<story><title>Richard Stallman response to Boston Police efforts</title><url>http://pastebin.com/DVysCXPj</url><text>This is what Stallman wrote right after the suspect was caught.&lt;p&gt;My personal response is:&lt;p&gt;There will always be a situation that is worse or where more people died, but that doesn&apos;t mean this isn&apos;t a very emotional and trying time for many, where the police and people of Boston were desperate to catch a person throwing explosives and shooting magazines of bullets in their city. Telling people to stay home for a few hours does not seem unreasonable in this situation.&lt;p&gt;Have some decency and respect for the lives lost, and save your opinions for a more appropriate time.</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>ck2</author><text>It took hundreds of police and probably millions of dollars to catch a teenager who didn&apos;t even bother to leave the area or go into hiding - and even TWEETED after the event.&lt;p&gt;If we were attacked by real, organized terrorists, we are screwed.&lt;p&gt;I really do not get all the celebration and back-patting, it&apos;s disturbing.&lt;p&gt;Oh and while this huge distraction was going on - no background checks for guns, the most basic bill failed.&lt;p&gt;But several senators were quick to voice their desire for no miranda rights.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>mindcrime</author><text>&lt;i&gt;Oh and while this huge distraction was going on - no background checks or database for guns.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;Background checks are already required for almost all gun sales, &lt;i&gt;including&lt;/i&gt; ones at gun-shows.  This whole discussion is a red-herring.  And what the f%!# good do you think a &quot;database for guns&quot; is going to do?  You think the terrorists buy their guns over the counter, with legit IDs and happily register them with the authorities?  You expect the terrorists to register their pressure cookers?  Maybe we should have background checks for buying those?&lt;p&gt;And then what?  Background checks for buying nichrome wire, because it can be used as a bridgewire in a detonator?  A database of Arduinos, since they can be used as timers for bombs?&lt;p&gt;Or how about a national database of people who guy gasoline, Drano, nails, ball-bearings, lithium-ion batteries, soldering irons, solder...&lt;p&gt;Better still, let&apos;s implement a Great Firewall of America to keep people from accessing subversive content like Inspire magazine, the Unabomber manifesto, the writings of Timothy McVeigh, the Koran, Cryptome, Wikileaks, Paladin Press, Justin Bieber songs, Anarchist&apos;s cookbook, Poor Man&apos;s James Bond or the Federalist Papers...</text></comment>
<story><title>Richard Stallman response to Boston Police efforts</title><url>http://pastebin.com/DVysCXPj</url><text>This is what Stallman wrote right after the suspect was caught.&lt;p&gt;My personal response is:&lt;p&gt;There will always be a situation that is worse or where more people died, but that doesn&apos;t mean this isn&apos;t a very emotional and trying time for many, where the police and people of Boston were desperate to catch a person throwing explosives and shooting magazines of bullets in their city. Telling people to stay home for a few hours does not seem unreasonable in this situation.&lt;p&gt;Have some decency and respect for the lives lost, and save your opinions for a more appropriate time.</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>ck2</author><text>It took hundreds of police and probably millions of dollars to catch a teenager who didn&apos;t even bother to leave the area or go into hiding - and even TWEETED after the event.&lt;p&gt;If we were attacked by real, organized terrorists, we are screwed.&lt;p&gt;I really do not get all the celebration and back-patting, it&apos;s disturbing.&lt;p&gt;Oh and while this huge distraction was going on - no background checks for guns, the most basic bill failed.&lt;p&gt;But several senators were quick to voice their desire for no miranda rights.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>grinich</author><text>&amp;#62; I really do not get all the celebration and back-patting, it&apos;s disturbing.&lt;p&gt;This is way less about a real accomplishment, and more about what people need to feel. After the bombings, people felt vulnerable and scared. And for the police, I&apos;m sure also embarrassed and angry. Catching this kid is the vindication they all needed emotionally. I&apos;m just glad they didn&apos;t get overzealous and kill him, as most manhunts end.&lt;p&gt;Cops were sending around a photo of the first suspect after he died, saying that seeing it was &quot;cathartic.&quot; Apparently another is circulating of the second captured suspect, with the caption &quot;WE GOT HIM.&quot; It&apos;s like a locker room after winning a football game.&lt;p&gt;It&apos;s true there was danger and violence here, and the death of innocent good people. But the response today was largely about ego and fear of vulnerability. There were literally thousands of SWAT units in Watertown today, going from door to door, publicly demonstrating America&apos;s reaction to terrorist attacks. It was about sending a message to the citizens and police of Boston, as well as the rest of the country.</text></comment>