Is Boston Constantly Overreacting?
You won't hear about it on the nightly news, but there was some uproar on February 28th, in Boston's financial district over a traffic counting machine. A little green box, chained to a "No Parking" sign obviously sent some over the edge. The bomb squad was called in, and blew up the device after closing down busy Devonshire Street.
You also may remember, not long ago, when the Cartoon Network fiasco took over the news stories in Boston, around the country, and arguably around the world. Virtually shutting down the city, as several departments, including police, fire and the bomb squad took care of the advertisements that had been planted for "Adult Swim."
While these might be only two examples of what Bostonians face, it makes you wonder if Boston is thinking smart, or over-reacting. The City of Boston, the Governor, and the Mayor have seen their share of degradation over these stories. I, personally though, do have to come to their defense.
With the threats of terrorism constantly in the media, is it wrong for the city to investigate all of these unknown devices? As a person who makes frequent trips into Boston, my personal opinion would be "better safe than sorry." Of course, you have to take into account the man-hours, the expense, and definitely not to underscore the traffic nightmare that all of this turns into. Having Boston shut completely off, in my mind, and in several commuters' minds, is not an easy task to bear, on a good day.
Boston has become the "laughing stock" of several people that I have run across and spoken to nationally. Wouldn't you think it would be the obligation of the city's government to investigate anything that might be suspicious? Isn't that what they are paid to do so we can continue to live our "normal" lives, without the fears of terrorism gripping us? God forbid there is ever a "real" bomb and it does some damage. Is that something we are willing to have sit on our shoulders?
So for now, Mayor Menino, Governor Patrick and to my heroes in the Police, Fire and Bomb Squad departments, keep up the good work. Please, for the safety of all of us continue to investigate. Yes, it's expensive, but I'd rather pay for these departments that are concerned over our safety than continue paying for this awful nightmare they call "The Big Dig!"
Published by Cee Belair
Working mom of 3. View profile
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6 Comments
Post a CommentI grew up in Philly and now live in the Midwest--and people out here think that people from the Northeast are all very uptight and that we overreact a lot. I think it's because when we react, direct action gets things done. Out here there is not as much cause for direct action because most issues don't affect many people. I visited Boston last year and felt right at home.
LOL Anthony! Yes, it is a shame that fear has taken over our country - exactly what terrorists want. Thanks for the comments everyone! :)
Fear has overtaken this country, and sadly, Boston seems to be the worst. It's a shame that so much money is made off of this fear (National Security contracts are huge!), and an even bigger shame that our citizens are allowing our country to be put into this state. Great article!
Boston hasn't been the same since "Cheers" went off the air.
That's a good question, Rhonda. They definitely were caught short by 9/11, and in tests after I believe as well. In my decades in Boston, it seemed like a city that reacts, rather than one that thinks. Mayor Menino takes care of people's problems, while here in Denver the Mayor and government are very active in finding ways to make the city better, and (with the exception of being flummoxed by all this snow) they tend to plan ahead. I think that Boston hopes that calling out the National Guard for every bag of trash will look responsible, but it doesn't. By the way, here in Denver, they put a phone number to call on traffic counters, to avoid such problems. It just takes a little thinking ahead.
I hadn't heard about this one until now. I had wrote a news story here on the Cartoon Network fiasco though. I have to come to their defense also. I live in a SMALL town and we don't see anything like that here but if I lived in a big place like Boston (where the terrorists flew out of) I would appreciate the efforts put into making sure every suspicious looking device is investigated. What if they decided that they didn't want to check into something and it turned out to be a bomb. What would everyone say about Boston then?