Making sense of the Boston Marathon bombing is like wading through mud.
I love Boston. I spent vacations bouncing around Boston when my sister's family lived in a suburb. It's a great city, and my husband and I spend time there each year. Hell, I even like the MTA (which automatically designates me as a non-Bostonian), even if I - like Charlie - usually get lost. Boston was safe territory for me ("Combat Zone" be damned). And now it's not. It has joined New York City and pretty much every city in Israel.
My husband ran the NYC Marathon a few times. He never tried for Boston because it was THE marathon for the real runners. I never ran a race, much less a marathon, but as a spectator, I know what it's like to hang out near the finish line area at the 4+ hour mark waiting for a loved one to seemingly crawl across the line. That's about the time that the rest of the pack starts coming through, the runners who deserve all the applause and cheers for their determination. And precisely the time that this evil bastard (or bastards) determined should be his/her/their moment of perverted glory.
My heart aches over the three murdered people - especially Martin Richard, the 8-year old child - and the 150+ people who were injured. Some were runners whose legs were blown off by the blasts.
My heart is full of awe from the reports of runners, physically and mentally exhausted, who kept running to the local hospitals to give blood and offer support to the wounded.
I selfishly worry about the impact on the big-crowd events that are part of my family's yearly routine: The Thanksgiving Day Parade. NYC on New Year's Day, wandering Times Square 8 or 9 hours after the ball drops, watching the clean-up efforts. Fireworks in NYC on July 4. Now what? Do we now join Israel in massive public security zones? We are such an open society.
Every murder or act of violence or terrorism means that someone decided that s/he had been declared God and given the power and privilege of determining the course of the universe. Such narcissistic evil: someone with an agenda determines that it's his/her/their job to carry it out.
As if by script, within moments of the breaking news, there were the on-line idiots: Tea Partiers screaming that it's a plot by the Federal Government to lay blame on the TP because it was Patriots Day in Boston and Tax Day around the US and almost Waco anniversary day and Murrah anniversary day and how perfect for some government conspiracy and ... (head spinning). The usual Islamophobes started knee-jerk pronouncing the whole thing jihadist and that we should round up all the Musims and start killing. Stupidity wasn't limited to right wingers; Nicholas Kristof tweeted (he later apologized and deleted the tweet) that there was a relationship between a lack of an ATF director and Republican blockage of the nominees (by the way, I only mention his apology because it stands in stark contrast to the TP's and others who are standing their ground).
Obviously my mind is a muddle. It will take time to parse this thing out and to get some peace. More to come.
I love Boston. I spent vacations bouncing around Boston when my sister's family lived in a suburb. It's a great city, and my husband and I spend time there each year. Hell, I even like the MTA (which automatically designates me as a non-Bostonian), even if I - like Charlie - usually get lost. Boston was safe territory for me ("Combat Zone" be damned). And now it's not. It has joined New York City and pretty much every city in Israel.
My husband ran the NYC Marathon a few times. He never tried for Boston because it was THE marathon for the real runners. I never ran a race, much less a marathon, but as a spectator, I know what it's like to hang out near the finish line area at the 4+ hour mark waiting for a loved one to seemingly crawl across the line. That's about the time that the rest of the pack starts coming through, the runners who deserve all the applause and cheers for their determination. And precisely the time that this evil bastard (or bastards) determined should be his/her/their moment of perverted glory.
My heart aches over the three murdered people - especially Martin Richard, the 8-year old child - and the 150+ people who were injured. Some were runners whose legs were blown off by the blasts.
My heart is full of awe from the reports of runners, physically and mentally exhausted, who kept running to the local hospitals to give blood and offer support to the wounded.
I selfishly worry about the impact on the big-crowd events that are part of my family's yearly routine: The Thanksgiving Day Parade. NYC on New Year's Day, wandering Times Square 8 or 9 hours after the ball drops, watching the clean-up efforts. Fireworks in NYC on July 4. Now what? Do we now join Israel in massive public security zones? We are such an open society.
Every murder or act of violence or terrorism means that someone decided that s/he had been declared God and given the power and privilege of determining the course of the universe. Such narcissistic evil: someone with an agenda determines that it's his/her/their job to carry it out.
As if by script, within moments of the breaking news, there were the on-line idiots: Tea Partiers screaming that it's a plot by the Federal Government to lay blame on the TP because it was Patriots Day in Boston and Tax Day around the US and almost Waco anniversary day and Murrah anniversary day and how perfect for some government conspiracy and ... (head spinning). The usual Islamophobes started knee-jerk pronouncing the whole thing jihadist and that we should round up all the Musims and start killing. Stupidity wasn't limited to right wingers; Nicholas Kristof tweeted (he later apologized and deleted the tweet) that there was a relationship between a lack of an ATF director and Republican blockage of the nominees (by the way, I only mention his apology because it stands in stark contrast to the TP's and others who are standing their ground).
Obviously my mind is a muddle. It will take time to parse this thing out and to get some peace. More to come.
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