Random Thoughts: Boston Marathon Bombing

Okay, so this is a thing that sucks. Bombs at the Boston Marathon. People dead for no reason, people wounded for no reason. People displaced, hurting, scared, in shock etc.

People were outside doing a super-healthy thing and then met with something that is definitively the opposite of being in the interests of human health.

I freaked out a little. I even cried.

Everyone who lives in the U.S has some sort of memory or idea about Boston to talk about, even if it has only to do with what we've seen in history books or we have distant relatives that live there. I love that city.

I have a not-so-distant relative that lives near there and my first thought was of him, my brother. He was far away from the marathon, safely ensconced at work. I felt huge relief that he wasn't in the city that day, that he was fine and no one we know personally was hurt.

After having the comfort of that knowledge, my mind was then free to wander to the abstract. I went through the usual thoughts in the wake of a national tragedy for which I was not present. Oh, what a shame those poor people holy crap I'm glad I live in the middle of nowhere I wonder if it was terrorists or some random disgruntled guy I hope the Boston Public library doesn't close after this because well, books, and WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO!!!! and I SOUND LIKE OTHER PEOPLE'S GRANDPARENTS QUITE SUDDENLY!!!!

Then the deep breath.

Life goes on.

Life going on is a good thing.

Particularly when you realize that people in that first post-blast video ran toward the source of the explosion to offer help.

My twitter feed is filled with other thoughts and links offering help and words of outrage and hope from the folks I follow. Links like this. Statements like the one that, by now I am sure you have already seen from Patton Oswalt, but I think is worth repeating here, because yes. What he said.


Sayeth Patton:

"...We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago.

So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, "The good outnumber you, and we always will." "

 

 

Unquoth

And now, a song about Boston from the Rosebuds.