Wow, the cobwebs around this place are terrible, aren’t they?
So a lot has happened since my last post- I graduated, passed the bar exam, I’m in job search hell, and oh, right, someone tried to blow up the Boston Marathon and then the whole city and surrounding suburbs went into high alert for a day looking for him.
What has ALSO happened is a bunch of people who don’t live here, who weren’t here, who didn’t live through this past week with us have decided that they get to explain to us what our experience was. That were under martial law, that we’re sheeple who will cower in our homes just because the government told us to, that no one needs a gulag, because we’ll look ourselves up.
Fuck you.
What happened was this: not long after midnight on Friday morning, police in Watertown (a suburb bordering Cambridge, Newton, and Boston) engaged in a running gun battle with what they were pretty sure were the bombing suspects. Grenades and IEDs were thrown. I heard the explosions of those bombs from my house in Medford, about 4 miles away as the crow flies. My roommate and I stayed up until nearly 2 am watching the news. I went to bed, because I had to be at work in the morning and figured that it would all be over by then. She stayed up until nearly 5:30.
When I woke up, I checked my email, which included a note from Inman Oasis (in Inman Square) that they were closed “until the Red line started running again.” I got up, and Twitter said the enitre MBTA system was shut down, and the governor and mayors of Watertown, Cambridge, Newton, Brookline, and Boston had asked everyone to “shelter in place.”
Please note the action verb there. “Asked.” Not “ordered.” Asked. They requested our cooperation so they could do thier jobs, find Suspect #2, and not get anyone else hurt in the process. They asked, and we all said, okay. Yes, it was creepy to see the pictures, but look at it this way: we had two blizzards and a hurricane that shut down Boston much the same way (with less explosions) in the past six months. We survived. the local economy survived.
My particular job was under a “no one in or out” lockdown for most of the day, but that didn’t affect me, since I couldn’t get there anyway. For the people who were stuck there, the institute made sure there was food and information available, and did it’s best to keep everyone as calm as possible. Luckily for me, I got paid for the day, and I know that there are people who were not so lucky.
(For anyone who claims that “children were kept from their education for the day,” that’s a load of crap. It was school vacation week in Boston and a number of surrounding communities. No one was supposed to be in school that day anyway.)
And everyone pulled together to make this bearable. People lvietweeted the press conferences for anyone who couldn’t watch. Boston university delivered food to students stuck in their dorms. A Brookline officers brought milk to a family that was out. They asked, we waited (I admit that my cabin fever and stir crazy was pretty bad by the end, and we weren’t under the Shelter in place request).
Bostonians are a cranky lot. We don’t respond to orders too well. We do, however, respond to reasonable requests as long as we understand why it’s being made and how what we have been asked to do will be useful. As a friend, Siderea, said in her Livejournal:
As a therapist, I’m pretty attuned to how people say things. I couldn’t help but notice something in how authorities addressed the public in all those press conferences over last night and into this morning. The news was wrong: never did the police or the governor or anyone order communities to shelter in place. Always, always, when speaking into microphones, it was expressed as a request. “We request that people stay home. We are asking that businesses not open.”
Sentences we did not hear: “Citizens are ordered to remain in their homes.” “All people are to remain in their homes.” “Martial law has been declared.”
No, instead: “we are asking.”
And so, we did. Massively, as one, with unanimity I have never seen.
It’s like they know us: we haven’t got an obedient bone in our bodies, but we cooperate like champs. Order us and we won’t, ask us and we will.
Nor did they attempt to frighten us into compliance, even while making it clear the situation was dangerous. No “it is unsafe to go out”, no “for your own safety”, no “you may be shot”.
And this remarkable sentence, “If you see people waiting at bus stops or train stations, please tell them the bus or train isn’t coming, and to go home. The MBTA doesn’t want people congregating at stations.”
“The MBTA doesn’t want.” Okay. Wow. What an incredible formulation. Fair enough.
Not the exercise of power, but the enlistment of a people, the rousing of a whole society to a collective good — in the dark and chaos and uncertainy in the small hours before dawn.
And you know what? In the entire operation to get the suspects, not one civilian was injured. NOT ONE. Well, a boat was pretty fucked up, but not one injury. LAPD can’t say that.
We weren’t under martial law. There were no jackbooted thugs. Law enforcement made a request and we all cooperated and in doing so, we caught him.
Boston Strong.
My Mind Rebels at Stagnation 
So you’re saying that Boston has Oppositional Defiant Disorder.
That’s…. not even a little bit wrong. ;^)
That’s about the size of it.
(Saw the article linked, read bits of it to husband, read this comment to husband, who replied:)
“Are they familiar with the origins of the country? ;)”
As a Londoner who grew up during the height of the IRA troubles, the US reaction seems staggering. Once a month my commute home was disrupted by bomb scares. Once a year, a bomb went off and killed people. The IRA killed 5 people in Brighton on the day before a major political conference and the conference went ahead as planned anyway.
Terrorists win by spreading terror. To those of us who have lived during a period of terror (and my experience pales into insignificance compared to those living in Belfast or the West Bank), the Bostonian response was capitulation.
Whether the government ordered you to stay inside or not is not the question. It is whether the US people have demonstrated to global terrorists that they will never give in, never surrender.
A million people choosing to stay indoors pretty clearly fails that test.
At the risk of simply repeating what the author has said, I respectfully counter that you were not here and, therefore, you cannot judge. This is not only a completely different situation than what happened in London/Belfast/West Bank, it’s also a completely different culture and government. Comparisons are useless in this context, in my opinion.
“You weren’t there, you can’t judge” is a pretty effective way of shutting down debate. I guess nothing in Nicholas’ well-reasoned comment is even worth consideration since he wasn’t there. Why bother to read history or apply your reasoning to anything outside of your direct experience? Sometimes it’s easier to see what’s happening from a distance.
Sure, Nicholas and his well-reasoned comment based on inaccurate information, along with blatantly misunderstanding the timeline, what was really happening, and, well, how this situation is entirely different from London?
….actually, I fail to see how that’s well reasoned at all.
(Sorry Karla, I thought I approved this comment over an hour ago, and just now noticed that I hadn’t. Critical comments are published, it’s the obvious trolls who get their comments edited.)
Cool story, bro.
When you have to live through an active manhunt with bullets and pipe bombs tearing through a residential neighborhood, you get back to me.
People like you seem to forget that the “shelter in place” request was NOT a reaction to the bombings, it was a reaction to an active, volatile police action.
[For some reason, Jay thinks it’s okay to come into my blog and call people names. Let’s see how long he plays our game before he gives up or is banned!- RHG, blog owner]
I live in Brighton, Mass. about 3 miles south of the firefight and they were totally reasonable to ask us to stay inside when police cars were rushing all around chasing the bombers down. It was only for about 12 hours while we had a small army of law enforcers rushing around. No doubt if these things became common, people would start risking it, but for a one-time thing we could stay in.
Always starts as a one time thing.
With all due respect, as pointed out, if you were not there, you truly do not know what happened, and you have made some very inaccurate assumptions about the events of the past week. I was there… I work less than a mile from the explosion, and I live less than a mile from where they captured the suspect… it is a unique perspective, and I’d argue a far more accurate one than yours.
You say the “US reaction” is staggering, but you have not commented on the “US reaction” to the events at the marathon last week. If you had, you would have noted the thousands of people who rushed to the scene to help, the thousands who gathered to remember and mourn, and the thousands who continued their lives with every degree of normalcy they could during the large majority of last week, choosing not to cower at any point and asking only how best they could help… and those people are continuing to do so this week. You were not there, and so it is understandable how you would not accurately understand the events and the aftermath as they happened, but that is no excuse to judge.
You are instead judging the “US reaction” to the bombings by the events of a single day last week, a day which was not simply the aftermath of the bombing, but where there was an active manhunt in a single town to try and catch the person responsible. And you were not there that day. If you were, you’d know that we did not cower in Watertown….we were not indoors because we were simply too afraid to go outside…. We respected the request (not order) of the authorities to stay indoors during an extremely volatile situation so they could do their job for a limited span of time… this was not a chronic and ongoing terror threat… this was a single and rapidly changing incident…. and as soon as that request ended, we returned to the streets, we gathered together, and we reclaimed our town and our city.
Do not confuse the fact that we respected the authorities for 18 hours last Friday so that they could do their job for a city too terrorized to leave their own homes following an explosion, either on that day or any of the other days this past week.
@nicholaslovell – To be clear, we didn’t stay inside because we were scared. I would say we stayed inside for quite the opposite reason. We stayed inside to prove to terrorists that we will do whatever it takes as a *unified* city, state, and nation to find you and bring you to justice if you choose to attack us. Staying inside to enable our Law Enforcement to do their job without additional distraction and complexity and to avoid any other senseless deaths certainly did not seem like much of a sacrifice to me or any of my family and friends. Trust me when I say that at least half of the Bostonians and probably half the US Citizens from across America would have had no problem going outside and hunting down the terrorist ourselves, but thought it might be more efficient, safer, and easier for our Law Enforcement if we did so. That’s a far cry from “giving in to terrorists” or “surrendering”.
What we have here is a failure to communicate. I’d refer you back to the original posting by redheadedgal. But you’ve completely misread the situation. The day of the bombing, and for three days after that, the city mostly went about business as normal. There was resolve to catch the people that had planted the bombs, and a resolve by many to make sure the crowd at next year’s Marathon, and other events, is bigger than ever.
The situation Friday was an active house to house search for a suspect, focused in a particular area of Watertown. I live in Cambridge, adjacent to there, and one of the early places to get the shelter in place request. I stayed in my house all day, as did my neighbours. At no point were we fearful, or under the notion that we were in danger. We simply were helping to clear the city so that the bulk of the police forces from the metropolitan area could go to assist the search for the suspect.
Today, I was out for a bike ride through most of the areas affected by the recent events. Crowds were out enjoying the weather. People were smiling, and greeting strangers, more than usual. Nobody seemed fearful, and people weren’t avoiding crowds. If anything, I’d say the city felt more closely knit than it had before last week. We’re not going to let the threat of terrorism isolate us, nor will we give in, or surrender. But if you mess with us, we’ll do what it takes to make sure you’re caught and put in jail, even if that means a million people shutting down the city for a day.
I don’t have a lot to say in reply to this comment that hasn’t already been said. Like other commenters, I also live in Brighton, only a couple of miles from the scene of the gunfire and the area where the manhunt was taking place. I chose to stay home that day–I had already emailed work at around 3:00am.
What happened in Boston was not a commonplace reaction. It was not one million souls huddled in terror. Some people still worked. Many businesses stayed open. Plenty of people went outside and enjoyed the weather, especially in southern neighborhoods of Boston.
No one is walking around the city, scared for their lives. Many of us are planning to go to the Marathon or run in it next year. I’m really not sure how a 12-hour unenforced lockdown to apprehend a suspect who had explosives translates to, “YOU ARE CAVING TO THE TERRORISTS. And also chickens!”
Hiya.
I am an American-born person who grew up in London during the height of the Troubles. We lived there when the Good Friday accord was signed. My international school was under regular bomb threats.
My walks through London were regularly disrupted by bombs and cordoned-off streets. I remember the nonchalance of the bobbies when I asked why the street was blocked – and the ease of my acceptance. We moved along and took a two block diversion. It was a serious state of mind but one you quickly adapted to. Watch for unattended packages. Obey the police. Be mindful, ever mindful, of your surroundings. Have some tea. Watch Shooting Stars. Live your life. But be constantly vigilant.
I have lived all over the world and all over the States.
I have now lived in Boston for the past four years and this is my home.
Monday is the only day where I might accept the premise that we were terrorized. No other day. Friday? Friday we stayed where we needed to be. Shutting down the city was extreme but no one wanted this guy to get on a bus or get out of town. Like in London, the majority of people use mass transit. And London should know better than many other cities what it’s like when a bomb goes off on a bus. What if that had happened here? Or if he’d left a “surprise” on one of our subway lines? It could have disrupted the city for months. Better to lose a day than much, much longer.
This was not the terrorization of Boston, but an honest-to-god “for our own good” situation.
I live about four miles from Watertown. Do you know what I did on Friday? I walked to a pub, had lunch and a pint, later drove to Cambridge to drop off a friend, then went home and threw a party. I’ll repeat: I threw a party. We were hardly under siege. We were just trying to stay out of the way.
Not a single civilian was hurt during this. Why? Because everyone understood: if you want to take down another player, you get rid of the rest of the pieces on the board. It became the police versus Tsarnaev. Anyone else was a distraction. In Watertown, this meant being stuck at home. The rest of us were asked to stay in place. My city was not under a “shelter in place” order but most of us stuck around the house anyway because the T was shut down and we had little else we could do since most businesses were closed.
Look, you may not want to listen to anyone else because they don’t know what it was like in London during the Troubles. I’ve actually spent much of the past week talking about the Troubles with friends locally, explaining what it was like to grow up in London during that time.
I know. I am uniquely positioned to talk about this. I’ve lived in London during the troubles. I lost family in 9/11. I saw riots in France. I have lived in Ireland. I lived in Los Angeles in the neighborhood where the ’91 riots started. I have travelled in Israel. I have lost friends and loved ones to acts of terror.
And I am asking you politely: please stop talking about things which you do not understand.
I live less than a mile away from where the bulk of the action was. Close enough to hear gunfire in the diestance when they cornered the guy in the boat. When the SWAT team came to my door they _asked_ if there was anything _I wanted_ them to check out. I _invited_ them to search the basement, as I hadn’t been down there all day and someone could conceivably have crept in under cover of darkeness. They went down, looked around for a few minutes and declared everything OK. I did not for a single moment feel intimidated by the three or more husky men with rifles traipsing through my apartment. This is exactly how it happened, and it is consistent with everything I’ve heard from others in the area. I would gladly recommend these guys tin any emergency.
Having lived in Israel, on a hot border, during the War of Attrition in the 60’s/70’s, I have lived through bombings, shellings, etc. I was not in Boston last week. I think that the way the *occasion* was handled was superb. And, I have to admit, surprising.
My hat is off to both officials and citizens. Well done, Boston. Truly, well done. 🙂
It seems that peopel forget to differentiate between monday and friday. on Monday, we dealt, went on, rerouted and stuff. On tuesday we were back to work, etc.
On FRIDAY, we had an active manhunt/police action. so no, the terrorists didn’t terrorise us. we you know, let the cops do their thing while not getting shot.
It’s like saying “fuck the construction workers i am gonna go walk through the caution tape cause no one can tell ME what to do” yeah…. no.
Ditto with respect to aiding an in-process police action by staying out of the way. Fewer people on the streets, harder for the guy to travel. Fewer people on the streets, easier for the police to get around. Fewer people on the streets, decreased likelihood of collateral damage. I’m sorry you had so many bombings in London, but we just don’t tolerate that here. It’s rude.
I accept all of your comments.
I also say that whether I was there or not is not the key issue. Potential future terrorists will have formed their view of how successful terrorism is in the Continental US not by being in Boston, but in viewing it through the media. I was in DC on the day of the bombing and the day of the shoot out.
You are right. I can’t say how it felt to be in Watertown. Or in Boston. I can say how it looked to an outsider watching domestic media coverage. That’s what I have done.
What you’re still not getting is that Monday and Friday weren’t the same days. Monday, we gathered our wounded, we found our dead, we cared for our runners and we got the hell out of the way. Tuesday, we cared for our wounded, and began the process of burying our dead, we prayed and cried and squared our shoulders and we began the process of healing. Same thing on Wednesday and Thursday. You want to see how Boston reacts to terrorism? LOOK AT MONDAY. LOOK AT TUESDAY. LOOK AT WEDNESDAY. LOOK AT THURSDAY. Did you see us cowering in our homes, on our knees, paralyzed by fear? If you tell me you did, you’re lying.
Thursday, law enforcement posted the pictures. Friday, the suspects began the weirdest, most random, least planned getaway EVER, and you can reread my post for what actually happened on Friday. They lifted the shelter-in-place when they did because it didn’t appear this was going to be over as quickly as they hoped, and they knew they couldn’t keep us inside for any longer. So they restarted the T, they said the shelter-in-place was lifted, but for the love of god please be careful and if you see him, call 911, don’t be a hero. And that’s exactly what happened.
If you think we reacted badly, if you think we let the terrorists win, it’s because you aren’t seeing what really happened.
Potential future terrorists will have formed their view of how successful terrorism is in the Continental US
I certainly hope so. We have to train them out of the previously learned lesson, that they can blithely go about bombing tube stations for thirty-two years.
Cheers, mate.
Yeah, terrorists in the future will see that in Boston, we immediately rush to action and save as many people as possible in the wake of a terrorist attack. They will see that in Boston, the day after that attack, we go back to work. They will see that we will easily figure out who they are, and that we’ll find them.
And more importantly, people in Boston are telling you that we think that what happened on Friday was mostly appropriate, that we did not feel trapped in our homes, and that (again) we don’t need people who were not HERE telling us that we were overreacting.
Your point about media coverage from outside New England is probably fair. They clearly don’t get us, either. But then, they’re the Fear Industrial Complex. The 24 cable news cycle depends on fear to keep people glued to their TVs. If there’s one lesson everyone should have learnt by now, it’s that TV news isn’t there to give you a calm presentation of all the facts. Even if they get what’s going on, presenting it as “City residents calmly work with government and police to help bring killer to justice” isn’t going to have the terror factor that “Martial Law keeps city locked in their homes! Fnord! Terrorism suspect loose in neighbourhoods!” does. The televised media has brought shame on itself this week, as they do most weeks that include Wednesdays. Believe the worst spin they present, and you’ve chosen to drink their shameful Kool-aide. We have no desire to quench our thirst that way.
“City residents calmly enthusiastically work with government and police to help bring killer to justice”
FTFY.
That’s what really freaks everyone else out, you know. We violated the modern social compact of hating and fearing state institutions by audaciously considering our government and police ours. Democracy, motherfuckers: this is what We the People looks like. Welcome to Boston.
I’m so glad you posted this blog! I can’t believe the stupid-ass crap I’ve heard about Boston since the lockdown! I am a dyed in the wool conservative and I’m sorry to say, mostly conservatives are saying this junk. Good Lord! Did you ‘know’ no one really died at the bombings? That all those limbs that went flying were fakes and everybody there was an actor? Yeah, it’s THAT stupid. And then all the BS about how Boston is nothing but Liberal pansies hiding in their houses. Again, untrue, and you guys have said so very well. I think part of the problem is that even America doesn’t ‘get’ Boston. It’s the most different city in the country, and, I think, the best. I’ve lived in 13 major cities, I’m originally from LA, but Boston is off the charts awesome, and screw anyone who says different.
I went up in October last year to visit friends and see the garden my great-uncle designed, you know, your Emerald Necklace and I have never been more blown away by a place. The people are tough as nails, but more decent hearted and good to each other than I’ve ever seen. I certainly hope to go back.
Hang tough, Boston. You did the right thing.
Bravo
Thank you for writing this.