Fighting terror with fancy cars

Some readers may remember Web sites that popped up back in November of last year, featuring homemade signs and pictures of people around the world expressing their feelings about that month's U.S. presidential election.

Now, just after the July 7 bombings in London, a similar concept has spawned a Web site giving people the opportunity to tell those behind the terrorist attacks that London's spirit has not been broken. We'reNotAfraid.com is a pictorial protest that has gained massive popularity--so much so that its operators have had to scramble to adapt the site to the high levels of traffic it's received since launching.

For the most part, submissions are of photos of families and individuals (mostly British, but also from other countries) bearing the message "We're not afraid." The collection says a lot about people's ability to cope in times of disaster.

But We're Not Afraid has taken a different course than some of its more somber predecessors. As Sarah Boxer of the New York Times points out, many of the posts have taken on an air of frivolity--some are silly and at times even seemingly boastful. Among hopeful images of young families, viewers will note numerous pictures of "fearless" people lounging on tropical beaches and showing off their fancy sports cars.

This may just be another way of demonstrating resilience, but many of the submissions seem out of place. A site that launched with a noble spirit looks to have been taken over by the keg party next door.