Boston v. Waco

I can't hold my tongue. I'm a runner, and I deeply empathize with the Beantown marathoners and their supporters. Hell, those people just ran 26+ miles and were about to cross the finish line when they got blown off their feet. A bunch—including Wesdom's calc teacher (who's okay, btw)—was just nearing the finish line and got turned away. Not allowed to finish their first Boston.

If you're not a runner, you should know: Boston is the pinnacle. You can go out and run a 5K or 10K or a half mary or even a full marathon and never be allowed to run the Boston. You have to post a fast time on a legit 26.2 mile course before you can even submit an application. You get some handicaps for age, gender, etc. But still. Finishing the Boston is a BFD!

I've been running regularly for nearly four years. In that time I've competed in 43 foot races. Got 43 shirts, even took first place in my age division on occasion. Five of those races were half marathons—13.1 miles. You've seen some of the pics. But I've never—not once, not even in practice—run that distance. And my halves' times wouldn't qualify me to apply to Boston even if I doubled them.

So, R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Deep and abiding.

The Boston Marathon bombing was a big deal. It deserves the full weight of governmental intervention and sanction. Go get the bastards! They terrorized my friends and fellow runners. And they killed at least three innocents and wounded hundreds others who were either just running or just watching running. What country do we invade?

But wait. Last night a fertilizer depot near Waco, Texas blew up in the middle of the night. Initial reports say somewhere between five and 15 people were killed and many, many more injured. Plus, neighborhoods had to be evacuated.

These innocents were sleeping in their beds or otherwise simply going about their business, maybe at work doing their jobs. And this industrial blast blew them into oblivion. Not to mention the environmental damage.

How is this not also domestic terrorism? Why should not its perpetrators, whether from neglect or negligence or even criminal incompetence, be punished to the same extent as the Boston bastards? Do they get a pass in our minds simply because they have an "Inc." shield?

Some people put together a small, crude bomb and set it off in a public place with the intent to kill, maim, and terrorize a few bystanders at a public even. Some others allowed a known hazard stored in public proximity to explode with sufficient force to register a 2.9 on the Richter earthquake scale, the result of which was death, mayhem, and terror.

You tell me.