The Boston bombing was a very
serious affair and must have been frightening for those runners and
spectators near the scene. However, what was also frightening to see,
was how tenuous is the citizen's hold on the right to freedom of
movement. In one swift movement an entire city was shut down,
businesses closed, Amtrak and Boston public transport to New York
shut down, and people warned to stay inside and lock their doors. The
city was swarming with what looked like the cast of Star Wars. A
million people willingly locked down, why, because a teenager was on
the run. Obama, of course said all the right things to make the
citizens of Boston compliant, he praised them for being resolute,
brave and not cowed, when in fact they were all sitting at home
behind locked doors, leaving the streets to the state's muscle. It
would seem that when push comes to shove, even that slim semblance of Madame Democracy, can so very easily be locked down. The scenes
beamed across the world were a perfect portrayal of a warrior nation
moving into overkill, a perfect example of how to lock-down a city
when desired. The manhunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was a massive
exercise in over reaction, creating a state of siege on the city of
Boston, imposed by a military state. In spite of this, it was not
the professional state muscle men that found the teenager, it was one
of Boston's citizens.
I can't remember who said it but
this was a perfect example, “What's the difference between the
state and a terrorist? The terrorist is the one with the small bomb.”
Killing innocent people is always unacceptable, but let's not forget,
the state is the biggest killer of innocent people on the planet.
