John Cole hasn't posted much on politics recently, preferring to be the internet's premier premature grumpy old man. But his piece on Boston last night shows why he remains a really important voice on the Internet. I'm going to cut and paste much of it, because I know he doesn't give a damn.
What happened today was absolutely horrible, make no doubt about it. Another dead child, hundreds wounded, and the worst thing I heard was that a lot of the injured were dealing with leg amputations, and many of them were runners who were in the bleachers after finishing the race. It’s just horrifying.
But I am done watching the coverage. I will, of course, follow the news over the next few days and weeks and months as we actually start to know something, but I am just not watching the death porn and overt rumor mongering on the cable channels. I’ve known journalism students. Many of them are not very bright. They don’t get better as they age and get cozy sinecures at CNN or Fox or MSNBC. I can internally recognize how bad this attack was without having to watch Chris Matthews on a high blood sugar kick saying crazy stupid shit. I simply refuse to let this dominate my life. Again, it is horrible, but I am not going to let the media work me into a froth.
I’m safe. You are safe. 99.999999% of the country is safe. But there never is a completely safe place, and there never will be. I refuse to let the terrorists win, and yes, this was a terrorist attack. We don’t know who did it, but it was a terrorist attack. Any time you plant bombs in a garbage can at a peaceful assembly, it’s terrorism.
But again, people all over the world deal with this every single god damned day. That does not minimize the tragedy, but like I noted earlier, 37 people were killed in Iraq. Today. And it is no longer even on the front page of the New York Times, and when it was earlier, it was just an AP/Reuters feed.
Again, I refuse to be scared. You should, too. I am going to sit here in my house and watch a show or two, then go to bed, and while I can commiserate with the wounded and dead and the horrible grief their loved ones must be experiencing, I am not going to spend the next couple weeks freaking out, because that is what the bombers and the war pig want. Remember, that much of the Patriot Act, which liberals claim to hate, was drafted by Clinton and the National Security State, and yes, Joe Biden, in response to Oklahoma City. We were lucky that we had a Democratic president then, because Republicans blocked much of it.
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So do me a solid, and let’s talk about that while we sit here, safe at home, and while recognizing something horrible has happened and doing everything we can to help the people of Boston, let’s retain some perspective. You are safe. I am safe. For the most part, especially with the last few decades of declining crime rates, we are the safest we have ever been.
Remember that the next few days during the media frenzy, if you must watch. I would recommend you don’t. And I refuse to give up another right to prevent another “Boston,” but you know there will be calls to “do something.” We still take our god damned shoes off at airports because of a failed attempt. Lord only knows what is going to come down the pipeline now. The only thing we “need” to do is find the perpetrators, try them, convict them, and jail them for the rest of our lives as we go on with ours, and I have full faith that our collected government agencies can do this.
The bomber(s) isn’t the only one who wants you to be afraid. Remember that.
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