Anyone notice all the para-military forces in Boston?

[The Sushi Bandit]

does it bother you that they can close down an entire city and tell you to stay in your homes, then be subject to search?

[Posteritatis]

1. Didn't seem to bother the Bostonians on DU that much going by their posts. (nt)

[backscatter712]

2. Did Alex Jones put you up to this? n/t

[Pisces]

3. Your conspiracy theory crap bothers me more than anything today.

[just1voice]

7. The poster didn't say anything about "conspiracy theory crap" did they?

You invented that to be abusive.

[Pisces]

30. report me

[limpyhobbler]

12. if that's true, I would consider taking a break from the internet for a while.

It's a nice day outside. Consider going for a stroll if you are not currently under curfew.

[Marrah_G]

4. Doesn't bother me AT ALL that the National Guard came to help

After all THAT is their job.

And, you are mistaken if you think the military closed down the city.

They came to assist in guarding certain areas so that the rest of law enforcement could be free up to do their jobs.

Which they did and did well.

[etherealtruth]

5. Are you from the Boston area?

I haven't seen much (actually none) complaining from the actual people that lived through it.

[friendly_iconoclast]

21. I am, and it didn't bug me or anybody I know. And I'm no worshipper of authority.

[smirkymonkey]

33. I live in Boston and it didn't bother me at all.

I never felt coerced or threatened. I felt safer, in fact. I am glad this was wrapped up quickly, even if we were inconvenienced for 1 day.

[FarPoint]

6. Nope ...made sense to me.

One could say this was Community Action at work Effectively at that...

Great Job Boston!

[MineralMan]

8. Nope. Doesn't bother me under those circumstances at all.

I can't imagine why it would.

P.S. They weren't paramilitary at all. They were cops, doing their jobs. Some FBI folks, too, and the MA National Guard were there, too. They're real military, not paramilitary.

You may have noticed that the person being looked for was captured and is now being treated for his injuries. He'll soon be questioned about the motives for those bombings.

All in all, it went very, very well. No innocent lives were lost, the suspect is arrested, and Boston's returned to normal life. I like the outcome, don't you?

[hlthe2b]

9. They were't prosecuting those who failed to comply with staying home.. It was voluntary--as was

agreeing to admit them to your home for search.

From the reactions of Bostonians, they were not only not concerned about this move by the combined LE organizations, but approved and complied in large numbers--voluntarily.

[jmg257]

10. Nope. With the assistance of the pulblic, LE was able to wrap this up

Rather quickly...and with comparatively safety.

One reason we pay taxes.

[premium]

11. Haven't heard any of our Bostonian DU'ers complaining about it,

the only ones complaining are those that don't even live there.

Oh, and btw, citizens weren't ordered to stay in their homes, they were requested to shelter in place.

[Justice]

17. thank you - exactly.

[premium]

22. Glad you made it through ok

and kudos to the BPD and all the other LEA's.

[HipChick]

13. What bothered me what their old ass equipment

National Guard driving old rusty vehicles what is up with that?

[limpyhobbler]

14. Time for a bake sale.

[premium]

19. NG units typically get hand me downs from the regular Army. nt.

[Warpy]

26. It's New England

Every vehicle there is a rust bucket six months after it rolls off the showroom floor.

One thing that threw me into culture shock here in NM was all the old cars with no rust.

[Rex]

15. What are you talking about?

[Justice]

16. They didn't make us stay in our homes, they ASKED us to - you know why?

They didn't want the suspect to be able to get away by walking among us - if we were all out walking around it would have been easier for him to escape.

[thucythucy]

34. Not to mention there was still a possibility

that they might have planted other IEDs in the area; also, considering the pitched gun fight in the middle of Watertown, and the car-jacking in Cambridge, there were most likely concerns about the prospect of civilian bystanders getting shot, or used as hostages.

As for the OP, some people will gripe about anything.

[Tree-Hugger]

18. Nope nt

[Cleita]

20. Well, that happened in Los Angeles during the first Watt's riot in 1965.

The National Guard moved in and shut down the city in and around the riot area. We were allowed to go to work outside of the zone but could hear the gun shots in the distance and were kept off the freeways by highway patrol cruisers and motor cops. It was so unusual that photos of soldiers in full combat gear on our streets made the cover of "Life" magazine with a caption about it being in the USA and not some distant war zone. So evidently these back up operations have been on the books for over sixty years now that I know of and maybe long before.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. Oh for fracks face PD and Fire are considered

Paramilitaries...been a while for this, like decades.

And tell me, do you know the difference between martial law and shelter in place?

[AngryOldDem]

27. Apparently not, but don't let that get in the way of a good outrage.

Sometimes the government does need to take public safety measures like this.

Doesn't mean there's been a coup d'etat.

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. Funny story, 1992 or so

The Mexican Army mobilized in the dead or night, drug cartel related.

We cross the border at eight in the morning and are sent to secondary. Marine Major starts asking questions about the coup...I shook my head and asked the Major that if there was a coup, would he release medical officers in charge of a medical company?

We went home, the Marines went back to Pendleton.

[Warpy]

24. Depends on the reason

and only part of Watertown was on lockdown.

If they were looking for a run of the mill non violent mugger, hell no. This was kind of a special case, though. This joker could have taken down an entire building if he had more bombs with him.

[AngryOldDem]

25. Yes. So?

And no, in this case, it DOESN'T bother me.

Just how would you have handled it?

They were dealing with one unkown tool who seemed to be stocked up on homemade IEDs. Nobody knew if there were accomplices, or what the hell else he was going to do, or if him and his brother had bombs planted all over the city.

Christ. It wasn't like the Feds just decided Friday morning to drive armored cars through Watertown and shut Boston down just because they could.

What is it with these kinds of posts today? Celebrate the fact that a horrible situation that could have gotten much more horrible ended peacefully, without further loss of life.

[Hekate]

29. Very grateful for their excellent training and restraint. They got the bastard alive, right?

I have not read about an epidemic of doors blasted off their hinges, have you? Any citizens of Watertown or Boston complaining about the inconvenience -- nay, terror -- caused by police actions?

Did the cops spray crowds with rubber bullets, explode tear gas, use pain rays? For that you have to go to peaceful protests against Bush and the GOP. But not this time.

Law enforcement officers did not shoot anyone at random, did not break down anyone's doors, instead knocked and asked, did not go ramming in. People were told to shelter in place, so that cops did not have to try to babysit everyone at once.

This was not martial law. ("Martial" -- as in "military." Not "Marshall" whoever the hell the ignorami think he is.) It was civilian police at their best, calling on other agencies in dire need.

Have you seen the photo of the guy in the wheelchair -- the one with his long leg-bone sticking out -- just the bone, no foot, no flesh. That is what the Brothers Tsernaev did. And then they went on the lam, shot a campus cop full of holes for no apparent reason, started a firefight in a peaceful neighborhood, and on and on.

For you and all the others here wringing their hands about the police -- what would you have done if you were in charge and could have your every wish? Do tell.

[fleur-de-lisa]

31. Noticed? . . . Yes.

Bothered? . . . No.

If I recall, it was a request, not an order. And it worked beautifully.

The subject was apprehended and there were no additional casualties. If I lived in Watertown, I would have happily and gratefully complied. And I would have promptly thanked the 'para-military forces' afterward.

[djean111]

32. I doubt the para-military meant to interfere with anyone's Constitutional right to be shot by stray

bullets or be blown apart by stray bombs. The shelter in place seemed to be a request.
I would appreciate the same thing happening in my little town, if a terrorist was running around with a gun and possibly with a bomb or suicide vest. Plus no one knew if there were others besides him and his brother.
And is seems the sane thing to do if there is going to be a firefight - which there was. Why make law enforcement people have to choose between doing their jobs and trying not to hit civilians in the crossfire? Would you send your kids out to play in that situation?
And how should those "paramilitary" people have been outfitted? They were risking their lives.
Why not search people in this circumstance? Hard to tell just by looking if someone has any sort of bomb, these days.
So no, not bothered at all. Bostonians were not bothered either, as far as I can tell.

[Nevernose]

35. +1

There are plenty of things in the world to be outraged about without going out of our way to look for it.

[The Sushi Bandit]

36. My survey is complete

Thanks!

[MADem]

37. "They" do this all the time and it doesn't bother anyone.

It's usually called a "snow day" -- we stay in our homes. The city is closed down. We watch TV and putter.

Not everyone was subject to search--just the residents of Watertown in a specific search area.