Editor's note: LZ Granderson, who writes a weekly column for CNN.com, was named journalist of the year by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association and was a 2011 Online Journalism Award finalist for commentary. He is a senior writer and columnist for ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter: @locs_n_laughs.
Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) -- If September 11, 2001, was the day everything changed, then April 15, 2013, serves as another reminder of that change, of our frailties and of a new reality in which "it can't happen here" has been replaced by "it can happen anywhere."
When initial reports came out of Boston about two explosions occurring near the finish line of the 116th marathon -- a marathon that began with 26 seconds of silence in honor of the 26 victims of the Newtown massacre -- we held our collective breaths and hoped it was a freak infrastructure accident.
Or compromised electrical wiring.
Or a gas leak.
Anything other than ...
President Barack Obama did not say the word "terrorism" in his brief address, perhaps waiting until more facts are learned. We don't know how many are responsible, we don't know motive, if any, and we don't know whether it's domestic or foreign. But we do know the FBI said the explosions were well-planned. We know the Boston Marathon is seen around the world. And we know three people are dead, including an 8-year-old boy, more than 100 are injured, and countless lives have been scarred.
Get up-to-the-minute updates on CNN.com's live blog
So if September 11, 2001, was the day our innocence was taken, then April 15, 2013, is the reminder that it is never coming back.
And we do not need the president to say the word to feel the word.
It is felt each time we have to take off our shoes at the airport, have an TSA officer pat us down, throw away a tube of toothpaste because it's over the allotted 3.4 ounces. The FAA temporarily restricted flights over the bombing site while security was increased in cities as far away as Miami and Los Angeles.
We do not need the president to say the word to feel it.
I was in central London earlier this month and was having a difficult time finding a garbage can whenever I had something to discard. Finally, I asked some of the residents why it was so hard to find one and was reminded that the Irish Republican Army hid bombs in garbage cans during the 1990s and as a result they are still seen as a security threat.
An injured man is loaded into an ambulance after two bombs went off near the finish line of the fabled Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15. For the latest details, read CNN's developing news story.
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Marathoner: Blasts 'absolutely surreal'
Producer captures Boston blast on video
Runner: Shock waves hit my whole body
This is what happens when evil like the kind experienced in Boston takes away our innocence.
It forces us to empty our pockets, have our bags inspected and remove trash cans from the streets of a major international city.
We don't need the president to say the word to be reminded constantly that if we see something, we need to say something, blurring the lines between a healthy awareness of our surroundings and irrational paranoia. But then again, is our paranoia that irrational if something as celebratory as the Boston Marathon is no longer a safe place to be?
If September 11, 2001, made you cry, then April 15, 2013, should make you angry.
All of the laws, the creation of Homeland Security, the trillions spent, the political grandstanding and debates and yet the best we can do is make the country safer. We will never, ever be safe again. Not in the way many of us remember being safe growing up.
When I'm in a large crowded space, I check for emergency exits ... and I hate it.
But like love and good, evil is an omnipresent force imposing itself on the rest of society like an untreatable cancer. So while Obama telling the American people those responsible will "feel the full weight of justice," we are haunted by the fact that "justice" won't bring the victims back.
"Justice" won't undo the fear embedded in the people who were closest to the blast. "Justice" won't take us back to September 10, 2001 ... back before the word "terrorism" was on the tip of every American's tongue.
And make no mistake, while the president did not use that word in his news conference, that is the word federal authorities are using. Doesn't matter if the culprits of this heinous act came from afar or home. The origin of the person or persons responsible won't bring us the peace that we took for granted not so long ago. That peace is gone, forever. Our children will hear stories about this peace and our children's children will treat it as a fairy tale.
If April 15, 2013, was the day the Boston Marathon became a target for terrorism, then September 11, 2001, was the day we all were warned that it would be. Since then nothing has been the same.
Nothing will be the same.
Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter.
Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson.
Loading weather data ...
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
A man comforts a victim on the sidewalk at the scene of the first of two apparent bombings.
A second explosion goes off near the finish line.
Police officers with their guns drawn hear the second explosion down the street. The first explosion knocked down 78-year-old runner Bill Iffrig at the finish line. He got up a few minutes later and finished the race.
A runner embraces another woman on the marathon route near Kenmore Square.
Former New England Patriots offensive lineman Joe Andruzzi carries a woman from the scene.
A victim of the first explosion is helped on the sidewalk of Boylston Street.
An injured person is taken away from the scene in a wheelchair.
A woman kneels and prays at near the finish line.
People run down Exeter Street after the blasts.
The explosions occurred around 2:45 p.m., about an hour after the first of the race's nearly 27,000 runners had crossed the finish line.
Victims lie on the ground at the scene of the first explosion.
A couple runs from the scene pushing a stroller.
A runner reacts near Kenmore Square after the explosions.
A man's blood-stained feet hang outside an ambulance.
A bystander who was injured in the first explosion is wheeled across the finish line while receiving medical attention from rescue workers.
Carlos Arredondo, who was near the finish line when the bombs detonated, leaves the scene. He was at the race handing out American flags to spectators. After the blasts, he helped emergency responders and is credited with helping a man with serious leg wounds survive.
The second explosion goes off near the finish line.
Boston police look at blown-out windows. The bombs shook buildings, sending people to seek shelter under tables, witnesses said.
Unclaimed runners' bags fill an area near the marathon finish.
Women desperate to hear from loved ones are unable to get close to the site of the attack.
Police and runners stand near Kenmore Square after the attack.
Runners gather near Kenmore Square after the explosions.
An EMT worker is transferred to an ambulance outside a medical tent in Copley Square.
A SWAT team arrives on the scene.
A runner sits near Kenmore Square after the attack.
Runners who had not yet finished the race are stopped after the explosions.
Victims are helped at the scene of the first explosion.
A man in tears is helped at the scene on Boylston Street in Boston.
Passersby put pressure on a victim's leg to try to stop the bleeding at the scene of the first explosion.
Massachusetts State Police guard an area near Kenmore Square.
Bystanders embrace near the finish line.
Police officers gather on Newbury Street.
Women and children are evacuated from the scene.
Bomb squad officials check a possible suspicious device near the scene of the blasts.
A woman is comforted after the blasts.
Two injured women are taken away on stretchers.
An injured woman is loaded into an ambulance.
First responders load injured people into an ambulance.
An injured man is prepared to be moved from a stretcher to an ambulance.
An injured woman is placed on a stretcher.
A runner is comforted following the attack.
The Cambridge Police Department's bomb squad investigates unattended personal items left behind after the explosions.
Bystanders check their mobile devices for news of the explosions.
A member of the bomb squad investigates a suspicious item on the road near Kenmore Square.
A runner in a wheelchair is taken from a triage tent after the explosions went off.
People comfort each near the site of the blasts.
Racers and race officials stand by after multiple explosions near the finish line.
Emergency personnel respond to the scene.
Police and emergency crews tend to victims.
An injured woman is carried away on a stretcher.
A man lays on the ground after the incident.
Officials watch as the first explosion goes off on Boylston Street in Boston.
Spectators leave the bleachers after the explosions.
Police inspect one of the blast sites.
|