I saw footage of that before I saw the photo linked early in this thread. I think my eye was drawn to cowboy hat guy and didn’t even look at the guy in the chair’s injuries. Then I saw the linked picture. As soon as I saw it I realized that I had just seen that guy wheeled past the cameras on TV. Then I saw the footage on TV again and this time realized what it was.
As if the whole thing wasn’t bad enough, those poor bastards from Newtown.
I heard Obama’s speech on the radio driving to work. I hope they catch the arseholes who did this, this is the definition of terrorism. Planting explosives to take out innocent people.
Very glad to see in this thread at least that no one has lost family.
I’ve seen that photo a couple more times - always now cropped at the level of his knee.
If the original was the one that wasn’t that bad, I suspect they’d been running it uncropped. There’s a couple of other bloody photos that have been pretty widespread and uncropped.
Plus, a couple of people upthread said they spotted him on network video footage. No way any network’s going to CGI in some really gory injuries for news footage. Nevermind that it would be impossibly to do so in the time it took before it was broadcast.
ETA: thread moves too fast, I see the photo’s already been discussed some more.
I missed the video but now I understand why his complexion was so dusky. Sure hope he makes it. Thoughts and prayers for all those whose lives were so changed today.
One of my best buddies has a daughter at college in Boston. She was running the marathon, but is ok. Her friend from college is in the hospital but I have no idea how bad she is hurt. My friend’s daughter is inconsolable. My friend’s daughter has been through the ringer from a young age and 4.0 student and terrific person. It’s just awful.
CNN just reported that Doctors are removing ball bearings from victims.
Bombs were designed to maim as much as possible.
I have no words. Heartbreaking.
Today has been a bad day.
Today was a day when a lazy sh-t with a backpack tried to make a statement by trying to kill people who work out every single day, on top of earning a living, just to run and just to inspire Hope. And they, quite typically, only succeeded in killing a child and a spectator.
I come here not to praise the Ignorant Partisanship which may have allowed this to happen in My America, but to Bury it.
It’s already 8:00pm on the East Coast of my nation, and the sun is about to set on today. But what of tomorrow? Whose child will die tomorrow if we don’t work together to stop this? Mine? Yours?
I don’t much care who you voted for. I don’t care what country you’re from or what you think that entitles you to. I don’t care if you do your fighting with clips, pens, or Hanzo swords… and I don’t much care which tin-plated god you think would have you afterwards.
I ask you one question: Is THIS acceptable in Your America!?
Someone out there is reading this. Someone out there knows Something about this. Someone out there has the power with one phone call to make sure this never happens again to Any of our children.
Make. That. Call.
A high school friend’s dad is a marathoner/ultramarathoner. Looks like he finished about 50 minutes before the explosion but didn’t leave the area until 5 minutes prior. :eek: Damned lucky of him.
They never listen to us.
There were a lot of these types of nail bombs in Ireland. Horrific.
Just a reminder to go on Google’s Person Finder and put in information about people you know are safe, even if their families already know. I just did that for my mom and someone she met on the train yesterday was relieved to hear it. Might make someone’s day.
Interesting. I just had two calls in a row on my cell phone from a guy with a very obvious Boston accent. The second time we verified that he was calling my number. (I’m in Ontario.)
He said he was looking for his brother; I should have talked to him a bit. I feel bad now.
My cousin was running and half my family was there to watch him. He finished about half an hour before the explosion but had just left the area when it went off. I have heard that he and the rest of the family are all fine, but no other details.
He started with the first wave of runners at 10. If he’d started with the second wave, he’d have been right there.
He’s probably too busy worrying and trying to locate his brother to have wanted to talk even for a little bit - so don’t feel bad.
It’s not photoshopped. You can find photos of this guy in the blast area before anyone gets to him on liveleak.com if one cares to look.
That’s too bad. I think it is an important—quite precisely because it is so disturbing and enraging—photograph. Much like The Falling Man from 9/11.
We don’t want wholly abandon our decision making to our emotions, but there is also a danger of over-intellectualizing the event in order to distance ourselves from some realities that it looks like we still need to reckon with.
(I am trying to keep this on the importance of photography — particularly stark, striking photography, of events like these — and not include a political component.)
CNN reporting 17 patients with amputations.
It has been a hell of an awful day. I work in the suburbs, but around here it’s hard not to know people that are in/ involved with the marathon. My co-worker’s wife was working the medical tents, and it was agony waiting to hear from her. A lot of people were coming in with amputations. Cambridge and Somerville are fine, but the city was just sheer bedlam.
I think the internet gives us the best of both worlds. I can find that picture if/when I want to. But I don’t need to look at it while I’m eating dinner and watching the news.