Today at 2:45pm, Boston became a large-scale crime scene. The Boston Marathon was attacked by two bombs, and possibly a third. Officials claim they do not know whether all three are linked, or a combination of the three, but they went off within seconds of each other.
I saw one article on this tragedy saying the suspect was possibly "a Saudi Arabian man" who was taken to a nearby hospital for his injuries, either from the explosions or from being apprehended.
I have two problems with this, as I'm sure many others do as well.
1. Why did he have to be Saudi Arabian? If it was a white man, they wouldn't say "white man" unless he was on the loose. Even when it was official, it would be something along the lines of "John Doe, a Boston local, was apprehended and charged on the accounts of blah blah blah blah..." but they don't usually say white. If he was on the loose, that would have been different, he would have been labeled as "Caucasian male. Brown jacket, gray hair, etc." This guy isn't even charged yet, he's just a suspicion and they still say "Saudi Arabian man". But since this man was born in a different country, he's more likely to be the perpetrator, right?
We are feeding false fear into hungry minds. Stating that he was of a different race means that those words pose a significance. It means that we should be afraid, or at least aware that he is a different color, he prays to a different God than we do. This doesn't change the fact that he detonated bombs in large crowds. Now when people see the words "Saudi Arabian", they may think twice if they are gullible. Didn't America used to be a safe-haven, a growth opportunity for foreigners? Now we're afraid of all of them because a few people from different countries ended up killing Americans on American soil. I'm sure that if we moved to Japan and there happened to be a white guy who had too much Saki with his anti-depressants and went on a shooting rampage, we would be viewed differently as Americans, and as a whole. This is what we're doing with these beautiful countries in the Middle East. We're now afraid of all the people who come from these places. It's not necessarily our fault. Blame the media.
2. My second issue with this is simply that people need to stop killing people. This world is going (even deeper) in the shitter if we don't do something about the increasing large-scale violence. Victims from the Newtown shootings have barely had time to cope with their changed life, and not even 6 months later, we're faced with a new tragedy that we have to deal with as a nation. I read that there was a section of Newtown bystanders/supporters of the Marathon, and happened to be some of the closest to the first explosion. I would be afraid to go anywhere if that was me. I just couldn't imagine what's going on in their minds right now.
And the kicker? If the suspect is in fact Saudi Arabian, he will be targeted and labeled as a terrorist or Islamic Extremist. The shooters of the Colorado movie theater and the Newtown Elementary School were "disturbed" or "mentally imbalanced". Because apparently Middle Easterners cannot be mentally imbalanced; they're terrorists. Which, in case you were wondering, are not the same thing. Not all mentally imbalanced people are terrorists. I would argue that all terrorists are mentally imbalanced. But again, because this guy might have a different nationality, he is not labeled initially as mentally imbalanced. It will be "the Saudi Arabian terrorist (or) extremist".
My heart weeps for these victims, and even though there are only two reported dead, that's still two fewer people in the world from a stupid and unnecessary crime. Over 40 people's lives have now been changed from injury, and many more from emotional injury. I read that at least 10 people are now amputees because of their extensive injuries, and the rest have injuries that may or may not affect the rest of their life.
You can find the developing story here.
Stay safe, stay sane, and stay positive, my friends.
E
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