I’m reading this article and I can’t figure out what was in the air that day over Boston to make people act so dumb. Somebody hung up Lite Brites around the city. They hung them up in 10 cities, and apparently they had been there for weeks. Granted, this isn’t a good idea, just from the perspective of vandalism, littering, or violation of solicitation laws. But in all those cities except Boston, people reacted rationally. Police officers, maintenance workers, and all said, “Hey, look at this junk. Let’s throw it away.”
In Boston, the Massachusetts Attorney General, Martha Coakley, said “It had a very sinister appearance. It had a battery behind it, and wires.” You can’t get much more sinister than batteries and wires. Shut down the subway! Call out the bomb squad!
Sean Stevens … and Peter Berdovsky are charged with placing a hoax device that causes panic. They told reporters they would answer questions only about hair.
… When a reporter accused them of not taking the situation seriously, Stevens responded, “We’re taking it very seriously.” Asked another question about the case, Stevens reiterated they were answering questions only about hair and accused the reporter of not taking him and Berdovsky seriously.
People need to relax a little.