Steve Benson for April 16, 2013

Mr. Benson’s cartoon celebrates the bomber(s) and their goals and fails to give honor to the hundreds of people who ran into the smoke and debris to help people. The cartoon shows death winning, but it is the way Boston citizens and visitors responded to this cowardice and brutality that shows who truly won and I find it vulgar.From first responders and medical staff who were paid to be there, to visitors from all over the world who helped to move people from harms way, it was love that won, not death. There was victory in the form of a 78 year old man who video shows buckling under the force of the blast, but who, upon rising to his feet, finished the last few yards to complete the race, not because of the race, but in spite of the attackers who defiled this tradition and gathering of peoples. There was victory in the form of people who offered up their homes to visitors to the city who, because of security needs cutting off transportation out of the city, had no place to stay, to eat, to sleep, to recover.There was victory in the form of people who looked for someone to help, instead of someone to blame.My niece lives in Boston and has run this marathon before. She didn’t run this year, but she told me she had walked past the point of the explosions just an hour earlier. My prayers are with victims and their families, but my immeasurable appreciation and gratitude goes to those who put aside fear and acted in the name of love and honor.Death won nothing. The person(s) responsible will be looking over their shoulders for the rest of their lives, whether while going about day to day affairs, or while wearing prison uniforms on death row. God bless those who ran into harm’s way, and God Bless the people and city of Boston.Respectfully,C.

No, Ima, I am sorry. but you are totally incorrect. All fighting wars in such areas as the Middle East does is give Muslim extremists far more recruits for their anti American efforts. Hate and War only breeds more Hate and War, never peace and moderation. And that IS the simple truth that thousands of years of miserable human history should have shown us by now.

You claim to be a Christian and yet you have not yet learned the simple message of love, compassion, and forgiveness that Jesus Christ was trying to teach all of his followers. That does not make a Christian such as myself angry, it makes me sad!!

Here’s how you can do your part:http://www.goarmy.comhttp://www.navy.com/careers.htmlhttp://www.airforce.com/careers/http://www.marines.com/home

Sorry, it’s WAY too soon to point fingers

Yep. The majority of previous attacks of this kind — bombs to kill innocents at the Atlanta Olympics, Oklahoma City, and the MLK march in Spokane come immediately to mind — have been from American right-wing extremists. It’s too soon to say whether this one is too, but to assume it’s from overseas is not in keeping with history. And to state that attacking people overseas will prevent them from attacking us here is rubbish. It promotes it. Do you remember how WE responded to 9/11? Is there any reason to think foreigners are so completely different from us? Start down that road, and you’ll start thinking the torture in Abu Graibh and rights violations in Guantanamo make us safer.

I’m sorry, but could you explain how Rodney is wrong? Unless you have some information the police may not have, where is the evidence this had anything to do with anyone overseas? Our actions since 9/11 have not proven to prevent terrorism anywhere, only increase it (Iraq did not have suicide bombers or terrorist attacks on its soil before we got involved, and they still occur today). This could have been much worse had it been a suicide bomber, who would have detonated when the bulk of the runners came through, the most people were at the finish line, and could have moved themselves to a place for a maximum death toll. They will probably find these were set on a timer and left perhaps a day earlier, or perhaps dropped into a trash can that morning in the middle of the crowd. It sounds amateurish compared to what an actual terrorist cell could have done, and I think they will find some loner responsible. whether they claim any religious or political reasoning is yet to be seen.

I will say the same thing to anyone who says this was the work of a right-wing extremist group.

Speaking AS a Bostonian, I think Benson was commenting on the tragedy and did not intend to offend. He obviously worked very fast, and I respect him for that.As for who did it: we don’t know yet. I REFUSE to join in the speculation either way. It’s not helpful.

The only thing obvious here is that YOU’RE making claims based on nothing but your own emotions.

“Won’t the right-wingers be surprised when the Boston Bomber is found to come from TeaPartystan.”

it saddens me to see the constant level of hate and bitterness you exhibit on a daily basis. I have no idea what happened to cause this level of pain in you but I hope you seek help ease your misery.

This is my greatest concern for our country, that we are so divided and locked into this partisan state that we can’t pull together as a united people. This is exactly what OBL and the other terrorists of the world want to happen. It is playing right into their plan of weakening our country and making us more vulnerable.

“Which he then repeated 12 more times to make sure everyone got the point.”

How can you listen to him that long? I can only handle a few minutes of any of the megaphone cable crowd, whether it be MSNBC, Fox or whatever.

A cowardly act on April 15th. The “experts” are saying it looks more like “home grown” based on limited evidence so far, and nobody’s taking credit yet, which most “traditional foreign terrorists” would already be doing.

The “Reaper” is not a coward, whoever did this IS!

if you live to be 1000 years old, you would look back, and ask what was the damn point? really, what was the damn point?

Or it might just be some sicko individual with NO political or religious axe to grind.

For a Bostonian? It can only be John Adams!