Marathon of Madness

While Boston mourns, conspiracy theorists add fuel to the fire

Two explosions rocked the famous Boston Marathon on Monday, killing 3 and injuring more than a 170 people. So far there are no suspects and no group or organization has claimed responsibility.

The bombs that were used were of crude design. The FBI has said they were pressure cookers stuffed with shrapnel (nails, ball bearings, etc.) The recipe for this type of bomb can be found all over the internet and even Al Qaeda’s handbook. Therefore no conclusions can yet be made on whether this attack was domestic or foreign, religious or extremist.

I’m going to make an educated guess here and claim this attack was domestic, most likely by a right-wing nut. Of course this is pure speculation and I can be wrong, but I said educated for a reason.

The bombing occurred on Patriot’s Day which just so happened to be tax day for Americans. It took place in Boston, leading me to believe that some sick individuals might of had a second Boston Tea Party in mind.

There has not been a claim of responsibility; most Muslim extremists have traditionally admitted proudly what they’ve done while domestic American terrorists have not.

Since Barack Obama was elected, there has been a big spike in the number of militia groups, extremist groups, hate groups and other forms of their ilk. Militia groups alone are now ten times more numerous than they were in 2008. It wouldn’t be surprising to see another Timothy McVeigh spawned by one of them.

Obviously I can speculate until the cows come home. It could turn out that the day it happened is just a coincidence and those responsible just don’t want to be caught. However, if I’m right it, it will make certain people look worse than they do already.

In the wake of the bombings, conspiracy theorists and far right-wing personalities went nuts over Twitter, Facebook and other social media.

We have the usual dumbasses who said “George Bush kept us safe for 8 years and once again Barack Obama fails as terrorists bomb Boston Marathon”. We also still have many people who are quick to blame Muslims, no surprises there.

What got my attention the most was famous conspiracy theorist Alex Jones who tweeted the following:

The first question asked to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick in a nationally televised press conference came from Dan Bidondi, a “reporter/analyst” for Alex Jones’s InfoWars:

“Why were the loud speakers telling people in the audience to be calm moments before the bombs went off? Is this another false flag staged attack to take our civil liberties and promote homeland security while sticking their hands down our pants on the streets?”

Of course there was no loud speaker announcement and Governor Patrick had to fight back his anger. The idea that the government staged the attack to increase taxes and create a police state is downright ludicrous.

The reason these idiots caught my attention is that they are part of the problem. Most people who listen to this mumbo-jumbo are quick to dismiss it and laugh it off, but there are those who believe every word.

Like I speculated earlier, It wouldn’t surprise me if these attacks were perpetrated by someone who fits Jones’ audience. When people buy into this type of fear and paranoia, where the government is the enemy, coming for your guns, your money and your freedom, it breeds hate towards an imaginary enemy and all those who follow it.

We don’t yet know who is responsible for the attacks, it could turn out be some lone wolf psycho schmuck who got mad for losing his job at McDonalds. Who knows…

What I do know for sure, regardless of who the culprit turns out to be, is that Jones, Limbaugh, Beck and those like them aren’t responsible period. They say the things they do for one reason; money. If they don’t strike fear in the hearts of Americans by pedaling these off the wall conspiracy theories, nobody listens and they don’t get paid.

So long as there’s money to be made from fear, their marathon of madness will continue…