Obviously you've heard about the Boston Explosions by now, social media did a quick blitz and the topic is trending on each and every network.
Before I start, my prayers go out to the people affected and the families of those dead and to those injured.
Last time a major homicidal event happened, it was because of a maniac with a gun (Newtown Shootings), after the President addressed the situation, the tragic event shifted into a political dynamic. You know what I'm talking about. Gun Control. It was all over the news, and people starting forgetting that the cause of the whole situation was because the maniac, not the gun. People acted irrational trying to ban and put a muzzle on anything even slightly related to guns. It went from Video Games to TV to the Internet to protesting for security guards in schools, one http://reason.com/blog/2013/03/01/pop-tart-pistol-7-year-old-gets-suspende">kid even nearly got expelled for making a gun shape with his poptart.
So now, with the situation in Boston being extensively covered at an acceleration faster than the Newtown shootings, and the President already releasing an address just hours after the explosion, will we see this now become a discussion about explosives?
Will Boston become the maniacal cry for 'Explosives Control' as Newtown was for 'Gun Control'? You can already see an easy bridge for suburban soccer moms to blame this on video games.
Again, my prayers go out to those affected by the explosion, I saw the pictures of the scene, it was horrible.
Keep respect for them as you comment.
Kind of a weird forum to pick. Monkeying Around is probably better than Success Stories
It felt kind of weird to put it under Monkeying Around.
I'm not too worried about restrictions like "explosives control" being implemented after this. We're probably going to see a lot more security around public events like this, though.
I did facepalm REALLY FUCKING HARD when I saw "Members of Newtown families in stands during explosions" as a headline. I'm really starting to get sick of all the coverage these families are getting. Not putting their tragedy down or anything, but they're pretty much being connected with every single bad thing that's happened violence/weapon wise since the Newtown Shooting.
+1 for saying a lot of folks are thinking but are not allowed to say
I think he chose Success Stories because of the people who, right after the explosion, continued to jump over the downed bodies to finish their marathon.
I was torn between hating those people or the people who choose to record the event instead of lending a helping hand. I ended up doing the sensible thing and hated them both equally.
Well, yes that can be applied to that, I was going for a "pulling together" type of thing.
I had to give you a SB because this made me laugh irrationally while at my desk.
I think that there needs to be a serious rethinking of what problems belie the American social fabric right now. Why are random attacks and acts of violence so much more prevalent in our society than they were, say, 60 years ago? And why is our society so incongruous as a whole with regard to political standing and ethical perspective, and how has the changed social mobility provided by our country impacted all this?
I don't know shit about anthropology, but I think that the "symptoms" are a sign of where our nation lies as a whole. Whether these are the continued social trends of a nation teeming with economic might and on the forefront of societal development, or the initial lack of care that eventually leads to the drastic re-imagining of what our country means, is yet unseen.
EDIT: Forgot to reply to the OP's question!
To be completely honest, I don't think that there's an easy way to politicize this event and polarize crowds into specific demographics that want one thing versus another. This might finally be an issue that doesn't make people go crazy and point out which politicians aren't doing their job. Even more importantly, this is a perfect opportunity for our government to step in and provide any sort of sensible aid to the public at large on a problem that has got to be fixed before it does any further damage to our social psyche: random acts of violence, whether terrorist, fundamentalist, extremist, or whatever the act is tied to.
Given such a perfect setup for our country to come together as a whole and say, "let's do something about this," I'm positive that absolutely nothing will happen.
But, you have to think is the "trend" of acts of violence seemingly occurring because they are now publicized, rather than 60 years ago when these kinds of things were isolated local events that the President wouldn't ever know about?
Or, is it because maniacs have an extra incentive to create a reaction out of people, to see "their story" on the news and addressed by high officials?
Is it because the average Joe has access to the internet and can learn how to make explosives, and can buy powerful modified weaponry with ease?
It can also be deemed as a mix. Since everything is more publicized, we know more about the world around us, and thus hate a higher margin of it with the capability to go crazy and actually "do something" about it.
The Boston Marathon is an epic accomplishment. I'd jump over people also.
This was a terrorist strike. It isn't indicative of our society or anything like that. It is indicative of the US's global imperialism. When you go to someone else's neighborhood, blow shit up, kill family members and kids you should expect some blow back. Harsh, but true.
Wait. You're serious, aren't you?
Tragedy aside:
If you want to run 26 miles go run 26 miles. No need to make a big show of it.
On a side note, how come Kevin Ware can break his leg and it is considered taboo to repeat the clip on TV yet I can watch the marathon tragedy clip on repeat where an 8 year old kid was confirmed dead. Literally, every time they show that clip you know an 8 year old gets it. again and again and again and again. Its disgusting.
This
Yes except in this case it is more likely that it was domestic terrorism a la Timothy McVeigh judging by the crude device. The Saudi guy in the hospital report has been debunked.
what isn't a terrorist strike nowadays? what makes something a terrorist strike, an explosion? These blanket terms are the kinds of things that allow us to get to a point where you can be killed by a drone on US soil w/o trial, because you are a 'terrorist'.
Also, 'terrorist' is a stupid fucking term. Lots of things terrify just about everyone. Are hornet swarms terrorists? How about girls farting? When girls fart are they terrorists, because that terrifies a shit ton of people.
If you're blowing up shit in the name of Islam, you are a Muslim extremist.
Terrorism: The use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims
What the fuck are you suppose to do? I mean you are in the mix, like you either go forward or turn back.
McVeighs Penske truck leveled half of a massive building - crude? The times swuare van didn't even detonate, I think that qualifies as crude. What "this" becomes will depend largely on what we discover about the events and planning and the "whodunnit". I don't think explosives control is too hard of a topic to debate -- kind of useles to blow up deer for hunting reasons or stuff a pipe bomb in your muggers back pocket as he runs away.
Dude runs 26 miles and then gets blown up? Well that blows. Find the malcreants who did it and kill them, end of story. Next year I hope the survivors can run it, total win in 364 days :D
I dunno, one can build a bomb out of dozens of chemicals available at Walmart, and gunpowder or gasoline just make it too easy. Terrorists usually just use what's around. Gun control is a losing battle LOL explosive control is totally futile. Infiltrating the networks of people who want to blow shit up is the only realistic way to get ahead of this. Sucks.Plus there is so much information available to build bombs. Ander's Breiviks manifesto goes into great detail about building his bomb. McVeigh's bomb only cost 5000 dollars.
Except you can make explosives or even chemical weapons using items that people use in their every day lives.
So ya I doubt its possible.
1) MSM is trash. It is sickening how the vultures replay this story endlessly.
2) This was a terror attack. Doesn't matter if Islamist or American, this was meant for terror. No government officials attacked, only civilians.
3) I am not excusing shit. All I am saying is if this turns out to be Islamist shit then we should look in the mirror and realize our faux righteous indignation isn't going to make this end. We are blowing shit up all around the world. Odds are it is going to hurt some people who shouldn't be hurt and piss some people off. Eventually that comes home to roost. Right? No, not at all. But it is what happens.
And do we always have to make someone "pay". What are we going to do now? Launch another wave of drone strikes which will piss more people off and cause something like this in a year or two? When will this shit end. Do the people in the ME hate the west or do they hate when the west manipulates and interferes with them?
This is all speculation which is not needed right now, but this American response to make someone pay obviously isn't working out.
Facts are, not retalliating is interpreted as weakness on our part...and realistically, the outcry will be too intense for the president to do nothing anyway. We DEFINITELY create some of our own problems, so I'm not going to argue that, plenty of people don't like us. Iran 1953, 'nuff said. Plenty of people also don't like us because they have nothing else...consider every pissed off Frenchman who's jealous of America's power (that's really what drives a lot of their spiteful bullshit). But this is a sidetrack, I'm just covering it for the sake of thoroughness.
What I'm getting at is that if this is an Islamist strike, the drones will be doing overtime for the next six months. If it's a homegrown nut, I don't know, they usually catch these guys pretty quickly. But either way, there will be retalliation, it's just how America rolls.
And I hate violence, I'm just calling it how I see it.
I agree with TNA. The central government of the USA has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people in the last 10 years alone. The same terror, helplessness and fear are felt all round the world where America deems its okay to drop bombs and kill indiscriminately. It is amazing that there haven't been more attacks in the US.
Japan is a different animal. The Russians tried to subdue the Afghans and they were hardcore about it. Didn't turn out too well. You either turn the place to glass or you never fuck with them to begin with.
I am really getting to the point where I just say lets invest all the military and war budget and energy into our wind, nuclear and solar, combined with coal and natgas and just tell the ME we are sorry and leave. We don't understand their religiousness, the culture, the land or the people.Our lust for crude props up endless governments that fuck the people over. Our military equipment is used to subdue them. Time to just say sorry and go home.
This could all be moot. This could be a home grown terrorist with an anti government message. Personally, I doubt it. Tim McVeigh is the archetype American terrorist and he struck at a government facility. I can't see some radical American going after civilians like this. This kind of terror is very retaliatory and meant to cause fear, not weaken the government.
I'm on board.
I guess I'm splitting hairs and to some Iraqi sheep herder who lost his family to a Hellfire missile, it's all the same, but I don't think we've ever gone as far as these lunatics are going (I'm talking about within the last 2 decades...please don't bring up the firebombing of Dresden or the A-bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki...those were when America was in a formal state of war).
Couldnt agree more dude.
Prepare for more freedoms to get taken away...all in the name of safety.
Reminds me of a Ben Franklin quote...
Respect for this guy: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0f3_1366121231
I don't know bro, we sure as hell committed all kinds of atrocities on these people.
Just saw a dude in full combat gear and M4's at the train station. Militarization of the police here we come.
Militarization of the police is here. FTFY
There's this great tweet posted by Gary Younge, a British journalist which encapsulates things pretty well.
https://twitter.com/garyyounge
Dude, we are killing innocent people every day. The drone campaign is allowed to strike suspected terrorist of people that look like they are engaged in terrorist activities. Like family parties and funerals.
Don't forget weddings.
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