The news started pouring in early yesterday afternoon. Two explosions near the finish line at the Boston Marathon. The first reports said at least three were dead, over a hundred people were injured. By the time I went to work later Monday afternoon, police had already arrested, I mean, "detained" a "person of interest." And the speculation was at full blast...
First, it is most important that we focus our thoughts and prayers on those injured, and our sympathies with the families of those who were killed. Current reports, by the way, have upped the total of dead person to twelve. I cannot know how terrified and traumatized those people, the runners and the spectators, must have been (and still are) but I know, at least for those present at the explosions, the feeling must be something akin to that felt by New Yorkers in 2001. Yes, I know the perpetrator(s) must be caught, but first let us join together in sympathy and remembrance of our neighbors who are hurting or who lost their loved ones to this act of terror.
Second, I would like to step out on what may be an unpopular limb and point out that the person of interest...no, let's call him what he is...the suspect, who happens to be a Saudi national, is just that - a suspect. He was "arrested" by a citizen who believed he was acting suspiciously. The action? The Saudi national, having been burned, was running away from the scene of the explosions. I am pretty sure (and the video supports this) that several hundred other people were running away from the blast. So actually the suspect was exhibiting normal behavior at the time of the citizen's arrest. But the arresting citizen told officers that "I saw this guy once before." So this man is in custody. I just want to point out that he may have had nothing to do with the bombing. But he was a Middle Eastern person! Yes, but so were many other present yesterday. So the FBI and other acronyms raided his home and found "bags of evidence." I want to take the unpopular, but legal, stance that the person of interest is innocent until proven guilty. It would not be a surprise that the man looks at Arab websites. That alone would be enough to seal his fate, given that we are currently engaged in the War On Terror and constitutional rights are out the window. But I think about all of the militia, conservative, and Texas nationalist websites that I have viewed at least once. Some agency with a three letter acronym could probably make me a "suspect" if they tried.
Third, I am so totally infuriated by our government representatives, including BO, who would not utter the "T-word" for nearly twenty-four hours after the attacks. Of course this was an act of terrorism. Just pick up a dictionary and look up...er, I mean GOOGLE the word. You will find that that "terrorism" is "the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes." As soon as it was clear that bombs had been detonated, then it was equally clear that an act of terrorism had been perpetrated. Whether by Arab "militants" or "White separatists," or flat out "nut jobs," an act of terror is still an act of terror.
I join millions of Americans in the outpouring of sympathy for our neighbors in Boston. I also join the millions in hopes that the responsible person is caught, or the responsible group is caught. But I feel like I am taking a step away from the crowd because I hope that the man arrested is investigated, along with what ever evidence is found, and that he is given a fair chance at due process. I also hope that so much focus is not placed on this man that others responsible are allowed to escape prosecution. If the man did it, whether alone or in conspiracy, I hope that he faces the full force of the law. But if he did not, then I hope the full force of the law frees him then turns to those responsible. I sincerely hope that investigators do not simply do the easy thing and make a scapegoat of this man, leaving the real perpetrator out there to deal out more terrorism another day.
First, it is most important that we focus our thoughts and prayers on those injured, and our sympathies with the families of those who were killed. Current reports, by the way, have upped the total of dead person to twelve. I cannot know how terrified and traumatized those people, the runners and the spectators, must have been (and still are) but I know, at least for those present at the explosions, the feeling must be something akin to that felt by New Yorkers in 2001. Yes, I know the perpetrator(s) must be caught, but first let us join together in sympathy and remembrance of our neighbors who are hurting or who lost their loved ones to this act of terror.
Second, I would like to step out on what may be an unpopular limb and point out that the person of interest...no, let's call him what he is...the suspect, who happens to be a Saudi national, is just that - a suspect. He was "arrested" by a citizen who believed he was acting suspiciously. The action? The Saudi national, having been burned, was running away from the scene of the explosions. I am pretty sure (and the video supports this) that several hundred other people were running away from the blast. So actually the suspect was exhibiting normal behavior at the time of the citizen's arrest. But the arresting citizen told officers that "I saw this guy once before." So this man is in custody. I just want to point out that he may have had nothing to do with the bombing. But he was a Middle Eastern person! Yes, but so were many other present yesterday. So the FBI and other acronyms raided his home and found "bags of evidence." I want to take the unpopular, but legal, stance that the person of interest is innocent until proven guilty. It would not be a surprise that the man looks at Arab websites. That alone would be enough to seal his fate, given that we are currently engaged in the War On Terror and constitutional rights are out the window. But I think about all of the militia, conservative, and Texas nationalist websites that I have viewed at least once. Some agency with a three letter acronym could probably make me a "suspect" if they tried.
Third, I am so totally infuriated by our government representatives, including BO, who would not utter the "T-word" for nearly twenty-four hours after the attacks. Of course this was an act of terrorism. Just pick up a dictionary and look up...er, I mean GOOGLE the word. You will find that that "terrorism" is "the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes." As soon as it was clear that bombs had been detonated, then it was equally clear that an act of terrorism had been perpetrated. Whether by Arab "militants" or "White separatists," or flat out "nut jobs," an act of terror is still an act of terror.
I join millions of Americans in the outpouring of sympathy for our neighbors in Boston. I also join the millions in hopes that the responsible person is caught, or the responsible group is caught. But I feel like I am taking a step away from the crowd because I hope that the man arrested is investigated, along with what ever evidence is found, and that he is given a fair chance at due process. I also hope that so much focus is not placed on this man that others responsible are allowed to escape prosecution. If the man did it, whether alone or in conspiracy, I hope that he faces the full force of the law. But if he did not, then I hope the full force of the law frees him then turns to those responsible. I sincerely hope that investigators do not simply do the easy thing and make a scapegoat of this man, leaving the real perpetrator out there to deal out more terrorism another day.
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