PHOTO: Immediate aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing.
By Tyler Pruett, Managing Editor
RAINSVILLE, Ala. — This past weekend, most of us were glued to the television watching college football, spending time with our friends and families, or enjoying the pleasant weather. Not just in DeKalb County, but in most of the country, life went on as normal.
Comparatively speaking, the attitude of the American public is anything but, “normal” when terrorist acts are taking place. Even with the popularity of college football in the south, coverage of a major terror plot unfolding would have most of us flipping back and forth between the news and the games.
While most of us (including myself) were watching football and enjoying the weekend. Here is a basic timeline of the events that unfolded over the weekend:
Saturday, September 17 (All times Central)
- 8:30 am: An improvised explosive device detonated in Seaside Park, New Jersey, along the route of a planned Marine Corp 5k run. Luckily, the run was delayed and no one was injured.
- 7:30 pm: A large explosion was reported in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. 29 people were injured by flying debris from a large blast caused by an, ‘intentional explosion.’ Shortly after, authorities found an unexploded device not far away from the previous explosion.
- 8:00 pm: A man in St. Cloud, Minnesota went on a stabbing-spree in a shopping mall, injuring 9 people. The man, Dahir Aden, was killed by an off-duty police officer.
Sunday, September 18
- 7:30 pm: A backpack with 5 explosive devices was found near a transit station in Elizabeth, New Jersey by two homeless men. Authorities were notified.
- 8:45 pm: A ‘vehicle of interest’ was pulled over and five individuals taken into custody, also in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
- 11:30 pm: While attempting to disarm the explosives in Elizabeth, one device exploded, but left no injuries.
Monday, September 19
- 7:20 am: New Jersey authorities named Ahmad Khan Rahami, a 28 year old, Afghan born, but naturalized U.S. citizen as a, ‘person of interest’ in the investigation.
- 9:30 am: Rahami was spotted sleeping in the doorway of a tavern in Linden, New Jersey. The owner called the police, and after a shootout, was taken into custody. Rahami shot and injured two police officers, before being shot by authorities and taken to a hospital. Rahami was charged with the bombings later in the afternoon.
While many would say that it’s a virtue for America to continue on with life after these attacks, we must not confuse the new norm with ‘resiliency.’
In the past, Americans have shown ‘resiliency’ by demanding that our government do everything in it’s power to prevent these attacks, and bring justice to those responsible.
While there were no fatalities in this weekend’s attacks, the amount of explosives used could have very well caused hundreds of deaths and injuries if all the devices were exploded and at their intended locations and times.
Even more importantly, according to authorities, the attacks in Minnesota and New York/New Jersey weren’t coordinated, meaning that at approximately the same time, two individuals in the United States were carrying out attacks inspired by radicalized Islam.
Some would say that by ignoring it, we are denying terrorists the attention that they seek, and it might take away some incentive to carry out these attacks. But for these extremist, there is no, “giving up.”
If they lose America’s attention, they’ll simply increase the scale of their attacks to regain our attention.
While we accept this as “normal,” the other side will never accept American ideals and freedoms as, “normal.”
Coexistence with terrorism is just not an option, just as they will never attempt to coexist with us.
