Does anyone know why the guys who physicaly put them up are being charged rather then the organziation who decided on that method of advertising?
It was one of the Mooninites, one of the members of the evil organization known as Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday. (Don’t ask.)
I can’t fault Boston for their reaction. Let’s look at this objectively:
[ul][li]Someone spotted a mysterious electronic device (it’s not like it was a radio or a TV set up there).[/li][li]It was placed underneath an important and vulnerable bit of infrastructure (a bridge, a classic target of terrorists and saboteurs).[/li][li]This is not where you usually find advertisements. Or anything, really.[/li][li]The device has visible wires, which suggests an amateur level of skill on the part of the builder.[/li][li]No one knew anything about the devices. Nobody had been given permission to set them up.[/li][li]The character is displaying a hostile gesture.[/li][/ul]
Sounds pretty suspicious to me.
I’d like to talk about my last bullet point. Yes, it’s a cartoon character, but he’s flipping off the viewer. That’s not the most innocuous of images. For comparison, imagine if the box instead had a big decal showing Calvin peeing on an American flag. That would change things quite a bit, no? Since most people have never heard of a “Mooninite,” and couldn’t even begin to guess as to what show (if any) it might be from, the fact that this was just a publicity stunt by Cartoon Network isn’t really relevant.
All that having been said, I don’t think they should charge those guys with planting a hoax device, since there was apparently no malicious intent. Just terminal stupidity. Disorderly conduct sounds appropriate, however.
Incidentally, it seems like the ad campaign wasn’t very effective. According to the article I read (on MSN.com) Cartoon Network said that they they hadn’t received any calls about the boxes in all the time they’d been up.
Probably because there are laws against defacing public property (or whatever they are being charged with) while there aren’t laws against plotting to deface public property.
The only way for this ad campaign to be successful was for it to get on the news. If the media didn’t notice no one would have any idea what the ad was for(except for people who are already viewers). So they either hoped to cause a stink or it was a bad idea that turned into publicity by accident.
As for how obvious it should have been the they were harmless…it is my understanding that they were not lit during the day so no character could be seen. What could be seen were wires and circuits attached to an object the size and shape of a stick of dynomite covered in black tape. Of course it looked suspicious, especially if it was placed in a high location where it could not be seen clearly.
The thing that most annoys me about all of this is the media feeling that they should protect us from the middle finger. All the shots I have seen on TV have obscured the finger. It’s a cartoon character with three fingers. Is it even an obscene gesture if it only has three fingers?
My guess is that this incident will provide source material for future wannabe sociologists looking for ideas for their doctoral thesis: What made Boston different from the other cities?
An extremely low proportion of college students, who might be familiar with ATHF.
Oh, wait.
No, the real question: How long until Boston Legal does an episode about this?
The charge is “disorderly conduct and placing a hoax device”
Basically, bomb hoax. Not littering or vandalism, which might have been appropriate, but bomb hoax.
Are we allowed to use rolleyes in GQ?
Searching the MA general laws for the word “hoax”, I think this is the law they’re being charged under. The hard part to make stick will be the “intent to cause anxiety, unrest, fear or personal discomfort to any person or group of persons”. I think the state will have a pretty tough time proving that, considering it was an advertisement for a TV show.
Nope, unless someone who places a real bomb somewhere clearly marks it as ‘BOMB’. We should all have to play by the rules you know.
I’m reminded of a Simpsons episode in which Kent Brockman is reporting on Homer’s perfect bowling game. One of the bullies gives the camera “the finger” by putting his pointer and index fingers together. (Most cartoon characters only have three fingers and a thumb.)
true, which when added to the fact that the guys responsible were told to keep quiet when it became an issue makes you wonder who made the call to the police in the first place.
Reports are saying this cost $1 million. Im curious how investigating a few suspicious devices can cost that much money. If anybody knows about this kind of stuff, could you post your best estimate of the “tab”?
10 million for this level of publicity for Warner’s show would be cheap.
Interesting way to look at it! I’m a total mooncalf, until I get tricked when I turn Completely Skeptical for a week, but you shifted my worldview for the next week! 
When Godzilla turns up and wants to smoosh Boston, I am sure the city will have the lessons it learned from all this to help it defeat the monster.
mm