On the moon we have evolved beyond the need for Homeland Security.

[squeequeg]

So apparently the Mooninites invaded Boston today.

I have mixed feelings about this.

On the one hand, this is a textbook example of overreaction. The devices in question were just light-up boards, they'd been there a while, and the image of Err (or Ignignokt) flipping people off should have been a clue. (Or maybe Boston police don't watch Aqua Teen Hunger Force.) It's also an example of how frightened we've become that a few things that were, in essence, toys can shut down substantial parts of a city. In hindsight, a lot of it does seem like people who were so gung-ho to stop the next Terrist Thret that they didn't check to see what they were looking at.

On the other hand, when I first heard the preliminary reports about devices being found under bridges and in T stations, I was scared. And after learning that it was just a marketing stunt, I feel ashamed of that fear. It's similar to how if a friend jumps out at me wearing a mask and I freak out -- even for a moment -- I'm still kind of pissed off afterward. Neither saying that it was meant as a joke nor pointing out that the mask wasn't even realistic helps with that feeling of angry humiliation.

Perhaps it's just my way of defending that first, visceral reaction, but I would still like to find the marketing exec who okayed this and slap him for a while. And then I'd like to slap whoever was panicky enough to turn the city upside down on account of this. And then I'd like to slap everyone who's had a part in helping our culture become so scared that we jump at shadows.

And no matter what else comes of it, Boston's reputation as a cold and humorless city has been cemented. Great.

I can't help wondering what Dr. Weird would make of this. No, wait, I can imagine. It would involve corn. I'd like to stop imagining it now, please.

Comments

[g-me.livejournal.com]

I actually think the entire situation was ridiculous. If a bunch of signs with wires and batteries started randomly showing up mounted on high-traffic public places, I might mobilize security as well. The company was an idiot not to clear any of this with the city beforehand - normal advertisers have to buy their space from someone before they can plaster their stuff all over it. At least then, if people started freaking out, the mayor could have responded with actual knowledge.

It is sort of strange that Boston was the only place where any of this caused an uproar. I like to think it's because a lot fewer people here sit in front of the TV all day and thus didn't know who the cartoon character was, but that's just me. ;-)

Oh. Plus even if they knew who the character was, apparently you couldn't really see the lit up bulbs in the daylight, so the character wasn't very visible. This is just what I read in the paper though.

[stealthmuffin.livejournal.com]

Ridiculous does seem to sum up most of the angles, yes.