One of our friends in town is a member of the local news.  he also runs the marathon, and was doing so this year.  They interviewed him, and he hadn't found his wife at the finish line, they were disconnected for ~45 minutes.  Cannot imagine that feeling....

 

She is a Critical Care Nurse, and she was apparently trying to help anyone she could.  What an amazing woman.....

Disgusting. But if there is a bit of light in this dark shit, it's the fact that due to it being a marathon, there were a lot of medical people there to help hurting runners. I'm sure some lives may have been saved because of that.

My nephew was across the street from one of the explosions. Thankfully he and his grad school friends are all ok. Glad he wasn't on the other side.

Man, I'd hate to start thinking of life in the US as becoming more like it is in some places in the Near-East. 

 

But there it is. God I hope we can make peace.

 

Good thoughts to those hurt, and glad to hear so many hear close but unscathed. 

There is no God, Tyll, but the people who did this will be horribly murdered.  Hopefully by drone.  Obama doesn't fuck around, the way GW did.

 

Except we'll take out 3 different 8 year olds in addition to the perps in the drone attack. Who holds the moral high ground then? And in this case will the drone attack be out of country or in? No one knows who did this yet. I agree we need to get those who did it, but we have to be more moral than they are.

We don't who did it,until we know who did it. Who thought Timothy McVeigh was responsible before the facts were known?

My nephew was across the street from one of the explosions. Thankfully he and his grad school friends are all ok. Glad he wasn't on the other side.

 

He should be VERY thankful.  I heard there may have been an unexploded bomb under the stands!  Likely he may have been close to that.....

Our prayers are with everyone affected by this cowardly attack.  I was meeting with a thoracic surgeon in Denver when this happened, and didn't hear about it until an hour later on my way home with my wife.  My first thought was of my own kids, since BU was my daughter's second choice college and if she'd attended school there she would have definitely wanted to be watching the marathon in person for her first time.

 

Somehow, with as little as I trust the government for invading our privacy and rights, I thought we'd be prepared to prevent an attack like this (or Benghazi).  I'm hoping we figure it out soon, and sick our Seal team Six on the MF'rs that did this.  There is never a justification for attacks like this, and it only makes people fight back harder instead of giving up.

The thing is, our government does an excellent job of preventing attacks such as these, and has prevented many.  This is the first one of such ambitious scope that got through.

 

That said, to quote Blue Oyster Cult:

To defend
This is the pact
But when life's scorned
And damage done
To avenge
This is the pact

Fuck.

 

This.

 

sucks.

 

I won't pretend that I'm more concerned about this than the Baghdad bombings but what concerns me are the invisible casualties of terrorism. I can't even comprehend how many man hours and dollars have been used since 9/11 to maintain heightened security measures.

 

The more I see the more I'm starting to think that the price for security against excessive violence is too high. I'm pretty sure that there are certain acts of violent offense that I simply cannot hope to survive whilst remaining human.

 

Again- I mean no offence to the dead, maimed or mourning. Every lost life is a loss, regardless if it has been lost to shrapnel wounds, blind vengeance or post-traumatic depression.

What concerns me is, the more this kind of thing happens, the more mainstream it becomes. We take it as part of the times we live in, and that is a very dangerous perspective IMO. This is insanity, and it should never be perceived as anything but insanity. 

The flip side of that is if we see it as part of the times we live in, and focus on the helpers and not the bombers, then they don't get what they want most, attention and fame.

My heart goes out to all affected by this sensless attack.

 

Steve I agree that it is total insanity as you say but I think we tend to forget that things like this (or much worse) happen a lot more often than we let oursleves realize. I'm not saying that it should be part of the mainstream or accepted but they do happen (uni-bomber etc). There are a lot of crazy and murderous people out there.

My thoughts goes to those in Boston.

 

An useful article I just read here:

http://news.menshealth.com/4-keys-to-make-it-through-an-awful-day/2013/04/15/

 

One of the dead is an 8 year old kid. Very sad.

This makes me very sad and very, very angry.

My thoughts goes to those in Boston.

 

An useful article I just read here:

http://news.menshealth.com/4-keys-to-make-it-through-an-awful-day/2013/04/15/

This really is a useful article as it points out the obvious which is sometimes easy to miss in situations like this because you get so pulled into it. As the author states, it's no disrespect to the dead and wounded and those immediately affected by this kind of tragedy when you pull away from it a bit and do some positive things in your own life concerning those who are nearest and dearest to you.

I remember being in DC on a business trip during the time that the sniper guy and his kid companion were bumping people off out of the back of their car. (They actually got arrested while I was in town.) But prior to that, my mom was absolutely petrified that I'd be next. Yet, the odds of that were less than getting run over by a bus. When next I saw her (a couple of months later) she gave me a bear hug like never before. I think she had just gotten too sucked into the media coverage and personified it to a greater degree than was necessary, or healthy, for her.

That being said, nothing can ever take away the scars that this will leave on the victims and their families, or on all of those who were nearby and bore witnesses to the horror, or on Boston and the city's most wonderful and highly renowned event. It will never be the same. The scoundrels behind this knew that it would have this effect, and in their sick and twisted minds, that's their greatest "victory" -- their ability to instill fear and sorrow on the masses.

Edited April 16, 201313 yr by Wmcmanus

On the legal distinction between Terrorism and Mass Murder: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2013/04/16/defining-terrorism-isnt-so-easy/?mod=WSJBlog

 

As Obama has already called this an act of Terrorism so he must know something we don't.

I'm betting this one was McVeighs, not Muslims. Either way, as an adopted Bostonian, fuck you to the bombers. I hope you die in pain.

 

Martin Richard, RIP.

 

Edited April 16, 201313 yr by Hopstretch

oh god, the dc sniper thing... people put up blue tarps at the gas stations ( bulletproof, obviously) and some tried to make armor out of pots and pans.

i go to one shop shooting location almost every day. that and where the bus driver was killed... 1-2 minutes from me.

The flip side of that is if we see it as part of the times we live in, and focus on the helpers and not the bombers, then they don't get what they want most, attention and fame.

 

 

My heart goes out to all affected by this sensless attack.

 

Steve I agree that it is total insanity as you say but I think we tend to forget that things like this (or much worse) happen a lot more often than we let oursleves realize. I'm not saying that it should be part of the mainstream or accepted but they do happen (uni-bomber etc). There are a lot of crazy and murderous people out there.

 

Of course you are both right, and that is part of what really makes me feel helpless. Will Mankind ever be able to attain a peaceful existence? Probably not.

 

That little guy should be worried about getting the latest video game, not surviving a social outing. He had the same teeth I did at that age. His parents must be in a living hell right now. 

Edited April 17, 201313 yr by swt61

The sadder news is that his sister has a lost limb, the mother may have brain damage, and only the father and another brother are (physically) unharmed.  My wife told me they went off to get ice cream, and otherwise may have suffered the same/similar fate.  I cannot imagine the pain they must be going through now.....

Soldiers Did the Boston Marathon Wearing 40-Pound Packs. Then They Helped Save Lives. http://ow.ly/1Vdmoo

via 4chan, of all places:

 

Fake or untrue until proven otherwise.

I just heard on the local radio that there is a suspect in custody currently on the way to the courthouse for arraignment this afternoon. We'll see if that pans out as well.