Boston Marathon Bombing: Tragedy and Uncertainty

Three people were killed by a series of explosions in Boston today. That's a tragedy, but could have been much worse.

No pressure, but prayer wouldn't hurt. A lot of people are hurting.

This seems to be what happened at about 2:50 p.m.:

• Three people killed
  • Including an 8 year old boy
• At least 125 injured
  • Some severely
    • Some lost limbs
• An incident at the John F. Kennedy Library in Dorchester may or may not be
  • Related to the explosions
  • An explosion
  • A fire

(FoxNews.com, used w/o permission)
"Multiple casualties reported after two explosions at Boston Marathon" (FoxNews.com)

In my considered opinion, I don't have enough information to form a considered opinion about who decided to kill people in Boston today.

Why?

One of the few certainties about today's explosions seems to be that they are the result of deliberate acts. What is not certain is who is responsible.

I am, however, fairly certain that whoever decided to cause death and destruction was motivated at least in part by hate.

So far, I've heard and read the usual opinions: that it is the fault of right-wing extremists, religion, and America. In my youth, I'd have been more likely to encounter claims that commies were to blame.

It's possible that some sort of religion was involved. Folks with a particularly vicious sort of faith encouraged me to take a very hard look at religion. Eventually I became a Catholic, and that's almost another topic.

It's possible that whoever killed folks in Boston is a Catholic. If so, I hope that person learns what the Catholic Church really teaches. Murder is against the rules. We're not even allowed to hate people. Any people.

Sadly, quite a few folks have very odd ideas about the Church. Some of them are Catholics. I've posted about that sort of thing:

• "Catholics aren't Calvinists"
  (May 7, 2012)
• "Faith and Obedience"
  (March 25, 2012)
• "Hating People? Not an Option"
  (December 9, 2010)

Who?

Like I said, I don't have enough information to have a "considered opinion" about who is responsible for the bombings.

I don't have the luxury of simply assuming that 'it is the fault of [insert favorite bogeyman].' That sort of knee-jerk reaction isn't being a good citizen. As a Catholic, I have to practice responsible citizenship. It's in the rules. (November 4, 2012)

I suspect that so many folks embrace bias as a substitute for thought because it's easier: and because it tends to eliminate uncertainty. A person who 'knows' that all [favorite bogeymen] are bad, and that they're responsible for most or all bad stuff, can go straight to hating the [favorite bogeymen].

That may be comforting, in a way: but I'm quite certain that it's not right. Or, in the long run, prudent.

Unless something very definite comes out before then, I probably won't post about this terrible set of incidents until Friday.

Related posts:

• "Boston Marathon Bombs"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (April 15, 2013)
• "Wisconsin: Dead Sikhs; Disrupted Lives"
  (August 5, 2012)
• "Evil is Not Nice, Religious Freedom, and Other Radical Ideas"
  (May 4, 2012)
• " 'The Jesus-Eating Cult of Rick Santorum' and 'America - Love It or Leave It''"
  (February 29, 2012)
• "Pro-Life People - 'Domestic Terrorists and Violent Racketeers:' Who Knew?"
  (June 1, 2009)

In the news:

• "Explosions transform finish line into chaos"
  David Abel, Travis Andersen and Martin Finucane, Boston Globe (April 15, 2013)
• "Boston games postponed, cancelled after blasts"
  Reuters Canada (April 15, 2013, 8:46 p.m. ET)
• "Two bombs rock Boston Marathon, at least two killed, dozens hurt"
  Scott Malone, Svea Herbst-Bayliss, Reuters (April 15, 2013, 7:53 p.m. ET)
• "Boston Marathon explosions: 'Everyone panicked' "
  BBC News (April 15, 2013, 5:31 p.m. ET)