Editorial ““ Lesson of the week: Toys are not bombs
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 1, 2007 9:00 p.m.
Boston city officials were alarmed Thursday by
“bomblike” objects found around the city. Police closed
down bridges and streets to send in bomb squads to defuse the
“suspicious devices.”
But these were actually electronic boards akin to the Lite-Brite
toys that depicted characters from the Cartoon Network show
“Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” as part of a guerilla
marketing campaign. City officials deemed them
“bomblike” because they had batteries and wires on the
back.
Police arrested Peter Bedrovsky, 28, and Sean Stevens, 27, on
suspicion of planting the devices and inciting a panic. The
situation is being called a “hoax,” with Boston
congressman Ed Markey saying “it would be hard to dream up a
more appalling publicity stunt.”
It’s misleading to call this a “hoax.” That
would be accurate if the devices were actually labeled as bombs, or
were used to create a bomb scare. That isn’t the case ““
this “bomb scare” was manufactured by the paranoia of
city officials.
If we’re worried about potential terrorism, we should
improve airport security, secure ports, and perhaps track down all
those missing Russian nuclear warheads ““ not go ballistic
when a few toy signs show up (which had been in place in other
major cities for weeks without incident).
Now Boston wants the men and Turner Broadcasting (which airs
“Aqua Teen”) to reimburse the city for the money it
wasted. The accused parties shouldn’t have to pay a dime
““ the City of Boston should have to pay its own Idiot
Tax.
