“Strange… You can read about a hundred atrocities, hear about a thousand, but you only have to see one” — from The Counterfeit Traitor (1962 film)
I was really reluctant to post this link that shows a collection of photographs from immediately after the Boston Marathon bombing. To some degree, it seemed like encouraging morbid curiosity, like “rubbernecking” while passing a car wreck scene on the highway. And, even though I have seen many dead and mutilated bodies in person without similar effect, some of the photos brought me close to being nauseated.
I decided, mindful of the quotation above, to post the link, sent to me by a long time friend and former police officer.
Here it is: graphic photos.
While car wrecks, plane crashes, natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes, violently kill many people and cause horrific mutilating injuries, they are happenstance. There is no conscious malice. The world is a risky place.
But the Boston Marathon bombing was a conscious, deliberate act to not only kill people, but to produce terrible mutilations that victims will have to live with for the rest of their lives. And these victims were not members of the armed forces, volunteers who knew they were going into harm’s way. They were citizens who believed, as they had a right to, they were enjoying the blessing of our liberty, and would not be molested when so doing.
Many call the bombers cowards. Maybe they are, but that is beside the point. It’s rhetoric; used mainly because of the near universal opprobrium and disgust attached to that characterization. They really are evil cretins – subhuman monsters who have forfeited all rights that human beings have. They are mere vermin who should be extinguished.
As someone who enjoys walking in the wilderness, running, and bicycling, I cannot imagine the terrible loss to the 20 or so who enjoyed the same activities, but who will never do the same normally again. This is not to mention the horror and undoubtedly excruciating pain of seeing exposed jagged bone and ragged flesh that is your own.
There may be nothing that can be done to prevent these horrors short of abrogating our hard won culture of liberty and personal autonomy. But at least, when we catch the cockroaches disguised as humans who have proven themselves capable of such a deed, we should quickly eliminate them.
