We have a strange notion of heroism. We’re constantly urged to be courageous, to challenge bigotry, to ‘call out’ racism, sexism, homophobia, hatred and discrimination in all its forms. Those who report online trolls to the authorities, deface sexist advertising or burn supposedly discriminatory tabloid newspapers are commended for their bravery and heroism. But what happens when someone shows real courage? What about someone like Luke Rutter?
Rutter, a 22-year-old from Birkenhead, Merseyside, was killed this month while fighting ISIS. He secretly left the UK last April to join the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), because he ‘wanted to fight the fascist organisation of ISIS’. Last week, during operations in the suburbs in Raqqa, he was killed in an ISIS ambush.
It takes extreme bravery to fight ISIS. So what has been the response to Rutter’s heroic death? Have lefties celebrated his commitment to fighting fascism? Has the no pasaran slogan, so often used to conflate modish contemporary activism with the battles of the Spanish Civil War, been wheeled out in defence of his actions? Has there been a demand for a medal to be awarded posthumously to him by the queen? The YPG called Rutter a martyr, but has anyone in the UK celebrated this hero’s sacrifice? No – the response to Rutter’s death has been virtual silence.
When people die from terrorist attacks in the UK, we mourn by celebrating their lives – and rightly so. Martyn Hett, the ‘Coronation Street superfan’ and victim of the Manchester attack, was celebrated and mourned on national TV, along with other individuals who tragically lost their lives. It is right and proper that victims of terrorism are mourned.