Everyone wants to know who bombed the Boston Marathon. But we don’t all want to know for the same reason.
In a woeful plaint titled “How long until we know?”, Politico’s Dylan Byers makes a remarkable admission:
It’s been more than 24 hours since the explosions in Boston. But while new details emerge by the hour, the question on so many people’s minds remains unanswered: Who did it?
“The range of suspects and motives remains wide open,” FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers said, for the umpteenth time, at a press conference early Tuesday evening.
For many journalists I’ve spoken with today, this ignorance is tortuous. The identification of the attacker(s) and the reasons for the attack will likely have enormous political (and potentially geoplitical) ramifications, which will vary greatly depending on whether the attacker(s) is domestic or foreign, acting alone or as part of an organization. We’re standing on the verge of a very important national conversation about something, and we have no idea what it is…
I want to know the cause — not because I’m eager to politicize the tragedy, but because I want to know where our national conversation is headed.
Our national conversation.
The rest of us want to know the cause too, young Mr. Byers. Why? Because somebody bombed the Boston Marathon, killing three people, including an eight-year-old child, and horribly injuring dozens of others.
But apparently, that’s secondary. Just imagine the relief Byers and his peers will feel when they finally know which narrative to pursue: evil white Christian Tea Party lunatics, or misunderstood Muslim freedom-fighters? Or it could be a third option. At this point we don’t know. This is unacceptable, people. How is Dylan Byers supposed to spin the facts without any facts?
Please take a moment this morning to send your thoughts and prayers to all those poor journalists out there.
No justice, no punditry.
Update: Salon: “Let’s hope the Boston Marathon bomber is a white American.”
Update: The victim responds.
.@jtlol is free to write whatever he wants, though this seems like a slightly irresponsible headline: bit.ly/1002Pxd
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) April 17, 2013
Whereas I find his entire worldview slightly irresponsible.
But no, it’s irresponsible to point out the media’s screwed-up priorities and soulless disregard for crime victims. Because it makes our moral, ethical, and intellectual betters feel bad about themselves.
Update: John Nolte has more on Dylan Byers and our national conversation.
Update: Christiane Amanpour says, “When we know who did this, we will all unite in strong and unequivocal condemnation.” Why wait?
Update: Yet another victim.