Last updated on April 19th, 2013 at 07:00 pm
Speculation is the process of thinking about possibilities, or a particular conclusion arrived at from assumptions about a subject without firm evidence to support a claim. It is a human being’s natural tendency to make unsubstantiated assumptions when there are no concrete explanations for a tragic event, and after the bombings at the Boston Marathon yesterday, after the shock, sadness, and anger subsided into semi-rational thought, the first inclination was to speculate on who planted the bombs that wreaked havoc and carnage on innocent Americans. Although it is much too early to blame any specific terror group for the bombings, it is not too early to note the significance of the date and location that make speculating the bombings were a domestic terror attack as reasonable assumption as not.
Over the past three years, so-called “patriot” groups have called for civil war, race war, and outright rebellion against the United States government’s unfair taxation and attacks on personal liberty. Several militant groups have panted for a government crackdown to initiate a violent response from patriots to “take their country back” and “water the tree of liberty” with blood harkening back to the Revolutionary War and the idea that patriots will battle oppressive government to preserve their liberties. Yesterday, in Boston, the home of America’s first Tea Party and original patriot uprising, it was “Patriot Day” as well as “tax day” that marked the earliest beginnings of the Koch brothers anti-government tea party.
President Obama noted during a briefing that it is too early to know who was behind the bombings in Boston, but he did mark the significance of the “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.” This “patriot day” is more than just commemorating the start of the Revolutionary War and the battles of Lexington and Concord that occurred on April 19, 1775. The day, and more importantly, the week marks the anniversary of several clashes between government and so-called patriots that make speculating the bombings in Boston were a domestic terror attack associated with the “right-wing patriot” movement relatively easy, and significant, for those who track militant hate groups harboring grudges against the government and threaten violence for their alleged “loss of liberty.”
There are more than a couple anniversaries of violence involving so-called “patriots” that occurred during this week including the Oklahoma City Bombing on April 19, 1995, and the Waco assault on the same day in 1993. Of particular interest is the Waco assault that began on a Monday, and it is a favorite rallying cry for militant anti-government groups and white supremacists who claim a similar event will be the reason for real American patriots to begin revolting against the government. It is noteworthy that the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms attempt to serve search warrants on David Koresh’s Branch Davidian compound that ignited a gun battle and subsequent standoff did occur on Patriot’s Day in 1999, and for anti-government uber-patriots, it is a day that the government overstepped their authority by searching for illegal firearms. With all the outrage and threats of violence from gun fanatics over expanding gun safety laws, one cannot help but speculate what the connection is between the Boston Tea Party, Patriot Day, Waco, and the raging debate over gun safety laws “patriots” consider an assault on the greatest of American liberties.
If there were not an increase in violent patriot groups clamoring for a revolution to establish what “patriots” claim is the original intent of the Revolutionary War, or gun zealots promising violence if gun safety laws were enacted, one may be inclined to wait for the FBI to complete their investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice as the President promised. But the flurry of calls for violence against this President and the government by so-called “patriots,” and their embrace of the Gadsden (don’t tread on me) Flag, coupled with the four-year persistent and unsubstantiated claims their liberties are trampled on certainly make speculating that it is no coincidence that the location, date, tax filing deadline, and anniversary of two other acts of violence against the government are not acts of domestic terrorism.
However, these may be just coincidences; but after three straight years of “patriot” groups openly calling for violence against the government, intimations from militant groups that it only takes one incident to ignite all out revolution or civil war, and calls by extremists to be ready to start shooting over an imaginary government crackdown, it appears to be more than coincidence and increasingly like an act of homegrown terrorism. In the end though, it is just speculation and without any firm evidence it is an unsubstantiated assumption based on three years of threats from militant hate groups, gun fanatics, and so-called patriots.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn't look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
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