The Sky is Falling

I believe someone once said "We will not bow down to terrorism".

Important Note on this incident: The advertising signs had been up for THREE weeks before this ludicrous response...

Makes you wonder really the ability of people to properly protect their citizens. Now I am not making light of the incident, but someone please tell me where the organised plan to deal with a REAL incident was/is, instead of what appears to be a kneejerk reaction by a lot of headless chickens. The reactions are out of proportion to the perceived threat and the press have not even properly considered all aspects of this incident.

Should they not be asking 'what if there had been a real incident?' and 'why are the people we entrust with our safety acting in this way?' ?

The incident in question was certainly not a hoax, it was a VIRAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN. These things were located in really obvious places (unfortunately the website showing their location is down) and looked more like the advertising signs that they are. The campaign did not go wrong, the response to it certainly did. Gotta love America.

These are just some of the comments being published in the Boston press...

“The hoax on us: But we’re not laughing”— Boston Herald headline

“They can’t perpetrate a hoax like this on the public.”—Mayor Menino

“Scaring an entire region, tying up the T and major roadway, and forcing first responders to spend 12 hours chasing down trinkets instead of terrorists is marketing run amok.” –Rep. Ed Markey

“You’d have to go back to ‘War of the Worlds’ … We would all agree that this crossed a line.”—Jamie Tedford, Arnold Worldwide

“What our city experienced today is intolerable. The actions of this company for an apparent ‘marketing campaign’ not only inconvenienced our entire city but awoke painful memories of September 11th in so many hearts and minds. I look forward to the results of a full investigation.” --Boston City Council President Maureen Feeney

“OK, so when will the people of Boston see Ted Turner and his nitwit marketing gurus marched into federal court in handcuffs and leg irons? Because that’s exactly what should happen.”—Herald editorial

“It is outrageous, in a post 9/11 world, that a company would use this type of marketing scheme. I am prepared to take any and all legal action against Turner Broadcasting and its affiliates for any and all expenses incurred during the response to today’s incidents.”—Mayor Menino

“Perpetrators of terror hoaxes face prison sentences of up to five years if convicted. Police arrested an Arlington man last night in connection with the ad stunt, but potential criminal prosecution is only one consideration. The tricksters at Turner, a unit of Time Warner Inc., should pay the bill for the consequences of a lame marketing gimmick.”—Boston Globe - Adrian Walker

“Terrorism hoaxes are common ... Turner officials say their devices were never meant to be seen as threats. Yet they find themselves in bad company.” – Boston Globe editorial

“Let’s hope Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s planned lawsuit against Turner is successful to recoup the city’s damages, and his complaints to the FCC are heeded. Let’s hope that Berdovsky or whoever the little punks are that planted the 38 promotional cartoon ‘toys’ in Boston, Somerville and Cambridge will see the inside of a jail cell. ‘You cannot put a price on the harm that was done to individuals,’ Menino told me. He’s right. For all of us who lived through the horror of 9/11 and its terrible aftermath, that harm is immeasurable.”— Boston Herald