The Boston bombings are being compared to the bombing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and perhaps that is a fair comparison. But since one security officer, Richard Jewell, a security officer from the games who was wrongly accused and eventually cleared. He received a substantial amount of money for being defamed the way he was. The authorities and the media really publicly crucified the guy with words back then. In fact, the man responsible for the bombing then was Erich Rudolph, and both the government and the media were harshly criticized for jumping to conclusions and pinning the blame on the wrong guy. So, it appears that they are being far more cautious this time.
In the meantime, a letter laced with ricin, a kind of poison, sent to a Senator seems to suggest that this week has eerie reminders of the past. The Boston bombings were the first major acts of terrorism to get such attention since the September 11th attacks. As you might recall, there were letters contaminated with powder containing a strand of the Anthrax virus sent to members of Congress shortly after that time. Now, there are contaminated letters being sent once again, although this time, it is ricin. I do not believe that the anthrax letters were specifically linked to the 9/11 attacks, and it nonetheless occurred in the weeks following. But it seems that this letter was sent immediately after the bombings, and perhaps it will not be the only one. Literally, the day after, just seems a bit too coincidental (just like the apparent explosion and fire at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, not long after the two bombs exploded, seems somehow a little too coincidental - although I guess these things happen).
The police have revealed more about the bombs. They were homemade, and there is evidence that they were, essentially, a pressure cooker placed inside a plastic bag for disguise.
Police have been suggesting that, rather than being some part of a highly organized attack, the evidence so far points to the probability that this was the workings of a "lone wolf", which is to say, just one person who, for whatever reason he felt, nevertheless decided to make these bombs. It was a crude attempt, but obviously, unfortunately, it succeeded in doing what he wanted it to do.
The extent of the tragedy we are only learning about now. The worst that I have heard was about the father of the little 8-year old boy who was killed. That boy was there to see his father finish a marathon. A hard accomplishment, and something to be proud of. The whole family was there to see daddy finish the race. But the son lost his life, the daughter lost her leg, and the mother had to have brain surgery. I do not know how they are now, but I hope that they are going to be okay.
The father surely prepared to run the marathon. Like millions of other Americans, surely he could be found in his neighborhood, before or after work, running. Trying to stay fit. Doing something exceedingly difficult, in hopes of achieving things that perhaps he never dreamed possible before. Perhaps he ran other marathons, although I certainly cannot say for sure. But the family was there to see him finish this race, to be there and be proud of daddy for achieving something so incredible. He wanted to take his family, so they could be there when he pulled off the huge feat. They likely had plans to celebrate later that evening, perhaps a nice dinner somewhere. Most likely, he would bring the medal that those who finish such marathons receive.
Instead, that man is getting condolences. Instead of a joyful day celebrating with loved ones, he will likely be haunted by that day for the rest of his days. Even worse, he will probably blame himself for it on some level. What was supposed to be one of his greatest, most memorable days for very good reasons, turned out to be his worst day, for what are now obvious reasons. I can't even begin to imagine what he must be going through right now.
The night after the bombings, someone had left a single candle lit in front of their home, and had written simply "PEACE", by the sidewalk in front of the house. It is a show of support, and again, a powerful sign that there are still more good people out there then there are bad people. But for that man, there will be little comfort, unless his daughter and wife get better.
We are learning the identities of the three people that were killed, and will likely learn more of the stories of those who were injured from the blasts.
What we still don't know (yet) is the identity of the man who committed this atrocious act. But clues are there, and hopefully, they will lead the authorities to the person, or persons, responsible.
Now, I mentioned in yesterday's blog that my fears were of a xenophobic reaction, much like we have had at times in our past.
Sure enough, I actually witnessed such reactions just a few hours later, with an overheard conversation between coworkers. Two of them were Obama haters, and easily and clearly (and a little too conveniently) linked the failure of security to stop these attacks from happening at Obama's feet. I mean, they were both adamant about it, and so damn sure that they were right.
Listen, anyone who knows me knows that I am hardly the biggest Obama supporter out there. I don't believe in major parties in general, and so did not vote for Obama (or his Republican opponents) either in 2008 or 2012. I have been highly critical of his policies, and anyone following this post would attest to this. Hell, just go back to some of the posts last week, where I pointed out his hypocrisy with food labeling.
But that said, let us be clear: this is not Obama's fault. Moreover, I guarantee that whoever committed these tragic bombings, surely is not a supporter of Obama.
It angers me to see such militant stupidity. No matter what anyone said to counter their argument, they simply both repeated the same assertion: it was Obama's point.
"Yeah! Vote for Obama again!" one of them taunted continually, to anyone who would listen.
The other began to vent on his political beliefs, although no one asked. That, of course, hardly mattered. He spoke about North Korea, and mentioned that if he were President (and let's hope that terrible scenario never happens!), he would line up American ships all along the coast, so that the leader, when he looked at the coast, could not help but see these American ships all lined up on his shores.
He was just getting started, though. He claimed that he could explain everything that is going wrong in the country, and why.
Speaking of Obama, he was disgusted that everyone thinks that he is so smart. "He's a brilliant speaker....but, he's such a fucking idiot!"
He railed against how the country was turning to shit, and according to him, it was all because of Obama.
I wonder where all these guys, like this Johnny-come-lately, who is apparently now just waking up to how bad the state of affairs is in this country are right now were during the Bush years? By my estimation (and this is only one man's opinion, I understand), the main problem with Obama, and the reason that things are getting worse, not better, under his tenure, is that he is continuing the poisonous policies of his predecessor. They were well under way and exceedingly obvious during the Bush years, of course (before then, even, although they were far more subtle before Bush). The erosion of democracy, the rise of corporate supremacy, the blatant and arrogant swagger of a superpower meddling in the affairs of other nations, the piling up of debts based upon a stupid but stubborn (not to mention self-serving) insistence that the rich deserve tax cuts and incentives, all while spending more on multiple wars (which the government blatantly lied about). America's name, which had been in relatively good standing (although eroding since at least the 1970's), but which took a huge dive as a result of many things that portrayed this nation in a negative light (not least of which was to give Bush not just one term in the White House, but two).
Yes, things were already getting bad before George W. Bush. But during his term in office, these were becoming too blatant to be denied any longer. Truth be told, they were pretty clear beforehand, as well. But people were not paying attention, or willfully turned their attention away. But with Bush, there was no denying it, and unless you were willful to the extreme, there was no turning away from it. It was everywhere, and it seemed to touch everything. The nation changed outwardly during the Bush years, and for the worse, not the better. It was then that leaders here began to understand, and act upon, the knowledge that they could pretty much do things out in the open that they would never have gotten away with before.
Obama inherited that, and has taken advantage of it, as well. I have already mentioned some things in prior blogs, such as the passage of the NDAA, or the more recent signing of the Monsanto Protection Act. But simply put, he is continuing what Bush did, and he pales by comparison, at that.
Yet, citizens of the Fox News Nation were apparently sleepwalking and going through the motions during the eight long years before Obama got into office. So many of the things that they criticize Obama for were not only present, but far worse, under Bush. Yet, they are certain, absolutely no doubt, that they are right that Obama is at fault for everything that they see wrong with America.
Much like that loud guy yesterday, who had to share his manly views about everything, yelling out his crass opinions for all to hear.
"He's a socialist! He might as well just get the swastika tattooed on his forehead."
He repeated these words again, just to make sure that there was no misunderstanding what he said, and to make sure that the whole floor heard him, since it was apparently so important. Everyone had to hear his opinion.
The Boston Marathon bombings were an absolute tragedy. They destroyed people's lives...are destroying people's lives. And, once again, they have instilled fears, even paranoia, among large numbers of other people. That was, after all, what they were designed to do. That is the very definition of terrorism, is it not?
But one thing they were not, is Obama's fault. Again, I am no fan of Obama, but those bombings were calculated by someone who was bent on immediately destroying the lives of people he did not know. People he had never met. He wanted attention for his actions, and that is exactly what he managed to get.
If anything, that is what is wrong with this world of ours right now. There is no shortage of people willing to do harm, to kill as many people as they can, in as shocking a manner as possible, for the headlines or, sometimes, like yesterday, for the cameras. They are dissatisfied with their lives, and act out in the most extreme manner possible. They use whatever frustrations and limitations that govern their own lives, and use them as justification to commit horrible actions, whether a mass shooting, or a bombing, or some other way.
That is a part of what makes this world a worse place. Another part is that other people then use these tragedies for their own purposes, often to back up their own viewpoints and prejudices. It was easy enough to predict that something like the Boston bombings would happen again in this country, somehow, somewhere. It almost happened in Times Square a couple of years ago. It almost happened at the Eiffel Tower recently, as well. It almost happened on a plane, when one man placed a bomb in his shoes (the reason why we have to now take out shoes off at the airports, prior to boarding for a flight). It almost happened here and there, but it did happen in Boston, two days ago.
The saddest thing is this: that the attacks were predictable, and so is the very unfortunate reaction by far too many people, extremists in their own right who remain blind to their own extremism. Like September 11th before it, people are using these tragedies not to try and gain a better understanding of the world around them or to diagnose what is wrong in order to at least try and make it right. No, all too predictably, they are using it to fuel the fire of their own prejudices, their own hatred. And that is precisely the kind of thinking that allows the sorry state of the world as it is now to continue. Such a lack of vision is a large part of the reason why things seem so bleak in this world today, and why most feel tomorrow won't be any better, either.
This is a link to a CNN article ("Boston Marathon bombs have hallmarks of 'lone wolf' devices, experts say") by Tim Lister and Paul Cruickshank, that informed me of much that I wrote about in this blog entry.
http://us.cnn.com/2013/04/16/us/boston-marathon-lone-wolf/?iref=obinsite
Here is the link to another article ("Friends, family mourn eight-year-old Martin Richard, 29-year-old Krystle Campbell"), by Tiffany Bakker of News Limited Network. This one is about the little boy who was killed, and his family.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/neighbours-grieve-for-eight-year-old-martin-richard-killed-in-boston/story-fnd134gw-1226622090408
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