"Holy Fking Shit. That's Dzhokhar!"

[warrior1]

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/dittrich-that-is-dzhokhar?src=rss

Cambridge, Mass. – The main press scrum was a block away, at the corner of the cordoned-off street where the two Tsarnaev brothers had lived, but there was a little breakaway group of reporters much closer to me. They’d gathered around an older guy in a sweater and jeans who looked a little like Richard Dreyfuss. He was holding a book in one hand and talking into the cameras, and when I looked at him again I realized it was Larry Aaronson. I walked over and waited on the outskirts till there was an opening, then stepped in and clapped Larry on the shoulder. He blurted my name and smiled a weary smile.

We found a place to sit on a low wall outside of a bike shop. I saw that the book he was carrying was the 2011 yearbook for the Cambridge and Latin School. That was the year the younger of the two brothers, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, graduated.

“I knew Dzhokhar,” Larry said, patting the book and shaking his head. “Can you believe it?”

Of course I could. I’d have been surprised if he hadn’t known Dzhokhar. Larry taught at Rindge for decades. American history. He taught my sisters, he taught me. We read Howard Zinn, we tore down Columbus. Larry would bring in the most amazing guests. We’d be studying the evolution of the American legal system one day, and the next day we’d show up for class and there was Alan Dershowitz, ready to answer questions. It wasn’t surprising that Larry knew Alan Dershowitz, either. Larry knew everybody. Whenever I’m not in Cambridge and I meet somebody from Cambridge and we’re searching for some sort of common ground, I toss Larry’s name out first, and it almost always hits. I was in India a few years back following Matt Damon around for a story and we spent a lot of time talking about Larry.

snip

[Jenoch]

1. This is an interesting blog.

The professor had the same reaction that a rookie North Dakota television news anchor had last Sunday.

[OwnedByCats]

3. LOL

Who hired this clown? lol

Swearing aside, he sucks as a news reader. Maybe he'll get better, provided he hasn't been fired lol

[shawn703]

9. He has been fired

That was his first day on the job and the first two words he ever said on the air.

[OwnedByCats]

16. Oh boy, I guess I'm not

surprised but yikes, that was awkward

[nolabear]

12. I feel bad for him. I think he panicked when he realized what he'd done.

I hope he gets another chance. Cameras are cruel and taking one awful mistake and letting that define him is terrible.

[OwnedByCats]

15. Well I have to admit

if that were me, I probably would have done just as bad. You know he's got to be panicked about having said that. That probably made him look like a bad newsreader.

[snooper2]

4. Slim pickin's in North Dakota LOL

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. Maybe the best blog there is

Mostly written by Charles Pierce, also from Boston, though he didn't write that entry. He was superb on the Republican primaries last year. No-one else writes so well on politics - the actual language and style, and also his viewpoint.

[Cha]

2. thanks warrior..

so, an even more personal account of what Jahar seemed like to the world.

[ananda]

5. Wow!

It must really hurt the psyche when you find out you've been so wrong about someone.

But then we have holy looking and sounding people, people we put faith and trust in,
who harbor and protect pedophiles or send drones out on missions that kill so many
innocents... or wear the conservative suit, preach morality, and refuse to fund basic
human rights and necessities.

The psychic disconnect from looks and actions are endemic in the society.

[stillcool]

10. why do you think..

People were 'so wrong' about him? It's almost as though one went through life in cement shoes, unaffected by the more difficult lessons life offers.

[gateley]

13. My sense is that this good guy was the "real" him -- or where his heart was, anyway,

and that he did it to please his brother.

But you know, he might have begun to believe the bullshit, too, so maybe he became a believer toward the end.

[KoKo]

6. Recommend...

[snagglepuss]

7. k and r

[gateley]

11. K&R!

[gateley]

14. Some really great comments on the piece, too.