<p>Some good news - the wounded MBTA officer is making a good recovery.</p>
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<p>I kind of peripherally know someone who was friends with Dzhokhar in high school. The person I know is a really sweet individual with a great family and good values. What I’ve heard is that rumors are flying around that friend group that there is a set-up because they have such a hard time believing that he did it.</p>
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I think that’s because until this happened there seemed to be no signs that this kid was a sociopath, a psychopath, or anything else that would suggest he was capable of this type of crime. It would be a very different story if the older brother were the only perpetrator–there would still be plenty of speculation over whether he was mentally ill or politically motivated (or both), but his backstory had enough weird things in it that people wouldn’t be so perplexed. The involvement of the younger brother is what makes it strange. I can’t see any possibility that the younger brother is innocent, but his motives are mysterious. I’d sure like to know what they are.</p>
<p>The attention that the surviving terrorist gets in terms of anything approaching sympathy (because I don’t know if it’s true sympathy I am feeling, but some feeling akin to it) is probably, in part, due to his looks, but also because every single thing about him seems so frigging normal. It makes one really ask, what the heck happened here. With the older terrorist, one can trace his path and it makes sense. But his younger brother really was a product of this country. Came here as a child, went to high school, assimilated well, is well liked among his peers, and most everyone who knows him, not just as a picture or story,but truly knows him has trouble seeing him as a terrorist. Yes, there a horrible criminals who look and act as normal as can be up until they do the deed, but those are the rarities and the same remarks are made about them. The reason why Ted Bundy was so successful in luring women and escaping capture was for that very reason, and it is something remarkable and still commented upon.</p>
<p>Yes, I do think of that darling little boy, and I have no qualms in saying that the surviving terrorist has to take accountabilty and be tried for what he did. None at all. But it is also a FACT, that there are things about him that make the situation very puzzling and wonder what can we do, if anything to keep these young people from going that direction. With some, like the older brother, I truly don’t see much we can do, and unlike many who are dunning the authorities for not getting to him earlier, living where I do, I can tell you we would need to open another Guantonomo holding center for eveyone who makes those lists. Certain lines have to be crossed to nail someone and he did not cross them. But there certainly seems to be no surprise from many who knew him and who read about him, that he so turned. But the younger one, yes, there are issues and questions, and a sense of disquiet of what happened. Release him? No. He has shown that he is capable of doing very evil, dangerous, harmful things to others. So he should never be released to do this again. But to question and examine som issues about him is a whole other issue.</p>
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I feel a lot worse for the victims. Zahara will probably only have vague memories of her father. Her name can be changed, and she and can on to lead a normal life (didn’t Lee Harvey Oswald’s children lead their lives out of the public limelight?). She has all of her limbs.</p>
<p>The little 6 y/o who lost her brother AND a leg? I feel much badly for her (and for the other injured and maimed). And for the families and friends who have lost loved ones.</p>
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I respectfully don’t think the motives are mysterious. There actually are people who believe it is their solemn duty as a Muslim to wage war against infidels. We can argue and debate and discuss whether they have corrupted a fine religion, whether their interpretation of Jihad is correct, but the fact is that they believe this down to their souls and will and do act on it. It drives my Muslim boss out of his mind that so many people either don’t want to understand this or can’t comprehend it, but he is an observant Muslim who, as he puts it, has “no interest in martyrdom” and wants this threat taken seriously because it has nothing to do with most Muslims except to kill, maim and slander their religion.</p>
<p>zm, you may be right, but this kid showed, as far as know, absolutely no signs of being that kind of Muslim–or much of an observant Muslim at all. It’s a different story for his brother, but this kid seemed like he was assimilated.</p>
<p>But he was part of a family that had such leanings, between the brother and mother, so it’s not a stretch to think he was at the very least not opposed.</p>
<p>I don’t think the effects on Tamerlan’s daughter can be written off so easily (#225). She will have to come to terms with the evil her father did. This is not going to be easy. Of course I feel great compassion for the victims who have suffered so much, and who will continue to be affected, in some cases for their entire lives. But it’s not a zero-sum game; compassion for Zahara does not diminish what I feel for the victims.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse, you have put your finger on my feelings toward Dhozar. He could be any of S1’s friends. He seems like a normal 19-yo in every way, with the exception that he is a cold-blooded mass murderer and maimer. There seems to be nothing in his life pre-April 15 to predict his behavior on and since April 15.</p>
<p>I think there is a huge gulf between listening to, and not objecting to, the rantings of relatives, and placing a bomb next to a group of young children, detonating it, and showing no emotion afterward.</p>
<p>NYMomof2, that’s why I think he was completely on board with his brother. I don’t think there was another secret motivation. They were a team.</p>
<p>Perhaps Dhozar’s new college friends had an influence on changing him. Freshman often do rebellious things (like piercings, etc.) once that they attain independence. His FB pages seem to clearly indicate his self-identity with Islam. His college friends who were arrested after the bombings, included two from Khazakstan (with Terrorista #1 license plates on car), with immigration violations. None of this is dispositive regarding his propensity to do what he did, but it is consistent with what he did.</p>
<p>I read that the Khazakh kids were rich, with nice cars and fancy vacations. They don’t quite fit the mold, either.</p>
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<p>Their behavior after the fact certainly fit the mold.</p>
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Maybe it did. I’m not sure we know enough about it. How confident are we that a lot of college buddies wouldn’t cover up for a close friend? I know we’d like to think that they wouldn’t in such a dire situation.</p>
<p>I am confident that my kids could and possibly would cover for a friend, although I would hope that they wouldn’t in such a terrible circumstance. But sometimes kids, including mine, don’t think things through.</p>
<p>I think we need to keep our minds open, rather than presume to know what people fitting certain “molds” would or would not do.</p>
<p>Yes, zm, he had to be on board. There is no other explanation. I laugh at the theories that he was influenced by his older brother - influenced to get a tattoo, maybe, not to carry out a bombing. And I saw a column attributing his actions to the not-completely-developed judgment centers in the brain. This has become established in recent years. In young men, brain myelination is not complete until the mid-20’s. This happens earlier in young woman. And the judgment centers are the last to be myelinated. We all see this in action in our sons - poor decisions, risk-taking behavior. But mass murder? No.</p>
<p>In terms of covering for a friend, they were trying to prevent the police from making a case against their friend. Their friend, who was clearly intending further bombings. They had more bombs ready. I have heard rumors of what their intentions were on that Thursday night. </p>
<p>I hope they are able to support more serious charges against the buddies. Not that obstruction of justice and lying to investigators are not serious, but I don’t think they quite capture the gravity of what these men did.</p>
<p>I’m not talking about “molds”, but about what these friends did. From what I heard, even their lawyers are not denying their actions.</p>
<p>The fact that they have money explains why they have private lawyers, not public defenders. I was wondering about that.</p>
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Yeah, me too, and I work in Times Square.</p>
<p>You are 100% right in that the accomplices deserve serious convictions and jail time. They did a terrible thing, but I can’t swear my own kids (actually, not my own kids, my son) wouldn’t do something stupid in the name of friendship. He is also the most gullible person on the planet, so we never know what he is thinking.</p>