Here we go again, again.
Among the phrases from the sad day of the Boston Marathon bombings that will resonate with me is what some analysts have been calling “soft targets.” We have all been to events of this ilk, the end of a soccer game, a school graduation, the last day of school, a series of buses bringing home summer campers; everybody is everywhere, clearly scattered about. So, too, is the end of a race. People cross the finish line and then they scatter.
Or, as on Monday, they are scattered by this horrible act. And for those of us who were not there, in fairly short order we are all there.
Do you know what this makes me want to do? It makes me want to plan to run the Boston Marathon next year. (I supposed I’d have to qualify first.)
We are all so weary of this stuff. Worn down by our human frailties, and by the undeniable fact that there are people in this world who are consumed by hate.
Who knows what they hate. And at this point I don’t think I necessarily care if they don’t like our tax system, our way of life, our policies in the Middle East; or in the explanation that was offered by what would now be described as a domestic terrorist from decades ago; maybe someone who just doesn’t like Mondays caused today’s events.
You know what I don’t like. I don’t like these layers after layers of expensive, burdensome and so often completely unnecessary “security” that makes every effort to prevent acts like what happened today. All of us every single day pay a huge security tax; from the reallocation of resources that could be put to such better use, to the psychological toll this takes on our peace of mind.
We have spent billions to be “safe” from, more often than not, threats to our security that do not exist. And we learned again today that evildoers in all their cowardice prefer a so-called “soft target.”
I write this from a “hard-target,” I am on an airplane flying home from Columbus, Ohio. Among the passengers on this plane, a young woman wearing a Boston Athletic Association jacket commemorating her participation in the 2012 Boston Marathon. She told me she first just started crying, then she started calling to assure family and friends that she wasn’t running in the marathon this year.
She says she is more determined than ever to run in Boston in 2014. Good for her.
Do you know what is going to happen tomorrow? Nothing. You are going to be fine, I am going to be fine, and we will dust ourselves off and carry on, mindful of those who suffered in Boston and those who died and those who were injured. Hopefully they will feel our prayers and support.
However, the pain of Monday will last a long time for those directly impacted.
A “chaotic mass causality event,” is a terribly frightening occurrence. But it is also incredibly rare. We all lose if hate wins.
