General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Look, I thought I was the most cynical person on Earth. But these [View all]caseymoz
(5,763 posts). . . after the Marathon bombing, they closed it down (voluntarily) when these guys surfaced shooting and throwing bombs, and hell, law enforcement didn't know how many other criminals were in the cell or "ring" and who else was going to surface to support them.
They called it voluntary, and said straight out that it wasn't really for protection, it was to make the manhunt easier. Now, if this was a martial law situation, wouldn't they have lied and said it was for the citizens own good?
I'm guessing if some civilians wanted to step into possible cross fire, they'd be free to do it.
And then at the end, it was lifted. People came out and celebrated.
Some people I otherwise really respect have been saying absurd things about this, even to the point of lying about it, or-- to be generous-- forgetting details. Once these guys surfaced murdered an officer and fired 200 rounds and threw explosives, there was no better to handle the situation. I'm not known for my compliments to law enforcement, either.
Really, people here shame and discredit progressives by trying to equate this to some kind of violation of liberty or extension of police powers. It certainly makes Conservatives look a little better by comparison. No, this one time the authorities did exactly what they should have done.