boston marathon bombing

[Bob]

it feels completely unreal to even type that, but it happened today. somebody planted bombs in my city because they wanted people to die, and it worked.

even now, on the day of the event, without time to even sleep it off, i can't help but realize on some level that this kind of shit happens all around the world all the time, and how egocentric is it of me to only suddenly feel it deeply now that it happened in the place where i live, where i can't ignore it, but...i still do, it still feels so unreal, so sue me

i'm fine and i wasn't anywhere near the blast when it happened, i work across town, i found out about it through friends, but still. seeing a cell phone picture on twitter of blood-stained ground of a place i've been to many times before, maybe 5 or 10 minutes after the blast, with the simple caption "what the fuck just happened?"...i don't really have a precedent for how to think about that, you know? seeing a picture of the boston public library, where i've met friends, only now the ground is wet with the blood of strangers and somebody's lying there with half their leg missing, that's not something i expected to process today. even saying shit like "i wasn't anywhere near the blast" is something i've gone 28 years without having to do yet, it's...it's weird.

it happened near the end of the work day and i found myself thinking, sort of coldly and rationally, "should i try to take the train home? what's the grace period after a bombing when it's safe to take train again? the train's running, which means the police don't expect anyone to blow it up, and they know best, right? and if i do walk, are there any particular places that people might want to bomb that i should avoid?" that kind of fucked up thing. i've never had to think about that before

i'm impressed by the speed that the authorities were able to respond to it with, and also by the general feeling of love and empathy that's happening at the moment...let's hope that doesn't turn into lust for vengeance too soon, or at all preferably. i don't want to see anybody flayed over this, i just want to live in a world where people don't want to plant bombs in cities anymore

i'm rambling, i dunno. i'm fine but i'm rambling

[TurdBerglar]

I live about 45 minutes from Hartford and about 2 hours from boston but this feels closer to home than it really is.

I've had friends that were just there for a bruins game. I use to go there like once a month on a whim with a couple of friends just to fuck around for a day. it's a weird feeling.

[Dorothy Wood]

I can't imagine how it would feel to be so close to an incident like that. Glad you're okay.

[abbott]

thanks for the post Bob. I wish I knew what to say. Hope your city recovers quick. Hope you get your way and find the world you speak of.

[Yeti]

My thoughts are with you Bob, the people of Boston and the tourists that were in town for the race. This world is full of f*cked up people but I am thankful that there are many more caring and helpful people. Those bastards killed an 8 year old boy and harmed many other children. It is sick!!
Today is also the anniversary of the Virginia Tech University campus massacre.
It is sad that these horrible things continue to happen.

[ms.peachy]

Dude. I know exactly how you feel. I can remember the day of the tube bombings in London like it was yesterday. The night before the bombings, London was celebrating. We had just won the bid for the 2012 Olympics, it was a beautiful July evening and people were in the mood for a paryt. I went out to dinner with some girlfriends in Soho, we sat outside at a cafe and the mood in the streets was grand.

The next morning I must have caught one of the last trains out of Liverpool St Station before it was shut down, heading out towards Chelmsford for a meeting. I didn't know anything had happened until I was in the taxi from the station and heard the cabbie's radio; just as it was dawning on me what they were saying my husband called to check if I was OK as he'd forgotten I was going out of town and thought I would be on the tube. And on any other day, there isn't a reason in the world why it couldn't have been me on that Piccadilly line train at that exact moment; after all it was my regular route to work, and the normal time I'd have been passing King's Cross.

Meeting went on as planned but of course, with a serious pall over proceedings. Then of course I could not get home, since all transport was shut down - I was fortunte enough to find someone else at the meeting who could get me as far as Greenwich, where I stayed over with a friend. And we got a bit drunk and we cried and we laughed and then laughed and cried some more. And then the next day I took a mostly empty tube ride back to the city, and made my way home. (No work - the museum was closed; however most people did go back to work the next day.) Because that's what you do - you get on with the business of living. That's not to say it's nothing, or that you forget all about it - far from it. First there is a sort of numbness, then there is pain, then there is grief, then for some anxiety, and then any combination thereof. But you go on. You have to.

[kaiser soze]

My thoughts and prayers for all Bostonians and their families!

I have friends there and they are ok, I hope their friends are ok...

people are fucked up - cowards attacking a marathon

I pause to speculate if this is domestic, international, a lone asshole, or a group. Seeing the videos I must say the bravery of the spectators and first responders running into the blast zone deserve absolute respect and support.

I hope the suspects are found quickly and are crushed by the weight of justice

[M|X|Y]

hey dudes.. glad you're ok. i actually did think of you and was kind of waiting to see this thread.

the whole thing is sickening. hope everyone you know is ok too

[Guy Incognito]

good to hear you are ok Bob.

I had a relatively lucky escape in the nineties when i lived in Warrington (IRA Bomb) ,Peachys post made me realise its sad to think that lots of people have experienced this sort of thing. I wasnt in any danger but the feelings around the area are just of shock , disappointment, anger etc and its not nice.

[JoLovesMCA]

I’ve been to Newbury street where the blast happened and having friends from Boston it feels a bit personal for me. Now that it's been announced as a terrorist attack I hope that the investigation thrives and that they will soon close in on the evil scum that did this.

[MC Moot]

The picture released today of the 8 year old boy holding that peace sign has absolutley gutted me...

[RobMoney$]

I was in Boston the day before, on Sunday.
I'm way more emotionally affected by this than I could have imagined.


Last year my wife & I took up running as a form of exercise to try to lose weight.
We ran a few mud runs the more we got into running, and last September ran a half marathon here in Philly. For those of you who have never done a half or full marathon, or even a couple mile mud run, I can't begin to explain the sense of accomplishment you feel as you are about to cross the finish line of such an event. Having complete strangers holding signs or encouraging words to cheer you on, It's a truly natural high.
During the Philly half marathon I actually became quite emotional when this one woman who was in a wheelchair was sitting on the side of the road all alone simply holding a little sign that said

"You. Complete Stranger. YOU are my hero!".

That woman stuck in my mind the entire race and I knew there was no way I could quit, no matter how much pain I was in.
My son who is autistic was my main motivation for wanting to run the half. I wanted to show him that if his 280lb, 40yo father could run 13.1 miles, than he could do anything too. But now that disabled woman gave me a little extra added inspiration, and when you do 13 miles for the first time, you need all the inspiration you can get.
As my wife and I rounded the corner towards the finish line, I immediately spotted my kids and my mother in law in the crowd cheering for us, but as we got closer we spotted the same wheelchair bound woman sitting at the finish line. Cheering everyone on as they crossed, waving the same little sign she was holding back on the side of the road when we first saw her.

"You, Complete Staranger. YOU are my hero!"

I'm not ashamed to admit that I shed a tear seeing her there.

I haven't really thought about her since then, until yesterday as I sat there watching the footage on the news. I couldn't help but think about what if what happened in Boston, happened in Philly?
What if that were MY kids standing by the finish line as they cheered me on.
What if that was that amazing disabled woman who inspired me that day?
Just as you're about to experience one of the biggest emotional highs you can imagine, some fuck detonates a bomb and instantly your life is forever changed.

It fucking gutted me.

Fucking COWARDS.

[ms.peachy]

The picture released today of the 8 year old boy holding that peace sign has absolutley gutted me...

I know :(

My daughter saw it this morning as I was flicking through the news online and asked me who that boy is. I told her that he is a very special boy who wants people to be nice to each other and take care of each other, and that he is holding up a sign to remind us all that we shouldn't do things to hurt other people. I can't possibly tell her the rest of the story. Fortunately we have no TV over here, so she's not likely to see something on TV she can't process yet. I know as a parent that as time goes by I won't be able to shield her from this kind of stuff forever (nor should I), but for right now there are things she doesn't need to know; she internalizes things so deeply as it is. When we were in NY in November, there was a terrible story of a bus accident in Brooklyn (or Queens?) where a bus crashed into a house and killed a 6 year old boy while he was sleeping, and she saw that story on the news. She was terrified for days - this idea that a 6 year old kid - like her - could be just sleeping and a bus crash into their house and kill them was just too too shocking. She knows nothing of the Newtown shooting, I can't even begin to imagine how that would fuck with her sweet little heart. Like I said I know I can't keep this shit away from her forever, but I can damn well do it for now.

[Adam]

I started typing a reply yesterday similar to Rob$ but he put it better than I could.

I've been to other cities where terror attacks have happened (Boston, NYC, live in London) but I've never actually been in a city during an attack. Anyway, I've done half marathons and the crowd are amazing; strangers cheering you on to do something that you could just look out your window and watch individuals do everyday. I've also come out to watch them and I will this Sunday for the London marathon. I was volunteering for St John Ambulance last for London marathon and it's an amazing being part of event in any capacity. (I kind of feel bad I didn't volunteer this year).

Which makes this all the worse. Running is humans at their best, doing it for charity, people cheering on strangers, volunteers spending normally over a week helping just for one day.

Cowards.

[kaiser soze]

This attack wasn't just against the people of Boston - it was against everyone from around the world who participate in the marathon.

Can all the adults of the world just pause for one day to let all the children of the world live to see another.

Fuckface Limbaugh jokes about pressure cookers after the bombings

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/17/1202460/-Limbaugh-Jokes-About-Boston-Bombs

he should be off the air - hell, stop giving him air

[Freebasser]

I had a relatively lucky escape in the nineties when i lived in Warrington (IRA Bomb)

Fuck - you almost got tied up in the Warrington bomb? I remember being scared for months afterwards that if the IRA were prepared to hit a little town nearby like Warrington then anyone was a target. It didn't help that two little boys died - just made me, a little boy, feel even more vulnerable.

Honestly, the IRA bombings were some fucked up, scary times. Every other week there was a fresh reminder of how dangerous The Troubles were. I am 100% behind Ireland reclaiming the North but killing people achieves nothing but heartache. I read a bunch of fucked up comments on the Daily Mail site the other day saying Bostonians deserved these bombings because of IRA funding drives held in Boston bars decades ago. How anyone can think someone like the 8 year old boy killed in Boston, or the little boys killed in Warrington, deserve to die is beyond me :(

[Guy Incognito]

Fuck - you almost got tied up in the Warrington bomb? I remember being scared for months afterwards that if the IRA were prepared to hit a little town nearby like Warrington then anyone was a target. It didn't help that two little boys died - just made me, a little boy, feel even more vulnerable.

Honestly, the IRA bombings were some fucked up, scary times. Every other week there was a fresh reminder of how dangerous The Troubles were. I am 100% behind Ireland reclaiming the North but killing people achieves nothing but heartache. I read a bunch of fucked up comments on the Daily Mail site the other day saying Bostonians deserved these bombings because of IRA funding drives held in Boston bars decades ago. How anyone can think someone like the 8 year old boy killed in Boston, or the little boys killed in Warrington, deserve to die is beyond me :(

i was in town centre which isnt massive but wasnt in the incident area but not very far away really and managed to get out of town quickly.

[Bob]

now a cop got shot to death at MIT in cambridge

and apparently a carjacker is throwing grenades in watertown? and i thought i heard something about dynamite?

don't get it

[Adam]

I've been reading the ticker this morning to what has been going off.

Boston in lockdown - crazy.

I love Boston when I was there, I stayed in Cambridge, had a look near MIT so recognise a few places.

Russian origin the suspects I read reported.

[TurdBerglar]

http://www.today.com/video/today/51594935/#51594935


so many other stories below the initial video

[M|X|Y]

bob, turd.. thoughts? shit has gone bonkers in your neck..

[Bob]

they locked down the city and the surrounding area while conducting the manhunt. i live in somerville, just outside the locked down zone, but i stayed in anyway

it's weird, but i dunno, there's not much i can do besides lay low, stay out of the way, and hope they get the bastard

i'm not scared, not really. but it definitely feels different

[TurdBerglar]

I don't live nearly close enough to comment directly but I know some people that live there and pretty much say the same as bob.

as I type this it seems that they have the second one cornered in a residential area.

[M|X|Y]

really intense. i can't wait till they get the shit!

they have the fucker hiding in someone's back yard, in a boat.

i REALLY hope they get him alive.

[Bob]

there's a police scanner where you can follow shit as it goes down in real time

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ma-rt-9-window-cam

just don't post anything on social media please

last i heard they had him cornered on a boat in a backyard of a house in watertown. the boat was on fire at one point but i guess not now. they threw flashblangs at him but i don't know what came of that. they seem to be holding off and waiting for...i'm not sure

[Freebasser]

Caught the fucker (y)

[Bob]

that's a relief

he looks like a damn child

[Documad]

Huge relief. I can't imagine being there or near there Bob.

[Bob]

i had the good fortune of being pretty well separated from any of the real trauma--i wasn't anywhere near any of the violent areas, and i don't personally know anybody who was. the closest i came to any of that is that the MIT cop who got murdered apparently lives about two blocks away from me. i was out buying a sandwich and noticed the street was cordoned off with police tape, and apparently that's why. the crime didn't happen there, that was just his home.

so for me it's been more of an existential weird; the personal tension has been brief and not visceral. though i swear i heard those explosions in watertown last night--i thought i heard thunder, and that was before i knew anything was happening, so it wasn't just my mind playing tricks on me.

still. can't believe this has only been one week

[Randetica]

that's a relief

he looks like a damn child

and after all that some bitches are attracted to him like he is some jonas brother


anywayz...this whole official story sounds still bizarre...

[ericlee]

Someone from Boston needs to teabag his corpse.

[HOTWIFE]

My Uncle Ralph ran the marathon this year as he always does. My brother took a year off after running the past 5 yrs, in which my whole family would have been sitting there with all our kids at the finish line like years past. My sister was in Boston for her friend's dr appt at Tufts..thank God they didn't stop to see the marathon. I sort of feel numb to the whole thing, like I'm used to this bullshit. Every month it seems some asshole decides he wants to take the lives of innocent people and go down ina 'blaze of glory'. And after all the sensationalizing and media coverage of yesterday's 'manhunt'for the cunts who did this I can't help but feel like there were some sick bastards watching fantasizing about their attack on humanity.

[ericlee]

It sickens me to see their families trying to support them by saying they were framed. If that's the case then why were there shootouts with the police? Grenades even? Their family should be locked up too, fucking pieces of shit.

[RobMoney$]

It sickens me to see their families trying to support them by saying they were framed. If that's the case then why were there shootouts with the police? Grenades even?

How fucking great was the Uncle though?
http://youtu.be/dP6hMSxfbjE

Their family should be locked up too, fucking pieces of shit.

I work with a guy who just came over from Russia not too long ago.
He's a former Soviet Union Naval Officer.
I asked him why stuff like this doesn't seem to happen in Russia?
He said because in Russia, they would have took his entire family, Mother, Father, everyone. And shot them all. And they would have made this kid watch it.
Then they would have shot the kid.

And they would have televised it to send a message to anyone else thinking of doing something similar that THIS is what we do to people who do these things.

Not sure if he was being dramatic or not, but pretty fucking righteous of an idea if you ask me.

[Waus]

I work with a guy who just came over from Russia not too long ago.
He's a former Soviet Union Naval Officer.
I asked him why stuff like this doesn't seem to happen in Russia?
He said because in Russia, they would have took his entire family, Mother, Father, everyone. And shot them all. And they would have made this kid watch it.
Then they would have shot the kid.

And they would have televised it to send a message to anyone else thinking of doing something similar that THIS is what we do to people who do these things.

Not sure if he was being dramatic or not, but pretty fucking righteous of an idea if you ask me.

Lex talionis.

[HOTWIFE]

I think these bastards may think twice if we had a zero tolerance policy for these types of crimes...maybe torture the fuck out of them after they're convicted. These types are usually cowards who think nothing of inflicting pain and suffering on others but when it comes down to it usually can't muster the guts to even put a pistol in their mouths and pull the trigger at the end of it all. Although I know it will never fly here in the US.

[Bob]

and that's why everybody holds up russia as a great example of a place to live

[Dorothy Wood]

So some of you are in favor of throwing out the court system and convicting/killing/torturing a U.S. citizen without a trial?

I hate that this happened and I hate it more now that I read and see the frenzied reaction. Everyone is focusing their rage on one kid, when it's like not even known if someone put them up to this or not.

[Waus]

You guys see this on reddit?

http://georgedonnelly.com/libertarian/boston-police-state-failed

Yesterday’s show of force actually made everyone more vulnerable by showing just how weak, frightened and cowardly people in the US are. Not only are the government cops a threat to freedom but they actually make you less safe!

[HOTWIFE]

So some of you are in favor of throwing out the court system and convicting/killing/torturing a U.S. citizen without a trial?

I hate that this happened and I hate it more now that I read and see the frenzied reaction. Everyone is focusing their rage on one kid, when it's like not even known if someone put them up to this or not.

"Convicted"..read it again. Someone who has been convicted of something has been given a trial and was found guilty. And this is just me talking..I know its all kinds of wrong and would fuck up our judicial system but can't I have a moment of voicing what I would love to see happen to these punks?

[Bob]

You guys see this on reddit?

http://georgedonnelly.com/libertarian/boston-police-state-failed

i have to laugh at his characterization of the suspect as a "19-year old honor student", as though we should have had the gift of hindsight from the beginning and not been afraid of him. the author seems to forget that the moment the cops started chasing these guys, they murdered a cop and started hucking grenades and bombs at their pursuers. there's not a lot of precedent for this kind of behavior in watertown, they approached the situation pretty cautiously

[Randetica]

So some of you are in favor of throwing out the court system and convicting/killing/torturing a U.S. citizen without a trial?

I hate that this happened and I hate it more now that I read and see the frenzied reaction. Everyone is focusing their rage on one kid, when it's like not even known if someone put them up to this or not.

i agree


"In this video i show you how the Media suspect that is still alive and captured , Left the event WITH HIS BACKPACK ! BUT ……Their Craft aka Blackwater Agent was caught running out of the scene ..WITHOUT HIS BACKPACK ….The one that matches the Bomb Backpack PERFECTLY !!"

http://www.secretsofthefed.com/look-proof-that-craft-or-blackwater-agents-did-the-boston-marathon-bombing-event/

[Dorothy Wood]

i have to laugh at his characterization of the suspect as a "19-year old honor student", as though we should have had the gift of hindsight from the beginning and not been afraid of him. the author seems to forget that the moment the cops started chasing these guys, they murdered a cop and started hucking grenades and bombs at their pursuers. there's not a lot of precedent for this kind of behavior in watertown, they approached the situation pretty cautiously

Yeah, the "police state" aspect was a little freaky, viscerally. But the kid was indiscriminate and an immediate threat, so it made sense to end the violence with a big show of force. I don't really agree with how it all went down, but I can't even comprehend how hard a job it would be to figure out what to do.

Bob do you think people felt abused or oppressed by the cops?

[Dorothy Wood]

i agree


"In this video i show you how the Media suspect that is still alive and captured , Left the event WITH HIS BACKPACK ! BUT ……Their Craft aka Blackwater Agent was caught running out of the scene ..WITHOUT HIS BACKPACK ….The one that matches the Bomb Backpack PERFECTLY !!"

http://www.secretsofthefed.com/look-proof-that-craft-or-blackwater-agents-did-the-boston-marathon-bombing-event/

Uhoh I clicked that and it shut down the browser on my phone. They don't want me to know the secrets. I really hope none of these conspiracy theories are true, I hope it's just senselessness, misplaced angst.

[Dorothy Wood]

"Convicted"..read it again. Someone who has been convicted of something has been given a trial and was found guilty. And this is just me talking..I know its all kinds of wrong and would fuck up our judicial system but can't I have a moment of voicing what I would love to see happen to these punks?

Well one is already dead and the other has hell to pay, no matter what happens his life is not his own anymore. More violence is counterproductive.

Pardon my pacifism, it's been pissing people off lately.

[Bob]

Yeah, the "police state" aspect was a little freaky, viscerally. But the kid was indiscriminate and an immediate threat, so it made sense to end the violence with a big show of force. I don't really agree with how it all went down, but I can't even comprehend how hard a job it would be to figure out what to do.

Bob do you think people felt abused or oppressed by the cops?

i don't know everybody in boston, but i don't personally know anybody who was, no. i can't say that i noticed anybody speaking that way. the closest to that was a few people saying "fuck everybody responsible for turning my city into a police state" but i never got the sense that it was particularly directed towards the cops, more towards the people running around throwing bombs indiscriminately

but again, i don't know everyone in boston and it's not like i did a poll. maybe some people did feel that way. i imagine that anyone who had troopers marching through their homes in watertown might have felt a little oppressed (though perhaps not nearly as frightened as they were of the two jerks who woke them up at 1am when they started throwing grenades around--but again, i can't say, i don't personally know anybody who had that happen to them).

overwhelmingly, the sense i got was that people were obviously unhappy to be on lockdown, but they understood it. it was a well and truly unique situation and they were willing to cut the authorities a bit of slack on this one to put an end to it. people really liked the cops this weekend, is how i'll put it.

[TurdBerglar]

"In this video i show you how the Media suspect that is still alive and captured , Left the event WITH HIS BACKPACK ! BUT ……Their Craft aka Blackwater Agent was caught running out of the scene ..WITHOUT HIS BACKPACK ….The one that matches the Bomb Backpack PERFECTLY !!"

http://www.secretsofthefed.com/look-proof-that-craft-or-blackwater-agents-did-the-boston-marathon-bombing-event/

this guy is a tool.

[Kid Presentable]

These reactions on this forum make me wonder about the reactions in countries and cities where America has blown shit up. Not strictly America, though. Could just as easily be, say, Australia. Bombing the everlonging fuck out of Baghdad or some other target of strategic significance, for example.

It's been the elephant in the room ever since this awful event occurred.

Still, interesting.

[TurdBerglar]

a target of strategic significance is different from a foot race, no?

[Kid Presentable]

I dunno, man. Is there a list?

My dad dropped bombs on Dresden in WW2. I can only ever use the term 'target of strategic significance' with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

[TurdBerglar]

comparing the situation in boston to Dresden is a bit weird.

[Kid Presentable]

comparing the situation in boston to Dresden is a bit weird.

I wasn't. I was explaining what I meant by strategic significance, and how farcical it is to try and discriminate or justify some types of killing and get the arse about others.

Just reading some of the reactions (and I completely get it, this is a horrible time) gets me thinking about how angry crew must get when you/us/whomever blows up a city full of kids and women and general bystanders. And I'm certainly not singling out America, just the anger. I mean, anger is really where all these things start.

[TurdBerglar]

gotcha

your general bluntness and directness comes off as disregard/disrespect at times. which Is ironic because I'm pretty much the same way.

[Bob]

it's definitely been something that's been sticking in my mind, even since monday. i watched a video of the explosions--nothing gory, but still pretty powerful stuff--and in the back of my mind i keep thinking "this is terrible, but this shit happens near every day in some parts of the world, and at some parts of history."

and sure, at some level there's a difference between planting bombs at a marathon with the intent of killing as many civilians as possible, and carrying out a bomb strike on a military target that also happens to kill a bunch of civilians, but when you're sitting there and you learn that something exploded in your city for the second time in a week, and once again your first thought is "i wonder if anybody i know could have died in that?" i feel like the difference probably gets a bit...

i dunno man the world is fucked

[Yeti]

It sickens me to see their families trying to support them by saying they were framed. If that's the case then why were there shootouts with the police? Grenades even? Their family should be locked up too, fucking pieces of shit.

The Uncle that lives in Maryland is awesome. He is a family member and he was great in his interview.

[JoLovesMCA]

Now that we know he will be charged with using weapons of mass destruction via civilian court what are y'all's opinions on the sentence?? I have always been a supporter of the death penalty. I know many say life in prison will be worse than death, but I don't look at it that way.

[RobMoney$]

People making accusations of the Police being oppressive or unconstitutional in their pursuit and sweep of watertown mass. while an extremely dangerous individual who was on some real life GTA type shit make me sick.

[Bob]

i dunno, i think it's a question that's at least worth keeping in mind, or maybe even talking about--the police literally did shut down the city and say "you're not allowed to leave your homes, and we're allowed to send heavily armed men into them to search them without your consent." it's a drastic measure for sure, and when the police do that, i think it's absolutely worth wondering "is that an ok thing to do?"

i just happen to think that under the circumstances (namely the urgency and insanity of the threat and the extremely temporary nature of the lockdown) it was fine, and i get the sense that most people that were directly affected by it basically (if occasionally begrudgingly) agreed. like, yeah, this is essentially martial law and it sucks, but there is a psychopath out there with grenades and nobody knows where he is, so whatever let's give the cops a pass on this one for a little while and just do what they say till they catch the guy

it was a fucked up situation and the cops did (what under normal circumstances would be considered) a fucked up thing to deal with it, but they had to act fast and it all worked out so i'm not about to fling shit about it. i wouldn't have wanted to be in charge of deciding what to do in that shitstorm. the guy had bombs for fuck's sake

[RobMoney$]

And if they didn't exhaust every option, look in every corner, and search every crawl space, boat, garage, ect. and the guy had gotten away and gone on to kill again then people would criticize the cops for being incompetent and then they'd say the blood is now on Boston PD's hands.

They weren't being oppressive, they were trying to protect.
And everyone should be smart enough to realize that.
This was a fluid situation. There's no rule or law that can be written to fully cover every situation.
Law enforcement does not need to be criticized on this one AT ALL.
They should be thanked for protecting the public.

[Bob]

i'm with you in that i think they did the right thing on friday too. i'm only saying that when something as drastic as martial law happens, it's absolutely worth questioning whether it was the right thing to do. and my answer to the question, as someone who was basically there, is "are you kidding, it was totally an ok thing to do because that fucker had bombs and was hiding in a residential neighborhood, do whatever you have to do just get him, get him now"

but i don't see the harm in asking. if anything there's more harm to be had in never asking

[Dorothy Wood]

Yeah, I'm just asking. I watched the videos and heard the cops yelling at people and pulling people out of their homes with their hands up. Just thought it was a little extreme and somewhat pointless, the aggressiveness with civilians, that is. I'd think they'd be a little more quiet and sneaky about all of it.

I think the lockdown was a successful strategy though, I mean, they got him.

Last summer during NATO, my town was taken over by cops and it was fine, but I didn't like it. I was around it a lot mainly because the protestors had a home base around the corner from my work, so there were heavily padded and armed law enforcement just kinda hanging around on street corners. It's just a gross feeling, like they're watching everyone and waiting for you to do something suspicious. And my boyfriend was playing a show downtown and it just so happened that dozens and dozens of white vans filled with very bored-looking cops were around the corner from the club. And an army of bicycle cops kept circling the area. Nothing happened, it just felt weird. I'm less of a hippie than some of my friends who complained a lot about it, so I get it, the show. It's meant to intimidate and it does.


As for the whole situation, I'm kinda with Kid P. Plus like people get killed around me all the time and it's not national news...well, sometimes the sheer number of murders is (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/chicago-homicide-rate-2013)...but the other day some regular teenage boy was found stabbed to death and thrown in a pond in a park. They're never gonna figure out who did that shit. The FBI isn't shutting down the city to hunt for these killers. Two people got shot and stabbed just two days ago about a mile from my apartment. It's fucked up, honestly I'm almost always worried about getting robbed or killed when I'm out at night. I HAVE to worry, so I can high tail it if I sense something's about to go down.

It's different though, I get that. Random bombs at an event where people were actually exemplifying excellence. Working hard and not even remotely practicing any of the stuff that people tend to hate America for. I think everything was made worse by all the speculating too, treating it off the bat like it was an act of war intensified everything.

I'm just rambling now. sorry. Lots of thoughts swirling around in my head, some of which are contradictory.

[TurdBerglar]

I would love to see tons of police in my city

[Dorothy Wood]

^why?

[TurdBerglar]

a few years ago my city was ranked the 15th most dangerous or something like that. considering it's a city of only 150,000 that's a really high rank.

two summers ago when a tornado ripped through my city and my neighborhood, the national guard was everywhere. big dudes in fatigues with assault riffles driving around in Humvees. it made me feel safe. I liked it.

there seems to be more and more dirtbag hoodrats each and every year. last summer some high school kids where setting cars on fire and tossing motolov cocktales into people's property just for haha's and just other random mayhem. that lasted a few weeks. I hear gunshots on a regular basis and nobody bats and eye to it.

last spring I heard something downstairs. so I went to take a look. whoever was down there must have heard me coming down the stairs and bolted out the door because the door and the backyard gate were wide open. who the fuck breaks into a house in mid morning when there's a car parked in the driveway? then a few months later somebody set a car on fire next to the fence. it fucking exploded and nearly burnt the stockade fence down.

[JoLovesMCA]

There’s no shortage of police in my city. I don’t mind it. They can be quite annoying sometimes though. But I would rather have an annoying police presence then none at all.

I thought they were aggressive on Friday but it was a major terrorist attack on their people and our nation. Their blood was boiling and they were so focused on capturing that kid who had just murdered one of their own in a shootout. They took it very personal. Emotions were at their highest. I think the citizens understood to just stay out of the way!

[Randetica]

http://educate-yourself.org/cn/bostonbombingdidyouthink20apr13.shtml

wow this is conspiracy stuff to the fullest


true or not but i still find it highly interesting and i try to keep an eye on the the conspiracies and the official versions

i wonder if laws get changed because of such happenings or if they let such things happen on purpose so they can change the laws

[M|X|Y]

nutty.

it's actually kind of funny to see it broken down into frames like that when most cameras shoot at TWENTY FOUR frames per second -

that's some Flash Gordon shit

[TurdBerglar]

internet conspiracy theorist reeeeaaaaach for whatever suits their ideas.

[afronaut]

I think the lockdown was a successful strategy though, I mean, they got him.

I dunno, the kid was hiding outside of the perimeter they were searching. And then it took them to lift the lockdown for one of the civilians to finally find him. Yeah, one of the people they were locking down and shouting at had to find the bad guy. IMO that sounds like an epic fail. If I suspended an entire community's 4th amendment rights to achieve absolutely nothing, just to be shown up by one of the people being treated like a caged animal - well, I'd be kind of embarrassed if I had been a part of that.

[YoungRemy]

internet conspiracy theorist reeeeaaaaach for whatever suits their ideas.

yup. confirmation bias.

dumb naive conspiracy theorists lap up everything they see on Internet and call the believers of the actual details the sheeple for believing the mainstream media.


when the Craft International theory gets destroyed by photo evidence of the so called government operatives still holding on to their backpacks after the explosion, they move on to the next theory someone conjures up.

they question everything and pull the Glenn Beck routine- "I'm just asking questions- all I'm saying is that people out there are speculating..."

they do the same with 9/11, Sandy Hook, and now Boston.

New World Order, Illuminati, reptilian bullshit.

[Freebasser]

Conspiracy theory losers have to do something to make themselves feel important - they're unloved narcissists who crave that feeling of importance.

The worrying thing is that the other 3 people I have the (dis)pleasure of sharing an office with 8 hours a day were all banging on about all that Alex Jones and Glenn Beck shit like it was real the other day, even after I told them about all the 9/11 conspiracy shit that they spout.

I'm afraid when easily led people (colleague 1), introverted net-addicts (colleague 2) and self-important "the BNP (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_National_Party) seem like a decent bunch from what I've seen on TV" closet right wingers (colleague 3) get in a room together, they make for a lethal combo.

I fear for the future of this planet when someone can blow up innocent bystanders without reason and all people can say is "yeah, but you know it's an inside job don't you?"

How can there possibly be a top-secret cabal of Government spooks when most officals can't even do something as simple as use a train properly (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20008342).

[Bob]

I dunno, the kid was hiding outside of the perimeter they were searching. And then it took them to lift the lockdown for one of the civilians to finally find him. Yeah, one of the people they were locking down and shouting at had to find the bad guy. IMO that sounds like an epic fail. If I suspended an entire community's 4th amendment rights to achieve absolutely nothing, just to be shown up by one of the people being treated like a caged animal - well, I'd be kind of embarrassed if I had been a part of that.

it's easy to say that and feel self-righteous now that we can look back in retrospect and see how it played out, but i don't think it's fair at all to be so dismissive of the people who had to make the decision as the (extraordinarily chaotic) situation was developing (extraordinarily chaotically). these guys murdered a cop and started hucking grenades in a residential neighborhood, the people in charge of stopping that had to think fast--"how do we keep the people safe and catch these guys before more people die?" locking down the area was the idea they came up with

it's super easy to read about it on the internet days afterwards and say "well obviously this was an egregious and unnecessary breach of liberty because look what happened" but at the time there was no way to tell what was going to happen. or for that matter, what would have happened if they hadn't locked the city down. maybe more people would have died, or it would have developed into an ugly hostage situation. you don't know now, and nobody could have known then.

it was a difficult situation, and a difficult decision, they did what they thought they had to do. i see what you're saying, and i'm not saying that you don't have a point, but i don't think it's fair at all to be so smug about it and call it an epic fail just because the gift of hindsight allows you to point out that it went down a certain way.

[Yetra Flam]

While I think its insensitive and inappropriate to get in the faces of people who have experienced a tragedy by yelling "conspiracy", I still don't think it hurts to look at alternate news sources and ask questions.
And I also don't think that not believing 100% of what mainstream reports makes you "right wing conspiracy nutjob."
I mean, is it that great a conspiracy to consider that the government may not be working in our interests the entire time? To me, I don't know.
I'm not talking about going down the David Iyke/Lizardpeople rabbithole here, just keeping an open mind. But keeping an open dialogue, maybe try and understand WHY people have alternate theories, not swallowing all the insanity though.
Some of these conspiracy bloggers want so badly for what they believe to be true, that they'll intentionally fabricate and look for ANYTHING to fit their agenda.
This whole Boston Bombing thing was awful. So sad. Sandy Hook too. And all of the others. I don't know all the details. I don't know why it happened. I don't know why any of these things happen. I don't know why anyone would want to do such a thing.

[Bob]

i think there's a difference between asking questions/keeping an open mind (healthy) and saying "ok, the mainstream media reported it this way, so let's pick apart everything i can find on the internet on my own and figure out the truth and shout down anyone that disagrees because they're a sheeple mind slave" (less healthy)

that kind of bullshit does more harm than good, because if there's ever a situation where the government/media/oligarchy/whoever is lying about something (which has happened, and will almost certainly happen again and again), and someone figures it out, nobody's gonna believe them because everybody's so goddamn burnt out on these goddamn lizardman conspiracy theories

sometimes a man with both his legs blown off is just a man with both his legs blown off

[Bob]

also, at the risk of trying to sound like a tough guy, i would really like to see the writer of that link that randy posted run that "Bauman in the photos seen below is surely an amputee actor who is pretending that his legs were blown off from a staged bombing near the finish line of the Boston Marathon" theory by Bauman himself and see how that pans out

and this line: "My guess is that no one was actually killed in the Boston Marathon 'explosions'"

is this a joke that i'm missing? is this like, the onion of conspiracy websites and i've just never heard of it?

someone on another internet forum i post on is neighbors with the family of the 8-year old child that died. he even used to babysit him. the kid's father ran the marathon, and his family was waiting at the finish line for him. when he finished, the kid ran out to hug him, then ran back to his family. then the bombs went off. the kid died. his sister (also about the same age) lost a leg. the mother was hurt too.

the bombs were real. the explosions were real. people lost their legs. people fucking died. climb out of that rabbit hole before it's too late randy, you're better than to be reading that shit

[Waus]

someone on another internet forum i post on is neighbors with the family of the 8-year old child that died.

Yo serious business, but what other forums are worth posting on?

[Randetica]

While I think its insensitive and inappropriate to get in the faces of people who have experienced a tragedy by yelling "conspiracy", I still don't think it hurts to look at alternate news sources and ask questions.
And I also don't think that not believing 100% of what mainstream reports makes you "right wing conspiracy nutjob."
I mean, is it that great a conspiracy to consider that the government may not be working in our interests the entire time? To me, I don't know.
I'm not talking about going down the David Iyke/Lizardpeople rabbithole here, just keeping an open mind. But keeping an open dialogue, maybe try and understand WHY people have alternate theories, not swallowing all the insanity though.
Some of these conspiracy bloggers want so badly for what they believe to be true, that they'll intentionally fabricate and look for ANYTHING to fit their agenda.
This whole Boston Bombing thing was awful. So sad. Sandy Hook too. And all of the others. I don't know all the details. I don't know why it happened. I don't know why any of these things happen. I don't know why anyone would want to do such a thing.

i really agree there

bob i was always interested in conspiracy theories but that doesnt mean i believe them all (not even close), it shows how fucked up peoples minds can be but other times people also come up with quite some interesting/making sense stuff

i dont know whats more messed up... thinking that those real victims get blamed for acting this or that actors would be playing those fake victims

[Bob]

i dont know whats more messed up... thinking that those real victims get blamed for acting this or that actors would be playing those fake victims

i'm sorry, and it might be a language barrier, but that doesn't make any sense to me, can you explain that a little bit more?

[Randetica]

i'm sorry, and it might be a language barrier, but that doesn't make any sense to me, can you explain that a little bit more?

would it be worse that these so called actors PRETEND to be injured by the bombings and get mad cash from the government or whomever for faking it and get our sympathy for nothing

or is it worse that some fucked up minds THINK those seen bombing victims are just faking the "injuries" and "pains" for media while in fact those victims are real and they are getting "stones thrown" at because of some fanatic conspiracy freaks make up some fucked up theories that some people believe
is what i was asking

i hope thats more clear


i posted the link cause i was wow! wow like omg what if this is true and also wow like omg how below the belt can you go.. intense for sure

[checkyourprez]

I dunno, the kid was hiding outside of the perimeter they were searching. And then it took them to lift the lockdown for one of the civilians to finally find him. Yeah, one of the people they were locking down and shouting at had to find the bad guy. IMO that sounds like an epic fail. If I suspended an entire community's 4th amendment rights to achieve absolutely nothing, just to be shown up by one of the people being treated like a caged animal - well, I'd be kind of embarrassed if I had been a part of that.

i think looking out for the greater good trumps the 4th amendment sometimes. this is one of those times.

when the government, police etc. act on something and its not fast enough and they don't do enough (Katrina) the American public does not take kindly to that. especially in this instance i think the Police had to do something. they can only go off their best guesses. no one is a genius or has a crystal ball to see exactly what criminals are doing.

its too easy to sit their and rip on them for him being outside of their search radius. and shutting things down like transit or having people stay in their homes.

dont you think if their is less people out its safer for all of them? along with making it harder for the other guy to travel in plain sight? just because he was not snagged in the search area does not mean that it is not beneficial and that safety should not be a top priority.

[M|X|Y]

t-h-e-r-e, you dullard... GAHHHH:rolleyes:

[JoLovesMCA]

You gotta be careful with the conspiracy theories. I listen to a lot of talk radio and Michael Savage has been quite interesting to listen to lately. His theories are so OUT THERE yet I still find interest in hearing what he and many others are saying.

I don’t care if it was a conspiracy or not. What I do know from the information we have is that this 19 year old kid and his whacko religious brother did the unthinkable. I hope they get what they need from the kid and then put him to death.

I do not sympathize with the bombers. I know some who do and feel bad or think the kid was brainwashed. I don’t care to be honest. He’s old enough to know that it wrong to set a bomb next to an 8 year old boy and walk away smiling. If he wants forgiveness leave that up to GOD. I just want justice.

And really though. They had no idea what the suspects were planning next. Better be safe than sorry. They got EM and no civilians were hurt or killed in the process of it. I am surprised. Usually negotiations with a terrorist end much worse.

Boston police have my respect!

[afronaut]

i think looking out for the greater good trumps the 4th amendment sometimes. this is one of those times.

when the government, police etc. act on something and its not fast enough and they don't do enough (Katrina) the American public does not take kindly to that. especially in this instance i think the Police had to do something. they can only go off their best guesses. no one is a genius or has a crystal ball to see exactly what criminals are doing.

its too easy to sit their and rip on them for him being outside of their search radius. and shutting things down like transit or having people stay in their homes.

dont you think if their is less people out its safer for all of them? along with making it harder for the other guy to travel in plain sight? just because he was not snagged in the search area does not mean that it is not beneficial and that safety should not be a top priority.
I'm not saying they were wrong in doing what they needed to do at the time. I am saying that the fact that they took the most drastic of measures and didnt even come close to finding the guy is a fail. Because they didnt find the guy, and they wouldnt have found the guy. You can say "derpy derp derp safety!" all you want, the fact of the matter is the lessening of those safety measures is what caused the dude to get caught. No offense to the brave people who had to carry out that operation, but there is some incompetence somewhere.

Looking at situations like this in hindsight is most important, because that is the only time you will see what went wrong, what went right, and what were the real reasons for going about things in that manner. The real reason was panic, fear, and never having to deal with such a situation before. Understandable, yes. But as for the people in charge, who come up with these strategies, you failed. You didnt catch the guy. You wouldnt have caught the guy. Why? We're talking about a half dead, bleeding to death, 19 year old kid. That inspires no confidence whatsoever in me.

Fact of the matter is, the whole operation was inappropriate for the situation at hand. They went about it as if this were a situation where someone was harboring a terrorist, not as if this were a manhunt. Instead of setting up a perimeter and raiding each and every house within that perimeter, simple infared sweeps of the entire area could have led to a capture much sooner, and without the suspension of amendment rights. Of course, a terrorist loose is an appropriate situation to suspend those rights. But its no excuse to use ineffective measures when other measures would be far more effective and less fear generating.

And this is nothing against the brave people who have to carry out operations like this. They're heroes. My anger is at the fact that we do not seem to know what to do in domestic terror situations. Its easy for the FBI to search out potential terrorists, provide those terrorists with ideas and supplies, and then shut down the terror operation before it goes through.

Apparently, its not so easy when a real terrorist slips through the cracks. In that situation, fear and panic seem to inform those in charge just as much as it does the civilians. And that is a problem.

Also, I'm not referring to some far out conspiracy theories about the FBI. Facilitating terror plots has been a large factor in many - if not most or all - domestic terror plots that have been foiled since 9/11. I guess its a smart strategy, if not a little Minority Report-ish.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/02/how-the-fbi-helps-terrorists-succeed/273537/
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/opinion/sunday/terrorist-plots-helped-along-by-the-fbi.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&

[Bob]

I'm not saying they were wrong in doing what they needed to do at the time. I am saying that the fact that they took the most drastic of measures and didnt even come close to finding the guy is a fail. Because they didnt find the guy, and they wouldnt have found the guy. You can say "derpy derp derp safety!" all you want, the fact of the matter is the lessening of those safety measures is what caused the dude to get caught. No offense to the brave people who had to carry out that operation, but there is some incompetence somewhere.

Looking at situations like this in hindsight is most important, because that is the only time you will see what went wrong, what went right, and what were the real reasons for going about things in that manner. The real reason was panic, fear, and never having to deal with such a situation before. Understandable, yes. But as for the people in charge, who come up with these strategies, you failed. You didnt catch the guy. You wouldnt have caught the guy. Why? We're talking about a half dead, bleeding to death, 19 year old kid. That inspires no confidence whatsoever in me.

Fact of the matter is, the whole operation was inappropriate for the situation at hand. They went about it as if this were a situation where someone was harboring a terrorist, not as if this were a manhunt. Instead of setting up a perimeter and raiding each and every house within that perimeter, simple infared sweeps of the entire area could have led to a capture much sooner, and without the suspension of amendment rights. Of course, a terrorist loose is an appropriate situation to suspend those rights. But its no excuse to use ineffective measures when other measures would be far more effective and less fear generating.

And this is nothing against the brave people who have to carry out operations like this. They're heroes. My anger is at the fact that we do not seem to know what to do in domestic terror situations. Its easy for the FBI to search out potential terrorists, provide those terrorists with ideas and supplies, and then shut down the terror operation before it goes through.

Apparently, its not so easy when a real terrorist slips through the cracks. In that situation, fear and panic seem to inform those in charge just as much as it does the civilians. And that is a problem.

Also, I'm not referring to some far out conspiracy theories about the FBI. Facilitating terror plots has been a large factor in many - if not most or all - domestic terror plots that have been foiled since 9/11. I guess its a smart strategy, if not a little Minority Report-ish.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/02/how-the-fbi-helps-terrorists-succeed/273537/
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/opinion/sunday/terrorist-plots-helped-along-by-the-fbi.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&

again, you're making all these judgments with facts that weren't available to the people in charge at the time they had to make the decision.

"But as for the people in charge, who come up with these strategies, you failed. You didnt catch the guy. You wouldnt have caught the guy. Why? We're talking about a half dead, bleeding to death, 19 year old kid. That inspires no confidence whatsoever in me. "

there was no way to know that at the time, and it's not remotely fair to smugly call it out now as though they were supposed to know that. to the best of their knowledge, with the facts that they had available, there may have been a dangerous murderer on the loose within the search perimeter, who wouldn't hesitate to shoot or throw grenades at anything that got in his way (because if you'll remember, in the hours leading up to the manhunt, that's exactly what happened)

if there had been some memo going around saying "it's just a 19-year old kid bleeding to death in a boat" i'm sure they would have behaved differently, but there was no way to know that. i was listening to the police scanner in the final hours, when they had him cornered on the boat, and right up until the end they were treating it like he could have had a bomb strapped to his chest (which again, wasn't an unreasonable assumption given the events of the day so far--it turned out he didn't, but there was no way to know it at the time). they had no way to know what they were dealing with until it was done, and it's not at all fair for you to use facts that nobody had at the time to say "well clearly their plan was never going to work, and it reeks of incompetence"

if you disagree with how they handled it, if you, with your apparent experience in conducting manhunts, would have handled it differently if you got the call at 1 in the morning about shots fired and explosions in watertown and we can't find one of the suspects, what do we do?, that's fine, you're entitled to that opinion. but what's rubbing me the wrong way is how smug you're being about it, as though they somehow should have known all the things that we know now

[checkyourprez]

t-h-e-r-e, you dullard... GAHHHH:rolleyes:

sorry, your wrong.

[cubsfirstplace]

Jeff Bauman (the guy in the famous picture who was wheeled away after losing both his legs) seems to be doing better. Here's a picture of him giving another injured victim a gift. http://i.imgur.com/e8fCR7x.jpg He looks much better in this picture.

[ms.peachy]

Jeff Bauman (the guy in the famous picture who was wheeled away after losing both his legs) seems to be doing better. Here's a picture of him giving another injured victim a gift. http://i.imgur.com/e8fCR7x.jpg He looks much better in this picture.

I predict we're going to see amazing things from that guy. What's that Shakespeare quote, about how some are born to greatness, some achieve it and some have it thrust upon them? He may have had it thrust upon him in the most horrible way, but my gut tells me he's going to go out and be a tremendous force for good in the world. Maybe not, may be he just goes on and has a quiet, somewhat ordinary life - no shame in that. But I just have a feeling.

[Dorothy Wood]

I dunno, the kid was hiding outside of the perimeter they were searching. And then it took them to lift the lockdown for one of the civilians to finally find him. Yeah, one of the people they were locking down and shouting at had to find the bad guy. IMO that sounds like an epic fail. If I suspended an entire community's 4th amendment rights to achieve absolutely nothing, just to be shown up by one of the people being treated like a caged animal - well, I'd be kind of embarrassed if I had been a part of that.

I would tend to believe that the owner of the boat wouldn't have particularly focused on anything amiss if he had been going about his day normally. The lockdown made everyone hyper focused on the situation.

Honestly, it wasn't even 24 hours. They didn't round anybody up (as far as I know), they were focused on a task.

They really didn't know if there were co-conspirators or other bombs planted, so they were trying to anticipate the worst.

Again I don't like the house searching part, or the yelling, but I think if there was a suspected bomber running around my neighborhood, a big scary military style sweep would make me feel protected, not violated.

[Bob]

I would tend to believe that the owner of the boat wouldn't have particularly focused on anything amiss if he had been going about his day normally. The lockdown made everyone hyper focused on the situation.

well to be fair, i think it would have been pretty impossible to go about your day normally, even without the lockdown. everybody in the greater boston area was already pretty hyper-focused on the situation on account of how dangerous people with bombs appeared to be on the loose

[Dorothy Wood]

well to be fair, i think it would have been pretty impossible to go about your day normally, even without the lockdown. everybody in the greater boston area was already pretty hyper-focused on the situation on account of how dangerous people with bombs appeared to be on the loose

Ok. "normally" isn't the best word. I meant more like it would've been harder to notice things without the stillness of everyone being indoors. And the stillness made it so the kid couldn't slip away unnoticed, which is why he could only hide and wait. The lockdown forced him to hide, so therefore even though it was lifted, the lockdown enabled his capture

Just trying to explain why I think the lockdown worked.

[Homsar]

i think there's a difference between asking questions/keeping an open mind (healthy) and saying "ok, the mainstream media reported it this way, so let's pick apart everything i can find on the internet on my own and figure out the truth and shout down anyone that disagrees because they're a sheeple mind slave" (less healthy)

that kind of bullshit does more harm than good, because if there's ever a situation where the government/media/oligarchy/whoever is lying about something (which has happened, and will almost certainly happen again and again), and someone figures it out, nobody's gonna believe them because everybody's so goddamn burnt out on these goddamn lizardman conspiracy theories

sometimes a man with both his legs blown off is just a man with both his legs blown off

(y)

Glad to see you're safe, Bob.

[checkyourprez]

I'm not saying they were wrong in doing what they needed to do at the time. I am saying that the fact that they took the most drastic of measures and didnt even come close to finding the guy is a fail. Because they didnt find the guy, and they wouldnt have found the guy. You can say "derpy derp derp safety!" all you want, the fact of the matter is the lessening of those safety measures is what caused the dude to get caught. No offense to the brave people who had to carry out that operation, but there is some incompetence somewhere.

Looking at situations like this in hindsight is most important, because that is the only time you will see what went wrong, what went right, and what were the real reasons for going about things in that manner. The real reason was panic, fear, and never having to deal with such a situation before. Understandable, yes. But as for the people in charge, who come up with these strategies, you failed. You didnt catch the guy. You wouldnt have caught the guy. Why? We're talking about a half dead, bleeding to death, 19 year old kid. That inspires no confidence whatsoever in me.

Fact of the matter is, the whole operation was inappropriate for the situation at hand. They went about it as if this were a situation where someone was harboring a terrorist, not as if this were a manhunt. Instead of setting up a perimeter and raiding each and every house within that perimeter, simple infared sweeps of the entire area could have led to a capture much sooner, and without the suspension of amendment rights. Of course, a terrorist loose is an appropriate situation to suspend those rights. But its no excuse to use ineffective measures when other measures would be far more effective and less fear generating.

And this is nothing against the brave people who have to carry out operations like this. They're heroes. My anger is at the fact that we do not seem to know what to do in domestic terror situations. Its easy for the FBI to search out potential terrorists, provide those terrorists with ideas and supplies, and then shut down the terror operation before it goes through.

Apparently, its not so easy when a real terrorist slips through the cracks. In that situation, fear and panic seem to inform those in charge just as much as it does the civilians. And that is a problem.

Also, I'm not referring to some far out conspiracy theories about the FBI. Facilitating terror plots has been a large factor in many - if not most or all - domestic terror plots that have been foiled since 9/11. I guess its a smart strategy, if not a little Minority Report-ish.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/02/how-the-fbi-helps-terrorists-succeed/273537/
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/opinion/sunday/terrorist-plots-helped-along-by-the-fbi.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&

i still think you are really looking at this way too much in hindsight like its an easy call to make these decisions in the heat of the moment.


sure they knew they were looking for a 19 year old kid, but there is no way to know if it was just him. if he was working with other individuals. what kind of guns they had or bombs, or even yet if things were boobie-trapped and honestly where this kid was.

yeah sure he wasn't in the search radius, thats clear......now. how in the world at that time would they know that? they can only go on what information they have and their best intuition.


i agree with bobs usage of the word smug in this instance. why at the time the search was going on didn't you call up the boston pd and recommend a different search area?

its also easy look at it from afar and say "derp derp saftey derp derp, they are taking away our freedom" when talking about the suspension of the 4th amendment. once again, no one really knew the gravity of what they were dealing with. the police did the right thing to prepare for the worst.

say it wasn't just the two brothers, it was a gang of them, and they just started to periodically detonate bombs across boston as civilians were just going about their normal day to day business because there was no lockdown? i dont understand how you have a hard time grasping the severity of the "what if" in this situation. because the way you are going about this i feel you would be the first person to call them out for not doing enough had the hypothetical situation i just posed actually been the case.

[TurdBerglar]

SPRINGFIELD — Ninety-one percent of Massachusetts residents agree with the decision to lock down parts of Greater Boston while looking for the second Boston Marathon bombing suspect April 19 and 86 percent have a favorable opinion of the state police's handling of the case, according to survey results released Tuesday morning by The MassInc Polling Group.

Steven M. Koczela, president of the MassInc Polling Group, said the acceptance people showed for the all-day security cordon didn’t surprise him as someone who experienced that day himself.

“It sort of felt that way, just watching people’s reaction,” Koczela said Monday by phone. “But you never know until you ask.”

MassInc is an independent think tank based in Boston.

Nearly half, about 48 percent, of polling respondents said they are more concerned that the government will not go far enough to investigate and prevent terrorist attacks compared with just 36 percent of residents statewide who are more concerned civil liberties will be infringed.

“People approved of the response that they saw and are open to giving the government more leeway for any future crisis,” Koczela said.

A recent national poll conducted by the Washington Post found the opposite, with more people worried about constitutional rights than worried that the government won’t pursue and prevent terrorist attacks aggressively enough.

Western Massachusetts residents were more evenly split, though. In this region, 41 percent told pollsters they were more concerned about the government not going far enough and 42 percent were worried that the government would go too far.

As always in these polls, there remaining respondents were split between “don’t know” and “both, it depends.”

Koczela said it makes sense. Most Boston residents are reacting to events in their neighborhoods. The tragedy, while felt, was felt less viscerally here in Western Massachusetts and even less intensely across the country.

William C. Newman, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Western Massachusetts, agreed.

“It seems proximity makes a makes a big difference in these numbers,” Newman said.

He and the rest of the ACLU are concerned that the surviving bombing suspect, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was questioned without being advised of his right to remain silent. The law does have an exemption for questioning pertaining to threats to public safety.

Newman said the national Washington Post poll was heartening .

“I think it shows a recognition that denial of rights is un-American,” Newman said.

Fifty-one percent of respondents statewide thought the government should not place restrictions on the media in during a crisis to curtail misinformation. But a considerable minority of 42 percent does favor such restrictions.

In Western Massachusetts, just 38 percent of respondents called for restriction on the media while 56 percent said no.

“I don’t think that the government should be in the business of censoring the media,” Newman said.

Newman said lots of incorrect news reports such as the ones reporting additional bombs or an early arrest started with Twitter and other social media feeds then got pick up by traditional media.

The poll showed that about 35 percent of respondents checked social media, like Twitter, frequently for updates on the bombing and investigation. But that number trailed local television and news websites.

Residents seem to think Gov. Deval L. Patrick did a good job. He had a 61 percent favorable rating versus a 23 percent unfavorable rating compared with 60 percent favorable and 26 percent unfavorable in December.

U.S. Den. Elizabeth Warren had 50 percent favorable and 29 percent unfavorable compared with 54 percent favorable and 34 percent unfavorable in December.

MassInc polled 500 Massachusetts residents April 23 through 27. The margin of error here is plus or minus 4.4 percent.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/04/massachusetts_residents_happy.html#incart_river_de fault