0djQ— Give Blood NHS 🩸🩹 (@Give Blood NHS 🩸🩹) 1495533691
People brought food and hot drinks to police officers the morning after...
#ManchesterBombing People treat police with tea and sandwiches https://t.co/667fAeyNdv— Pavel Кulyuk (@Pavel Кulyuk) 1495531661
...and distributed water to those who remained near the arena where the bombing took place.
Most importantly, people helped others find their missing relatives on social media.
How amazing is social media https://t.co/7IoycnAjGZ— k (@k) 1495497251
Terror attacks are frightening. That's the point. But Manchester — like London, Paris, Mumbai, Madrid, and New York before it — refuses to be twisted into something it's not.
What the attackers likely expected was chaos and mayhem. What emerged was an open-hearted city full of people who have each others' backs in times of crisis.
Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images.
There are forces that want decent people to be cowed, panicked, and angry in the wake of terror. The perpetrators of violence depend on it, and the people who leap to highlight divisions based on religion and national origin, even before the nature of the attack is fully known, thrive on it.
For now, in Manchester, the love, support, and sense of community is drowning out the hate.
It's a lesson the world shouldn't have to learn over and over again.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."