What the heck is going on at the Boston Marathon??

[Pollyanna]

I loved seeing the applause and thanks to law enforcement. If you think medicine is a thankless job, you should see how SWAT teams are normally treated.

Agreed! It's wonderful to watch!

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

They deserve every second of applause. As do the doctors who are treating the injured and the suspect. If they keep him alive, we will learn something that will hopefully prevent this in the future.

[Momo]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-...ect-years-ago/

I just can't get over that the FBI indeed interviewed and was well aware of the elder brother for some time now! WTF??!! Now I understand what his mom was referencing when interviewed & why the aunt seems to be suspicious. I mean let's face it... the FBI having this guy "on their radar" in the not so distant past & THIS WAS ABLE TO HAPPEN???!!! Fucking dumb-ass Peter King (R) NY congressman totally dismissed what the aunt & mom had alleged...of course he's going to deny that the feds even knew of this (deceased) guy, well ahead of all of this! Remember the daily security briefing entitled something like "Bin laden Determined to Strike America w/in?" That was ignored & then 9/11 happened!!!???? Now we find out, that the Feds actually had this guy(older deceased bro) brought to their attention a couple of years back, by a foreign government! They sat w/him???!!! blah blah blah did some general checking & question asking and that's it!!!???? This doesn't pass the smell test...someone dropped the ball BIG TIME. If my child was dead and I found out that the FBI, not only KNEW his killer but investigated him at the request of a foreign country, that thought he was a possible terrorist??????!!!!!... I can't even imagine how the families of the deceased and the injured are going to process this colossal( IMO) fuck up, in their(Feds) follow through/judgement!! I am glad he was taken alive...he is far more valuable this way. I am disgusted by lust for death &/or mayhem!

[Momo]

LSW don't be naive, they follow up and keep tabs on many more, than we will ever know of, in the Muslim-American community... do you seriously think they don't???
I'm just saying, that when another government requests that OUR Feds look into someone, who they feel might be affiliated with terrorists, especially post 9/11, then at the very LEAST they should not let him off their radar! I am not saying they needed to arrest him back then or detain him at gitmo...I am saying that I am floored they didn't keep tabs on him!!!!!!

[Momo]

LSW I am sorry the "naive" comment stung you. I was just surprised by what you posted! It wasn't meant as a slam, it was truly meant as a reminder because I know you know as do so many (when you think about it) this really doesn't pass the smell test in a Patriot Act/ post 9/11 world. This is a big f-ing OOOOPs that resulted in death IMO. BTW we all know the US has detained, do detain and will continue to detain folks without charges or due process. They deport, follow/spy on, kill & (some argue) even entrap people ALL OF THE TIME! It's the Patriot Act way. I will still stand by my original thought: that if it were my child killed in such a heinously graphic way and I found out that: #1they had questioned him #2 had visited/questioned his family members #3 were told by another government that he was suspected of posdible involvement w/terrorists...and DID NOT AT the VERy LEAST assign some peon to keep some sort of tabs on him, it would deeply disturb me. I just find it hard to believe that they so easily "forgot about him or weren't concerned enough" (at the very LEAST) to keep him on their radar????

[SoonerTexan]

Wow, I just saw that the older brother has a widow. She is my age and their daughter is just a little older than N. I hope she didn't know anything and I really feel for her. What a shock to find that the person you love is a monster, if she truly didn't know.

[Meenah]

I have to admit that I am floored by my own reaction to this. Those of you who "know" me, know that I am pretty much a left leaning liberal, my daughters (both rather conservative politically - how did that happen?) call me a political tree hugging hippy! I'm still holding out for Hillary to run again. I actually told DH that I am ready to shut down the borders and kick everyone out that isn't here legally. I realize that is extreme, but last week that is exactly what I was thinking. I have had horrible thoughts about this 19 year old young man that disturb me. When I think about that beautiful eight year old little boy that was killed, I would have no problem in the death penalty for the murderer. This is so not "me".

[HouseofWool]

Is it the senselessness of the target? While I obviously don't agree with or condone bombing something like the Twin Tower, I could understand why *they* thought is was a reasonable target.

The marathon makes little sense other than opportunity.

[McPants]

I have to admit that I am floored by my own reaction to this. Those of you who "know" me, know that I am pretty much a left leaning liberal, my daughters (both rather conservative politically - how did that happen?) call me a political tree hugging hippy! I'm still holding out for Hillary to run again. I actually told DH that I am ready to shut down the borders and kick everyone out that isn't here legally. I realize that is extreme, but last week that is exactly what I was thinking. I have had horrible thoughts about this 19 year old young man that disturb me. When I think about that beautiful eight year old little boy that was killed, I would have no problem in the death penalty for the murderer. This is so not "me".

This (European left-leaning) commentary could conceivably provide you with a perspective that will allow you to resume your left-leaning, tree-hugging, hippy ways.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

Wow, I just saw that the older brother has a widow. She is my age and their daughter is just a little older than N. I hope she didn't know anything and I really feel for her. What a shock to find that the person you love is a monster, if she truly didn't know.

Yes, she's American born and converted to Islam for him. She apparently works 70-80 hours/week as a home health aide while he was home with their daughter (apparently making bombs). They're saying she didn't know anything...only time will tell. Apparently he frequented a mosque in Cambridge but was asked to calm down/leave after interrupting services several times to argue with the speakers who were more moderate than his views.

Also, they read the suspect his Miranda rights almost immediately indicating that they think he acted alone and he's apparently cooperating.

It's more scary to me that people raised in the US and living here for 10 years could do this. I get why foreigners could hate us even if it's misguided but people raised here? Who have American friends and went to our schools? The US gave their family asylum from their own country and now this...baffles the mind!!!!

[Thirteen]

Without devolving completely into another topic, my take home from this is as follows:

Violence is everywhere, and no one/group/location is immune from attack. I do believe there should be background checks on gun purchases/owners (as per McPants' article), and it is so unfortunate that this is not the case in our country.
However... The majority of violence committed (and reported by the media) domestically by US citizens seems to stem from persons with untreated, undiagnosed mental health issues.
I know plenty of people who have experienced anger, and who own a gun, and do not use it to harm others.
In the same vein, access to tutorials on explosive devices (and how to obtain their materials) are readily available online, and yet, I would argue that the "average" person does not run to his or her computer to learn how to construct such a thing for retaliation purposes.

If the problem is solely about access, why are we not censoring this information? Again, I think on the severly-lacking mental health resources, the funding cuts, and the social stigma surrounding diagnosis/treatment.

Is everyone who commits a heinous crime mentally ill? No. But, perhaps the reported numbers and incidents (both gun and ED) would decrease...

*braces for stones*


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[diggitydot]

No stones from me. I think that is a reasonable and measured response to a metric shit ton of incomprehensible violence.

[corn poffi]

Perfectly said, 13!

[Momo]

http://m.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/...le-going-viral

[Thirteen]

http://m.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/...le-going-viral

That's so sad.
Grasping at religious belief or immigration policy to explain an atrocity...


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