Smeaton and Scot street fight back against terrorist

NY Times:

The hometown newspaper in Glasgow counts six people worthy of the red carpet treatment for subduing two terrorists trying to crash a truck laden with fuel into the airport. Other reports focused on at least two names, Michael Kerr and Steven Clarkson, who was said to have “floored” one of the men.

But only John Smeaton proved to be a natural born Internet star.

Mr. Smeaton, a baggage handler, was one of the first witnesses to emerge in coverage of the failed plot on July 30, most notably in long interviews on the BBC and CNN.

Smeato’s star turn on the BBC.

With a heavy local accent, strong chin, close-cropped hair and ample doses of machismo, Mr. Smeaton started off his story with a sequence fit for an action hero before the climactic fight. Cigarette in mouth, he told himself “What’s the score? I’ve got to get this sorted.” After that, he didn’t take on 54 bad guys single handedly, but he was one of several people who got to get in a lick — actually a kick — against one of the terrorists.

The next day, many news stories, including The Associated Press, used his quotes, but only about color from the scene, not any personal deeds.

Meanwhile, the Internet celebrity machine kicked into gear, this time by Mark Tortolano of Glasgow. By creating johnsmeaton.com, he hoped that “a couple hundred people might have a bit of a laugh,” he told The Wall Street Journal.

The site struck an irreverent tone that was irresistible across the Web, providing comic relief to the very serious coverage in the main news outlets. And many more than a couple hundred added to the tribute, including a poster of Osama bin Laden regretting his clash with the baggage handler.

Also, thousands joined the John Smeaton Appreciation Society on Facebook, and even Wikipedia’s gatekeepers let this particular celebrity into its encyclopedia (Others aren’t so lucky).

It’s hard to say at this point how much of this has to do with John Smeaton himself — or “Smeato” as they call him — and how much is simply fun on the great Web playground, trading jokes and images in an effort to top one another. But the quality and collaborative nature of the comedy is enough to wonder if Wikipedia should create a competitor to The Onion.

Now, big news outlets are doubling back to cover the craze, further fueling Smeatogeddon. He was labeled “A new Braveheart” in Britain’s Daily Mail, “The Pride of Scotland” in the Independent and, more soberly, “an unlikely folk hero” all the way across the pond in The Journal.

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Indeed, his hometown seems to love him at least as much as everyone else. “John Smeaton is everything that makes me proud to be a Scot,” Alan Clarke told one publication.

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He has recently said that the street in the west was ready to take on the terrorist and "none of us will hold back from putting the boot in." I think the participation of Smeaton and other Scots who got in their kicks at the terrorist demonstrates that at least on the street level there are those in the west prepared to fight back against the Islamic religious bigots, and they are not intimidated by the "rage" of the impotent. Now even the NY Times has noticed.