Hollywood Road

"What's happening?"

Not just Murphy, but many passengers on the plane shared the same question. Since the incident had just occurred, Kara Faith had only learned that a group had occupied the runway at London City Airport, but the specifics were still unclear.

Murphy was curious about the details of the situation, but from his window seat, he could only see the terminal building. Asking other passengers provided no further clarity.

After another twenty minutes, the flight still showed no signs of taking off. An older flight attendant, apparently the chief purser, came to the first-class cabin to offer a brief explanation and an apology.

"I'm terribly sorry, but this flight will be delayed."

Regardless of the cause, the purser's demeanor was very apologetic, "The airport's runway has been organizedly occupied by a group of protesters, currently in a standoff with the police. We are unable to take off for the time being..."

This announcement caused a stir in first class.

"We have reported the situation to our company. American Airlines will offer all passengers a complimentary future flight." The purser continued calmly, "If the delay extends significantly, American Airlines will also provide free accommodations for our esteemed guests..."

While American Airlines' response and service were commendable, the reality of the situation was undeniable. After exchanging a glance with Kara Faith and having their assistant notify the rest of their team in business class, Murphy and Kara Faith were among the first to disembark from the plane.

Given the occupation of the runway and the standoff with the police, it was likely the issue wouldn't be resolved anytime soon.

Back in the terminal, Murphy realized the situation was even more severe than he had anticipated. London City Airport had been forced to shut down entirely, resulting in the cancellation of numerous flights and the stranding of thousands of passengers in the terminal.

From the terminal's glass windows, Murphy could faintly see many people gathered on the airport's runway. Due to the distance, the details were unclear.

"It looks like," Kara Faith shook her head, "we won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

Murphy nodded in agreement, "I'll call Gale to tell her not to come to the airport."

After a brief phone call to Gale Gadot to reassure her, he hung up and asked Kara Faith, "Should we go back now or wait it out?"

With the negotiations already completed and no urgent matters pending, Kara Faith consulted with her assistant and then suggested to Murphy, "Let's head back to the hotel for now and try leaving tomorrow."

"Okay," Murphy agreed. "Staying here isn't helping. Let's head back."

After returning to their hotel, Murphy continued to monitor the airport situation. An occupation causing a temporary closure of an airport was no small matter in any country, and with the incident escalating, it was impossible for the British authorities to keep it under wraps.

Indeed, by evening, news vans from BBC and Sky News had arrived at the scene, and the full story of the occupation was unveiled on television, leaving Murphy and Kara Faith watching in bewilderment. If there was an apt description from the other side of the Pacific, it would be utter confusion.

Murphy and Kara Faith were both incredibly resolute individuals, and not even if Queen Elizabeth II herself had led the Windsor family to occupy the runway would they have been so shocked. But the reality was beyond anything imaginable, to the point that normal human understanding was insufficient.

The protesters, who had occupied the runway for nearly ten hours, were from the UK branch of the "Black Lives Matter" organization.

This was a group advocating for black rights, born from the repeated incidents of police shootings of black individuals in the USA, aimed at combating racial discrimination and emphasizing the equality of black people.

While fighting for equal rights was understandable, even if using extreme methods like occupying an airport, the reasoning behind their protest was overwhelmingly forceful.

Why would a black rights group protest at London City Airport? Their rallying cry for the day was: "Global warming is also ****ing racist!"

With this slogan, a group of activists from "Black Lives Matter," using dinghies to bypass unmanned parts of the Thames, stormed into the city airport and onto the runway.

They set up tripods on the runway and locked themselves to them, claiming to protest against London City Airport's infringement on black rights.

But what does global warming have to do with racial discrimination? And how had this airport wronged them? According to their official statement, the reason was: the airport contributed to the climate crisis, and black people were the primary victims of this crisis, making global warming a clear case of racial discrimination.

In short: Global warming equals racism.

This reasoning and logic left Murphy, like any sane person, internally shattered.

Especially seeing the leader of the protest interviewed on Sky News, Murphy felt overwhelmed by the absurdity.

"The average annual salary of passengers at London City Airport is £136,000, with sixty-three percent involved in business and finance, indicating that this airport caters to

 the rich! Meanwhile, in Newham, where the airport is located, forty percent of the population earns less than £20,000 a year, barely making ends meet."

Facing the camera with a righteous expression, the leader continued, "By building an airport here, you are enjoying a luxurious life on the land of the poor! In the UK, black people are twenty-eight percent more likely to be exposed to air pollution than white people, making us the biggest victims of environmental pollution. You destroy the environment, you create inequality for us in environmental terms, that's racism!"

They further claimed that the UK's environmental damage was a global issue. When global warming heats up, where does it get hottest? Africa! And who lives in Africa? Black people!

Of the ten countries most affected by climate change, seven are in the Saharan Africa region, inhabited by black people.

Thus, as a handful of elites fly in and out of London City Airport, countless black individuals in Africa die from the heat, unable to escape their local conditions because they lack cheaper and more accessible survival options.

In this racially discriminatory climate crisis, black individuals can't migrate first; they die first.

This, they proclaimed, was racism!

Airport regulars' salaries, air pollution, environmental destruction, climate refugees, and then black people dying first—this was their rationale for alleging racial discrimination against them.

The logic behind these claims remained unclear to Murphy.

What was clear, however, was that thousands of travelers were forced to stay at the airport, anxiously waiting for it to reopen and for flight updates.

The protest was so outrageous, so inconceivable, and so out of step with normal human behavior that it ultimately turned into a frenzied online mocking fest.

Forced to stay an extra day in London, Murphy took it as an opportunity to witness the spectacle. Some speculated on the protesters' pre-demonstration meeting: "Next, we're protesting at London City Airport. How can we tie it to racial discrimination? Hmm... How about pollution? Let's say pollution is racism!"

No sane person could understand the protesters' bizarre logic, making the flood of online sarcasm unsurprising.

"It's strange indeed. Pollution doesn't discriminate by race, so how does it become racism?"

"Huh? Black people are more affected by air pollution? That's new to me."

"Are they joking that this airport is only for the elite? A discount ticket to Madrid costs just £35, not hard to buy. If black people can't afford it, isn't that on them for not trying?"

"I learned something new today: Pollution is racism!"

"Why did the police even negotiate for so long? This is illegal trespassing. Why not just remove them?"

Someone even responded to this query, "If they treated it as an illegal trespass and just removed them, then black people would indeed have a reason and excuse to claim racial discrimination."

The event continued into the next day, with the organization's members able to conjure countless reasons for their actions, completely disregarding the legitimate rights of thousands of stranded passengers.

And given the peculiar thought processes of this group, they probably didn't care at all, considering anyone using the airport as discriminating against black people.

Many ordinary people, although usually silent about racial issues due to political correctness, couldn't help but vent once behind their keyboards.

Indeed, in Western society, many are increasingly frustrated with the pervasive activities of black groups in various fields and their "sensitive nerves."

Even many normal black individuals couldn't understand their compatriots' utterly baffling actions.

Caught in such a bizarre situation, Murphy and Kara Faith's negotiation team was forced to stay an extra day in London. Luckily, they had no urgent work, and those who did either chose flights from other airports or resigned themselves to their fate.

The following noon, Murphy boarded a flight to North America. After arriving in Los Angeles, he rested for a couple of days to overcome jet lag before diving into the latest promotional activities for "Game of Thrones: Song of Ice and Fire."

Although the series had finished airing on Fox Cable Television, the peripheral sales were just beginning, and the promotional efforts were set to continue.

Just before the DVD release, Stanton Studios and Twentieth Century Fox held a fan meet-up to boost sales.

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