Dancers taking a break curbside in Los Angeles during the 1930s…
I leave this in the capable hands of Andrew Sullivan because I am too overwhelmed to comment.
Face Of The Day
Apr 15 2013 @ 5:40pm
Explosions At 117th Boston Marathon
Victims are in shock and being treated at the scene of the first explosion that went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. By John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images.
via The Dish.
As someone said on FB, “All love to Boston.”
And to the youth and vitality lost.
I don’t know what to say . . .
There are no words. Hugs, V
And to you dear Vicki.
All best wishes (however, inadequate it may seem) to those poor people and their families; the things some people do to others. Unimaginable. When someone first told me of this I was shocked but to see that image and read those words… God.
The contrast between the first picture and the second is…ghastly. My thoughts are with the wounded.
And something like a dozen children hurt, it’s unspeakably wrenching.
Unspeakably wrenching, yes, the very words. Be well, dearest V.
Awful.
Reading the paper this morning… So sad. The Boston Marathon is like the city open, fun, everyone joins in. Heartbreaking.
Events like this remind me to be happy every day. You never know what will happen.
So true, stay well dear.
I came late to this awful event.Its absolutely shocking and I feel so sorry for those who have lost their lives and their families who have lost them.The numbness and shock that they must be feeling.Lord knows how those who have lost limbs and are deeply wounded,but whose lives may still be saved have yet to go through.There are the invisible wounds also to the minds of those who witnessed the explosions and saw the wounded,dying and dead,as well as to those whose professional jobs are to deal with emergencies such as this.
There is a rippling circle of horror that spreads out from events like these,that lingers on for months and years ,even for those who were not there,but only heard it on the news.Society can feel less and less safe.
As yet I understand no one person or group has claimed responsibility.If they are identified they predictably will be either the lone wolf Unabomber type,perhaps unstable with a grudge,the member of some extremist group within The United States or some Government or terrorist organisation outside America.
In the wake of the dreadful events paranoid theories will be being formulated and spread predictably enough, which will do nothing to help the suffering and trauma.I can only hope that real identification will be made of the person,persons or organisations will be made and whatever appropriate responses taken.
I am so sorry to hear of this event.It is yet another sad day for America.
There is one person under observation and in the hospital that the police are detaining – but, you’re right, it might be someone else, and the city will become more jaded and fearful. I was just mentioning this to Metan, but Boston is a gregarious, open, kind of town, and this is a horrifying wound to cope with.
Hi Vickie,at the time of writing I did not know that a person was being detained whilst under observation in hospital.Lets hope that is the right person and that the search need not be taken further.
We had a horrible incident not so very long ago when a disturbed individual with extreme political connections exploded a nail bomb in Londons Soho district.
Hello Edward, the person in the hospital has been cleared and now they’re looking for a person (so far they’ve reviewed 6,000 hrs. of video) who was at the scene in a black hoodie driving an unmarked van.
I think the London Marathon is coming up soon but I’ve been reading there will be greatly enhanced security. It’s so disheartening to think of the malevolence behind an act of terrorism – but even more heartbreaking is the loss of life.
Dearest V
For the sake of a few moments of headline grabbing carnage whole lifetimes will be destroyed.
Every sympathy and support to all across the way.
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
Thank you.
Yes
The loss of life is heartbreaking.What a awful contrast your two pictures make.The individual/individuals concerned will inevitably be twisted haters of some sort whether because they are disturbed or infected{and I use the word very deliberately}with some extremist political ideology.
Time and time again one can find disturbed people drawn towards extremist groups and ideas.They seem to have a dark pull.Equally I think its possible to argue that extremist ideologies tend to derange the reasoning of people who do not have any obvious evidence of abnormality.Its sadly only too easy to find Political/Religious groups that utilise all the only too familiar methods of brainwashing to achieve control over the minds of their followers.Ownership of ones own mind is lost.
One of the methods is to induce the sense that the rest of the world is wrong and only those within the group will achieve political or religious salvation.They are surrounded by enemies etc.When others are less than human or the cause is so great ,it can be only too easy to do awful things to others.Induced paranoia is probably hard to distiguish{if at all from other types}and the result could be something like this.
However only time and hopefully further investigation will tell.The person or persons caught and dealt with.Their hate may not be able to be extinguished,but their freedom must be taken from them.
As I read your comment I’ve also seen the headlines, two brothers born in Chechnya, living in the United States – the younger had been enrolled in one of our finest Universities – the elder (now dead) identified with the extremist groups you mentioned.
The pain that two deranged individuals can inflict.
New York Times: One of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings was killed early Friday morning after leading the police on a wild chase after the fatal shooting of a campus police officer, while the other was sought in an immense manhunt that shut down large parts of the area. Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts said residents of Boston and its neighboring communities should “stay indoors, with their doors locked.”
Was just about to comment about the shooting of the elder perpetrator, but I see you already have hours ago, V. Is it terrible to say I’m glad he’s dead? Yet, the abominable thing is that though he has been slain and whether the other is similarly killed or not the foul atrocity has still taken place, lives taken, lives distorted, ruined, and for what? Unfathomable, unfathomable. Again, my heart goes out to the victims, to the City of Boston, and to all Americans (and anyone else) affected directly or indirectly by this tragedy and by the actions of pitiless, pathetic fools. We will rise above. And Hate will never win because Love and Compassion are stronger.