Two
bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday. As of
this time three people are killed along with 176 injured. Tonight 71 remain
hospitalized with 24 in critical condition.
One
of the dead was an eight year old boy who was in attendance with his family watching
his father run the race. His mother suffered a serious head injury and his six
year old sister lost a leg.
Boston
hospitals are reporting they had to
perform several amputations on the wounded. The injuries sustained are due
to the bomb containing pellets and nails as projectiles. Some of the injured
had between
10 to 40 of these objects in their bodies. Combat Veterans that were in
attendance at the marathon have compared
this event to an Improvised Explosion Device (IED) that they have
experienced in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The
Boston Marathon is an annual event that captures the city as part of the Patriot's
Day celebration in the state of Massachusetts that celebrated the start of the
American Revolution in April 1775. The Red Sox play a rare 11AM game in order
to accommodate this event. The marathon has several participants from all over
the world.
The
finish line, a scene of triumph and accomplishment, is now a scene of death and
tragedy. It is currently an active murder scene. It might be a certain period
of time before we know who perpetrated this awful event.
These
are the details that are known right now.
Two
observations about this event.
First,
condemnation.
I
condemn the person(s) who perpetrated these attacks. I have full faith in our
investigative and law enforcement processes that they will bring the
perpetrators to justice. A former
FBI agent suggested that those involved in the attack will not receive a Miranda
warning.
No,
you give them Miranda. It is events like these when our ideals are tested and
we answer to our better judgment.
I
condemn the people who do not have their facts straight in reporting the story.
I understand that in the media environment we live in you have to be the first
to report the story. Especially CNN for raising that President Obama did not call
it a "terrorist attack" in his statement to the White House Press
Corps. Seriously...?! And the news media wonders why the general public
dislikes them.
There
is one thing that is lost in trying to always being first: being right. The
media needs to do a better job in getting the story right so that
misinformation does not infiltrate the process and cause further harm.
I
condemn the fear peddlers. Alex Jones and his minions from the rocks where they
crawled from with their
nonsense. One
infiltrated one of the hospital press conferences. Fox News regular Erik
Rush for
this tweet (it has been deleted, but the screen shot exists). Rep. Steve
King (R-IA) for using
this event to derail attempts for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
Senator
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for saying
on the Senate floor yesterday: "I
think it’s safe to say that for many, the complacency that prevailed prior to
September 11th has actually returned." What do you mean by "many"
Senator? If you mean this
President, he's
crippled Al Qaeda's capabilities. Do you mean the American people? Should
we live in constant paranoia like you do?
And
of course, the Tea
Party with the usual blame Obama for everything.
These
people do not provide anything constructive and should be instantly
marginalized as the cranks and cooks that they are.
Now,
praise.
High
praise to our first responders. Yesterday was the deadline for filing a federal
income tax. It is our tax dollars that pays their salaries. Allow me to step on
my soapbox for a second: We praise them for their courage and heroism in the
response of chaotic events like the one witnessed on Monday. Let's hope that the
policies we implement reflect this praise.
Finally,
I close with this observation.
I
remember the feeling of uncertainty after the 9/11 Attacks. Airline travel
across the country halted. Major League Baseball, in the middle of the pennant
races, ceased for a week. National Football League games for the upcoming
Sunday were postponed. Eventually, life went on but it wasn't the same. There
were new security procedures in place that took time to get adjusted to.
The
first flight I took post-9/11 was in August 2002 going to Navy boot camp at
Great Lakes, IL. It was a shock because I had flown as a kid and going through
security was take a walk through the metal detector. As we know today, it is
this complex procedure where you have to show identification and you take your
shoes off and there is an expanded list of items you can't take on the plane.
In
November 2001, New York held its annual New York City Marathon. There were
concerns about security along the route, but the marathon went on as planned.
It was a symbol of resiliency and endurance. Remember, New York had hosted 3
games in the 2001
World Series; along with President George W. Bush
throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in Game 3.
Amby
Burfoot, 1968 winner of the Boston Marathon, authored
this piece for Runner's World and the Running Times.
This quote stood out:
This quote stood out:
This wasn’t just an attack against the
Boston Marathon... It was an attack against the American public and our
democratic use of the streets. We have used our public roadways for annual
parades, protest marches, presidential inaugurations, marathons, and all manner
of other events. The roads belong to us, and their use represents an important
part of our free and democratic tradition.
I trust and believe that will not
change in the future--not in Boston, not at the Boston Marathon, and not at
other important public events. Yes, we must be ever-vigilant. We cannot cover
our eyes and ears, and pretend violent acts don’t threaten our great
institutions.
But our institutions did not become
great by following a path of timidity and cowardice. And we can only hope that,
when pummeled, as the Boston Marathon was today, they will rise again, stronger
than ever.
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