Boston Bombing Tragedy

 

Everyone here has been sick so I haven't posted this week (including on the Farm Kings) but as a dear friend says blogging is cheaper than therapy and after watching some of todays events unfold I need to process. So, here I am processing away. As I mentioned everyone here is sick so Princess Bear (PB) was home from school. I was watching the Disney channel with her but went to check something on NBC and saw the news report about the bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. I sent PB into the other room to listen to some music and dance (her favorite past time). I was horrified to see that once again suspicious bombings happened in Boston. In our country. WTF???!!!??? My mind immediately went to it being a terrorist acts. I posted on Facebook so friends & family could watch the news if they wanted and then called my family since I knew they hadn't heard about it. After that PB came into the room and I tried getting her out of the room so I could continue to watch the news. She picked up on the fact that something big had happened and asked what was going on.

 As a parent its so difficult to try to decide how you're going to address things like this. After the Newtown CT massacre I was vigilant about not having the TV or radio on when PB was around. I also talked to her teacher before school to see how they were addressing it that following Monday. I don't know what made me decide to let PB know what was going on but I did. I asked her if she remember what happened on September 11th and she said yes. I told her that something similar happened at a very important race in Boston. She immediately asked if Uncle Larry was OK (my bil is a running fanatic and does races most weekends). Then she asked where Boston was. I assured her that her Uncle was just fine and then we talked about were Boston was. I told her that if she was going to watch the news coverage with me that she had to promise to close her eyes and plug her ears whenever I said. She agreed. She had many questions. Honestly I'm not sure why I let her watch this but it seems to have been an alright decision. My parents came home awhile later and she told them that there was a bombing and then tried watching the newscast by herself. Um, no. And that was the end of it.  I was talking to my parents and we were pondering whether or not it was a terrorist act. We all pretty much thought it was but couldn't understand how it happened with the security that surrounds an event like this it happened.

A bit later I got a text from Fr. Driscoll. He's a very dear family friend that is a long distance runner. He said that around four hours into a marathon you'd have a lot of people around the finish line. About that time I sat down with my laptop and started looking at the news reports coming in. There was news that a suspect had been arrested and it was a Saudi National. At that point my feelings went from being so sad for the country to being very pissed off. Perhaps this isn't a very rational emotion but its where I was (and am still) at. How in the name of G-d, literally, do people do something as sick and depraved????? Also how can they really think that they are fulfilling G-ds or Allah's or whatever other god they pray to, will? I'm not an expert on religion by any degree but I'm very familiar with many religions. I was raised in a bi-religious household with a lot of exposure to both religions. Growing up the vast majority of my friends were interested in Wicca. I've taken a few comparative religion classes and have friends of many faiths. I've never ever seen a religion that called for the death of others.  Unfortunately, there are extremist that have put there own translation on things and have become proponents of hate. Even more unfortunate is the fact that I find it so hard to remind myself that most who follow Islam don't feel the way the extremists do. I think its horrible when people are persecuted for their faith. One of the things I find most incomprehensible is Antisemitism. Such a broad hate makes no sense to me. So please tell me what I'm having a hard time not clumping all Islamic followers together? I'm so sick of groups being against us (the US) for the very things that make us a country that people still long to come to. For befriending and making Israel an ally (although we're not doing a great job on that front but that's a different post). You want to have your 40 virgins? Good on you but don't do it on US soil or to US citizens. I get that everyone has the right to believe what they want but not at the cost of hurting others.

I guess that is my biggest problem here. The callus disregard for life. My parents had a basic rule for me growing up. I could do whatever I wanted as long as it wasn't going to hurt me or anyone else. It was a guideline that worked well. I might not have made great decisions all the time but no one was harmed by the decisions I made. There are also a few other things about todays tragedy that really bother me. Things like the fact that there are already theories on why this happened and where it did. Such as the fact that Newtown families were honored at the 26 mile marker. The fact that it was instantly posted that the White House and Obama were closely monitoring the situation. This went down very quickly compared to Benghazi but they're right on it. Again another post. The fact that it seems like at least 3 other devices did not go off. The fact that there was a fire at the JFK library.

Although I'll hold posts on those topics I will say that this madness MUST stop. It was a terrorist act and the government must respond properly. No more bowing down or apologizing. Hell no. It's time to kick some ass. Don't like us? Don't like our friends? OK. You're entitled. You're an idiot but you're even entitled to that. Want to hurt someone? Nope. No dice. Grab your ankles and sing along because now its time to pay the piper. So I'm going to wrap this up by sending out prayers to those personally touched by this in Boston.