Emergent Chaos

Hey, I was about to blog on this!

I really like the use of the projective voice in this Boston Globe article: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/01/suspicious_pack_1.html?p1=MEWell_Pos1

"Scaring an entire region, tying up the T and major roadways, and forcing first responders to spend 12 hours chasing down trinkets instead of terrorists is marketing run amok," Markey, a Democrat, said in a written statement. "It would be hard to dream up a more appalling publicity stunt."

Except for three weeks, no one paniced.

"We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine and remember that we are not descended from fearful men." -- Edward R. Murrow

Good one. I also submit for consideration:

"No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear." -- Edmund Burke

And to think that today the final components for my current batch of throwies arrived. Now, I'm afraid that if I actually deploy them, I'll earn a ticket to Gitmo.

It's amazing how we can be scared witless by something so simple as batteries, LEDs, and electrons. I appreciate the response of the SWAT Bomb Anti-Terrorism Commandos in Boston...but did somebody think to take a look at these devices before unleashing the holy retributive force of Bostons Finest in Code 3 Response on the rush hour crowds? It sure doesn't sound like it.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what happens when the threat of terrorism is paraded around constantly.

Nice to see the local police handling the incident with a calm and investigative approach! /sarcasm

The ultimate victory -- the terrorists taught the terrified to terrorise themselves.

I too have thrown the blinkenlights, but the police just ignored us.

Has there ever been a terrorist bomb in history that had a big fancy light display on it? I think people have watched too many bad action movies, where bombs look like fancy electronic gizmos. In real life they're more likely to look like innocuous suitcases, cardboard boxes, or pieces of pipe.