Boston, April 15, 2013
In the midst of the chaos and carnage, bystanders spotted a man who appeared to be Middle Eastern and who was running from the scene. He was seized, taken to a hospital for treatment of a leg wound, and questioned at length. News feeds everywhere along with the Twitterverse echoed with "Saudi man being questioned about explosions!"
Then we heard:
"Law enforcement officials questioned an injured Saudi national at a local hospital, but news stories indicated that the individual appears to have no connection to the case. The Boston Globe reported that he was simply a frightened spectator who had tried to flee but was tackled and restrained by bystanders."
In other words, "Look! An Arab! It must have been him! Get him!"
It made me sick to my stomach. How horrible for this unknown person or persons to try to make a statement by murdering innocent people, but almost as horrible to me was what the incident revealed about the people affected. In that moment of terror and fury, they dropped all pretense and revealed their true selves.
So, who was behind it? Islamic extremists? Christian extremists? Anti-abortion activists? Pro-choice activists? Gun-control supporters? Gun-rights supporters? We'll find out soon enough -- once all of the facts are in and the angry speculations that only echo our personal prejudices settle down.
Then we heard:
"Law enforcement officials questioned an injured Saudi national at a local hospital, but news stories indicated that the individual appears to have no connection to the case. The Boston Globe reported that he was simply a frightened spectator who had tried to flee but was tackled and restrained by bystanders."
In other words, "Look! An Arab! It must have been him! Get him!"
It made me sick to my stomach. How horrible for this unknown person or persons to try to make a statement by murdering innocent people, but almost as horrible to me was what the incident revealed about the people affected. In that moment of terror and fury, they dropped all pretense and revealed their true selves.
So, who was behind it? Islamic extremists? Christian extremists? Anti-abortion activists? Pro-choice activists? Gun-control supporters? Gun-rights supporters? We'll find out soon enough -- once all of the facts are in and the angry speculations that only echo our personal prejudices settle down.