The Pencil Today:

THE QUOTE

“Terror made me cruel.”

Bronte

Emily Bronte

THE INCIDENT

A few thoughts about yesterday’s explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon:

  • Think of how narcissistic one (or more) must be to devise and execute a plot that would not only kill people but blow the legs right off a dozen or so people’s bodies. That’s what hit me about Boston: the eyewitness testimonies that a number of people had their legs blown off at the scene.
  • Assuming this act was carried out by more than one person, it strikes me as the height of improbability that these ghouls can find each other and agree on a plan of action. If I, for instance, am sitting with the Boys of Soma on a Sunday morning and someone suggests we go out to breakfast, it’s next to impossible to get the group to: 1) even agree to go out to breakfast; 2) come to a consensus on where we should go for breakfast; and 3) determine as a body precisely when we should hoist our bodies out of our chairs and go for breakfast. I have the same reaction when I hear about a gang rape. Is it that criminals and reprobates are somehow more adept at organizing than the rest of us?
  • A marathoner was quoted as saying the Boston event has now “lost its innocence.” I wasn’t aware the Boston Marathon was innocent prior to yesterday. Isn’t it weird how even ordinary people try to concoct sound bites for the media these days?
  • When the news began trickling in, some reporters said there were two “massive” explosions set off by “sophisticated” planners. Within a couple of hours, law enforcement officials and other authorities were saying the bombs, thankfully, were crude, small, and placed so haphazardly that it might be difficult to glean a “signature” or other evidence tying them to an organized gang. I’d hate to think our august Fourth Estate members were, in any way, engaging in hyperbole for the purpose of spinning a more exciting yarn.

Media Circus

Breathless

  • This morning, radio reporters and anchors are insisting on saying “improvised explosive devices” or IEDs caused the carnage yesterday. Personal to those journalists: the word bombs will do just fine, thank you.

Oswalt

Patton Oswalt

  • We are a rather beastly species, no?

3 thoughts on “The Pencil Today:

  1. Mari Loosen says:

    Great commentary. I don’t always agree with you but today you were spot on.

  2. dave paglis, illiterate, racist homophobe and now, dumpster diver says:

    Mikey: An interesting and I believe universally true observation about group decision making. I think we will be returning to this idea in future conversations.

  3. Hmm, The Boys of Soma plotting revolution … I feel a SNL sketch coming on …

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