It’s easy, during a week like this, to be horrified, to be sad, to be scared. It’s natural.
But it’s also easy, if you take a look–as many people are doing–at the other end of terror and tragedy.
There’s Jaimie Muehlenhausen, of California, and common sense mixed with foresight.
There’s the group of Boston College students who said, “We will walk to show that we decide when our marathon ends.”
Whether or not they’re entirely good, there’s Anonymous and their hacking of the Westboro Baptist Church Facebook page:
And there’s the very nature of Boston, as described by Dennis Lehane.
From a continent away, I had the same immediate reaction to Boston that I had to 9/11, and I described it on Facebook:
It’s indelicate, but nevertheless it is my first thought in these situations:
“F%@k those guys.”
I don’t know who they are, or what they want to accomplish, and it doesn’t matter. The very first reaction they get from me is anger.
Later on, when I think about it some more, I want to go home and hug my husband and daughter. But the first thing I do is get angry.
So bring on your terror. You may horrify me, but you don’t scare me.
They don’t scare Boston, either. Don’t let them scare you. Don’t let them limit you. Don’t fall for that.
They’re too small, and we’re too big.
Comments
10 responses to “The Good That Men Do”
AMEN! They can’t scare me, they may make me more cautious, but we have to continue on and show them that we are brave and they WILL not kill our spirit!
Absolutely.
A few days after 9/11, my co-workers and I were taking our usual walk around the building after lunch. Someone said that people were going to be afraid to fly, and I said, “I’m not. I’d fly right now.” My boss said, “I don’t think you can. The planes are still grounded.” I responded, “And also I have to be at work today. But I would.”
Seriously, f*ck those guys.
Thanks for bringing the bright side. I haven’t been focusing enough on that.
I came across this, too–apparently some leading L.A.runners organized an impromptu marathon in honor of Boston: http://laist.com/2013/04/17/los_angeles_runs_for_boston_today.php
Wow, that’s crazy. Runners are crazy.
But in such cool ways.
Personally, I don’t think we should say fuck them. I think we should say, “May they never get fucked again.”
I suspect that they weren’t anyhow.
Thanks for the links – really good stuff.
Thanks. It’s been a brutal week, and I figured other people could use them, too.