Social Media’s Mixed Messages on Boston Marathon

April 16, 2013 @ admin → No Comments

There is nothing quite like social media for immediacy. Ah, yes. Immediate gratification. So tempting. So satisfying. And sometimes so wrong. Such was the case Monday (April 15) in the aftermath of the bombing at the Boston Marathon.

The Chicago Sky’s first-round draft pick is Elena Delle Donne.

Such as those Facebook posts featuring a photo of a young girl as one of the victims in the two explosions that killed three people near the finish line. So touching. So inaccurate. The 8-year-old who died was a boy.

Of course, there were postings and tweets that were more accurate. And more helpful. But there also was more than a smattering of vitriol generally directed against President Barack Obama by those on the extreme right wing. Maybe there were those politicizing on the left, but if that was the case, I had seen none.

All this is based on my Twitter and Facebook accounts. And, yes, I do have connections to people with whom I do not share political views.

Any conjecture on the cause of the bombings is exactly that: conjecture. In the hours — and quite possibly days — after the violence, little was clear other than people were killed and injured. Whether this act of terror actually is the work of terrorists or someone else is yet to be determined. There are semantic nuances that most people could care less about. Except for those sick souls who for some reason wanted to make Benghazi part of the conversation about Boston.

In his remarks Monday, Obama said in part:

“I’ve directed the full resources of the federal government to help state and local authorities protect our people, increase security around the United States as necessary, and investigate what happened.

“I’ve updated leaders of Congress in both parties, and we reaffirmed that on days like this there are no Republicans or Democrats — we are Americans, united in concern for our fellow citizens.”

“We still do not know who did this or why. And people shouldn’t jump to conclusions before we have all the facts. But make no mistake — we will get to the bottom of this. And we will find out who did this; we’ll find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.

“Today is a holiday in Massachusetts — Patriots’ Day. It’s a day that celebrates the free and fiercely independent spirit that this great American city of Boston has reflected from the earliest days of our nation. And it’s a day that draws the world to Boston’s streets in a spirit of friendly competition. Boston is a tough and resilient town. So are its people. I’m supremely confident that Bostonians will pull together, take care of each other, and move forward as one proud city. And as they do, the American people will be with them every single step of the way.”

And so life went on. Even if a game or two did not. The Boston Bruins postponed their game Monday night against Ottawa. The Boston Celtics game Tuesday night against Indiana was canceled.

“Innocence is lost,” someone or possibly more than one will declare. Actually, we lost that a while ago. Monday’s blasts merely reaffirmed that.

At some point, more facts will become known. And once again Facebook and the Twitterverse will provide an opportunity for those who deal in hate to spout off. And as tempting as it might be to respond, don’t. Simple as that. Think of it as a much more satisfying form of immediate gratification.

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On a more enjoyable note, the Chicago Sky of the WNBA held a draft viewing party at Theory Chicago downtown with ESPN’s Sarah Spain hosting the event. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, she was able to interview the Sky’s No. 1 pick. Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne.

“This is a phenomenal team I’m joining, mentors who will help me out along the way,” Delle Donne said. “I’ll learn a ton from these players. We definitely have a great team. I felt I was a good puzzle piece for this team. You don’t say where you want to go before it was happening, but Chicago was my pick, and I wanted to go there really badly.”