Oh Boston. My City.


This was a post that I never hoped to write. I feel angry, sad, hurt, and fearful. My emotions and thoughts feel very basic and I'm not sure how to process it all. This horrible violence that blew up people here in Boston.

On this blog, I wrote about what happened at Virginia Tech and Newtown. Now it's Boston. The city where I was born. It wasn't a gun attack. But the violence feels the same. How do you even process degrees of violence? It's all violence.

Just last week I wrote a post about the beauty of Boston in the Spring. And how I'm so proud of my family's Boston roots.

I guess the difference in the feeling yesterday was that it felt more like it did on September 11th, when we kept hearing about how the attacks were spreading. I kept hearing news about a fire and explosion at the JFK Library and nobody knew if they were related. The JFK Library is even closer to where I live and on the news they told people not to go into Boston and to stay home. It felt like it was spreading.

Then on the news they kept talking about whether it was terrorism or not. A person or persons intentionally set out to maim and kill people at a public event at the time that they knew the entire world would be watching. Isn't that terrorism?

On the FBI website, the general definition that they cite "is the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."

It shouldn't matter who did this. It's the what. It seems to me that what they did is terrorism.

The picture above is from when I went to the Boston Book Festival last Fall. It took place in Copley Square, where the Boston Public Library is located. The location where so much devastation took place yesterday.

Last week, I was at Copley before going over to the Common. I didn't take any pictures.

*Updated 5:20pm* If you'd like to donate to help the victims, The One Fund - Boston Marathon 2013 has been set up.

*Updated 4/17/2013* This article Cooperation after a tragedy:When our hearts know better than our minds is wonderfully encouraging and uplifting, so I thought that I would share it here with you. Please take a look if you get a chance.

Also, a big thank you to those of you who have been reaching out to me over the past few days to make sure that I'm okay. You've filled my heart! THANK YOU!

Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2013. All rights reserved.
This Post’s Link
 Follow me on Twitter. Join me on Facebook.

Comments

Nance said…
I'm sorry, Lisa. I thought of you immediately, "knowing" you actively champion Boston's events. I wondered if you would be at or around the area. And I'm sorry it has devastated you so at your core.

I'm glad you're safe, but I know it's not a good feeling, having this cast a pall on your life.

Some comfort can be had, surely, from the knowledge that massive efforts are in motion to get to the answers.
Lisa Johnson said…
nance - Thank you so much for thinking of me. It is appreciated. Hearing from you and others that I've befriended through this blog makes a big difference. Really big. It warms my heart and lets me focus on good people. Thank you. : )

Popular Posts