Boston falls victim to culture of fear

The more I think about the Mooninite Panic, the angrier I get.

This is the result of politicians and the media creating and then exploiting a culture of fear in America.

Politicians use it to grab power and silence dissent, and the media use it to drive up ratings.

In either case, it's sickening exploitation.

You know, the way the Media is behaving regarding the whole [adult swim] marketing deal in Boston is really pissing me off. The Media decided this thing was intended to be a terrorism hoax (when there is no evidence at all that's what it was) and now they're all howling for some terrible retribution against Turner, [adult swim] and the advertising agency that came up with the idea.

As far as I can tell, this is what happened:

1. [adult swim] has a clever viral marketing program.

2. People begin to notice the clever viral marketing program.

3. Someone wets their pants, because LEDs in an odd shape clearly mean we're all about to die.

4. Police overreact.

5. Media overreacts.

6. Entire city of Boston is fucked for an entire day.

7. Entire city of Boston is (understandably) pissed.

8. Media, which overreacted and labeled the viral marketing campaign a terrorist hoax, decides that [adult swim] and Turner somehow owe people of Boston an apology, and also owe city all the costs the city incurred as a result of Media-induced hysteria. There's a rather angry editorial at boston.com which really lays into Turner for perpetuating a "terrorist hoax" on an innocent city. The only problem with that is that it wasn't a fucking terrorist hoax! It was a viral marketing campaign that went awry when a bunch of people over-reacted.

So the first thing is that the fucking idiot media need to stop referring to this as a terrorist hoax, because it wasn't, okay? And all these politicians and newsdrones who are embarrassed now that it's clear they overreacted also need to stop trying so hard to put this all at Turner's feet.

Look, I'd be pissed, too, if my whole city was effectively shut down for a day, but how exactly is [adult swim] and Turner responsible for this? Did they tell their viewers to go out and create some sort of terrorist hoax? I'm pretty sure they just told their viewers to build cool LED versions of the Mooninites (which is pretty fucking cool, if you ask me.) As far as I can tell, it was the media and law enforcement who decided to freak out and make everyone in the city of Boston think it was some sort of terrorist plot, and then a terrorist hoax.

Continuing to equate a silly viral marketing stunt with a bomb threat is just ridiculous (and wrong,) and it actually devalues real threats and hoaxes. Remember the 2004 election, when DHS, at the direction of the Bush campaign, jacked up terror warnings whenever Kerry began to rise in the polls, or Bush began to sink? After the third or fourth time that happened, did anyone take any of those warnings seriously? I know I didn't, and that's where the real danger in this whole thing is: the media was so irresponsible and overreacted so supremely in this instance, if there's a very real threat in the near future, how many people won't take it seriously, because they remember this one and all the others?

You know, if the goal of terrorists and the whole point of terrorism is to scare the shit out of us so badly that we leap ten feet in the air whenever someone says "boo," then the terrorists are clearly kicking our national asses.

(also posted at WWdN:iX)

•  Boston went nuts over cartoon

  lights.  I just think its even crazier to try to prosecute these guys.  Have we lost our minds?

  by Owllwoman on Thu Feb 01, 2007 at 11:12:49 AM PDT

•  dkos falls victim to culture of knee-jerk [nt]

  I was there.  I wasn't scared.  The police did not over-react, they did their fucking jobs.  The marketing company and TBS execs responsible for this were idiots.  People are right to be pissed at them.

  by Bearpaw on Thu Feb 01, 2007 at 11:23:33 AM PDT

  •  Huh?

    what do you mean? That dkos is going nuts because the whole country is has been turned into paranoid hysterics or that we are not enraged at the marketers?

    by shaharazade on Thu Feb 01, 2007 at 11:36:28 AM PDT

  •  blame marketing? really?

    The marketing execs are to be blamed for this? Honestly?

    As far as I can tell, nobody associated with Turner, [adult swim], the marketing agency or the artists who installed the light brite signs ever intended to pull off some sort of "terrorist hoax."

    As far as I can tell, it was the media and law enforcement officials who started and continue to repeat that framing.

    Of course, I'm all the way out here in California, so maybe the news that we're getting isn't entirely accurate . . . but it sure seems like this was a marketing stunt which was misinterpreted and blown way out of proportion.

    by CleverNickName on Thu Feb 01, 2007 at 11:48:47 AM PDT

  •  No, sorry!

    When I had to get off my train in Walpole while the police & their sniffydogs checked all the cars (but not any people or their carry-ons) about 6 last evening, that's going a little beyond what I consider the norm.

    This was after all commuters had passed by 3 sniffydogs on the platform at South Station just to get on the train.

    I don't think I blame the police, but the snooze media? For sure. Politicians? Probably.

    by PBen on Thu Feb 01, 2007 at 12:25:16 PM PDT

  •  Doesn't [nt] mean "no text"

    If so, why did you put it in your subject? Anyway, it is good to hear from someone who was actually there. I'm not sure the company is a fault though. It seems like the authorities could have established fairly quickly that there was no threat (by examining just one of the lights), and it could have ended at that.

    by dconrad on Thu Feb 01, 2007 at 12:52:34 PM PDT

  •  So 9 Other Police Depts. Failed?

    9 other cities did not overreact. 9. Nine. IX.

    Did those police not do their jobs? Or did they and their city officials figure out what was up and shrug, realizing it was no big thing.

    How many cops on the streets in Boston knew this was just a stunt, and had to do what they did because some idiot at city hall or sitting at a desk at Police HQ can't do a google search, or hire a secretary that can?

    How is it Turner's, Swim's. ATAF's, or the marketer's fault if 10% (10. Ten. X.) of their target audience went off the deep end?

    Please. Boston's reaction was NOT the norm, severely weakening your argument.

    Hey, maybe I'll get my old friend Orson to do a radio show about Martians landing in Cambridge. They'll close the state fer shure.

    by Thucydides Junior on Thu Feb 01, 2007 at 01:36:22 PM PDT

•  Um, won't this embolden terrorists?

  Thanks, Fox "News" and all other complicit MSM for demonstrating to terrorists that all it takes to create pandemonium in the U.S. is a couple of goofy electronic adboards.

  Yet another sad day for America.

  by desordre remplir on Thu Feb 01, 2007 at 11:41:25 AM PDT

  •  Excellent point.

    Good thing they didn't do it at a mall near Thanksgiving. We'd have bread lines by Valentine's day.

    by Thucydides Junior on Thu Feb 01, 2007 at 01:39:21 PM PDT