In researching the Currier family of
Canaan, and Noyes Academy, general stores, the postal system and
consumption, I feel like I skipped right over the Civil War. I've
ordered some books on the Civil War and I'm waiting for them to come.
I've been thinking about the media exposure of the Boston Marathon
bombers and some issues here in the Upper Valley.
The Boston Marathon bombing was
horrible. It doesn't matter how you look at it, it was just horrible.
The Marathon has long been viewed as a Spring Rite in Boston, an
athletic event of amateurs. Boston is well-known for its sports teams
and sports history, but the marathon isn't about superstars or
money-making. The Boston Marathon draws 500,000 spectators and more
than 25,000 participants. It is a rite of spring that involves
running, cheering, and no superstars making millions of dollars to
play a game. It is just heartbreaking that, even once, the
experience of the Boston Marathon would be ruined by violence.
Why would two brothers, a teenager and
a young adult, build bombs and detonate them at the Boston Marathon.
I can comprehend religious fanaticism and dying for a cause, but
these boys had been in America for 10 years. It's hard to
understand. Were they biding their time for ten years? Were they
recruited by Muslim extremists? Are we lucky more of these incidents
haven't happened? It just seems hard to fathom that two kids,
practically, could cause so much damage.
And then locking down the whole city
of Boston for a day while law enforcement searches for the surviving
brother – wow. If you study behavioral science, you are well aware
that human beings engage in behavior for a goal. Every single time a
person does anything, it is to achieve a goal. Every action is going
to have a positive reinforcement or a negative consequence. When
national newscasters went nuts proclaiming that “In Boston's 350
year (or so) history, this has never, ever happened”, I cannot
believe that if there was a terrorist group responsible for the
bombing that day, they didn't get lots and lots of positive
reinforcement for the unprecedented event of Boston being shut down
for a whole day. Oh, and in the end, military and police personnel
didn't find the kid. An average citizen, acting with more than
average bravery, I think, noticed something out of place in his back
yard, investigated, and called 9-1-1. I just think newscasters need
to show a little restraint. Although, who wasn't watching the whole
thing unfold on national television? We certainly were. Now I look
back on it and the media circus surrounding those two boys, and wish
it had been handled a different way.
Which brings me to another point. I do
research for this blog and I discover lots of interesting
information. I just can't get enough of the history stuff. The more
I do it the more I want to do. I can't wait for this summer when I
can visit some of these historical societies and explore some of the
sites I couldn't go to during the winter and early Spring. I went to
Canaan over April vacation and froze in the rain and wind while I was
in the cemetery. I learned some awesome history, but I'm looking
forward to doing it in the nice weather.
I also learn about crime in Windsor
County. Hardcore drug dealers from New Jersey dealing heroin in front
of the Springfield Middle School. They had lots and lots of various
drugs in their car, and an actual safe to hold the money they made.
I couldn't believe my eyes when I read this. In front of a middle
school? How does this happen?
Not so fun fact – heroin comes from
Afghanistan. The Taliban controls the heroin trade. How much damage
and devastation does heroin do in the Upper Valley, in terms of human
lives, in terms of lost production, in terms of dollars spent trying
to combat it, in terms of the suffering and heartbreak of the
families of people whose loved ones are drug addicted? The city of
Boston willingly shuts itself down for 24 hours, submitting to door
to door searches to find a terrorist bomber. National news channels
go on for day after day, giving repetitive moment by moment updates
regarding the search for the surviving bomber, and then his capture.
They continue with his life story, and interviews with his family,
friends, classmates, etc. Yet right here in Vermont, drug dealers
from New Jersey, probably gang members, park in front of a middle
school and deal poison that originally came from Afghanistan,
spending American dollars to buy poison that ruins lives, slowly,
painfully, tearing whole families apart, and in the process funding
the Taliban, and it's just kind of accepted. Yes, it's horrible, but
what can you do?. I'll tell you what you can do. Be as actively
engaged as the man in Watertown. If you see something wrong,
investigate. Call 9-1-1 and make sure the situation is addressed.
If it isn't, call back. If the town police don't respond, call the
State Police or the sheriff's office.
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