Boston: Humble suggestions on what NOT to do

[DonCoquixote]

Of course, two events can come to mind, 9-11 and the OKC Bombing. In light of those, I offer some humble ideas on what we should not do.

1) Jump the gun. A lot of people will look at Al Qaeda, and a lot of people will look at the Right wing Militia. Truth be told, we know both sets of groups have threatened violence, and we know they are capable of it. However, we have no idea who did this, and we also know there are no shortage of people who could have done this, from established ones (like the I.R.A) to unknown types. The last thing we want to do is slap a label.

2) Lose focus on who matters, the victims. There will be a LOT of political football played with this, regardless of who turns out to be the culprit. We need to make sure that even as the sound and fury swirls about, we do not lose focus on the people, the people who will need help, possibly for the rest of their lives. I even include grief in that mix, as there will be those who seek to turn grief into profit, who will swoop down on charities and prey on the weak.

3) Allow the news media to control the narrative; The news media is not interested in finding out the truth. They will want to exploit this, and move on, just like they do every time some school shooting happens. We need to make sure the truth is found, and yes, that if there is a change to be made, it is made, period.

[Mass]

1. I will recommend your post

but sadly, what you wish is not going to happen, neither in the media nor here.

I continue to read information that have been clearly debunked by the police, and people here are making speculation without any basis.

But we can still wish!!

[arcane1]

2. An addendum to #1: just because a group takes credit for it, doesn't mean they did it.

I won't be at all surprised if some gang of loons tries to take credit for this horror.

[jimlup]

3. Thanks!

Big kick and rec!

[justiceischeap]

4. Or stop a man wearing a Muslim looking prayer cap driving a white panel truck

:large

[creativebliss]

5. I agree not to jump the gun...

A number of speculations have and will surface, but I will wait it out until time has given way to more trustworthy and vetted accounts of what happened and why.

My heart goes out to everyone who attended and was frightened to their core. I could never imagine the horror of how they felt. I am especially saddened for those wounded or killed along with their families. And, a thank you to the first responders who too often get overlooked.

With this said, I must admit, that the next thing that came to my mind was how this tragedy is going to give cause and reason to further erode our liberties. I hope that I am wrong...

[matt819]

6. Oh, sure, be reasonable

I want to know who we will invade, and when. I also want to know what additional articles of clothing I need to remove when boarding a plane, or when just going to Boston. I also think we need to demonize entire races and religions. Immediately. And let's not also forget. It's Obama's fault.

Glad we have that straightened out.