Althouse: After all this talk of "dark-skinned" suspects, it seems the Boston bombers were Caucasian.

April 19, 2013

After all this talk of "dark-skinned" suspects, it seems the Boston bombers were Caucasian.

Literally.

85 comments:

Anonymous said...: The Russians tried to suppress nationalism among their ethnic minorities and it partially succeeded, but they could not stamp out Islam (or other religions) and the core believers got more hard core and anti-infidel.; 4/19/13, 8:18 AM
chickelit said...: Not exactly white-bred teabaggers from flyover land though either.

It's a stereotypical conundrum.; 4/19/13, 8:20 AM
Original Mike said...: Tea Party Chechens. What a strange world.; 4/19/13, 8:21 AM
Shanna said...: Maybe they were tan.; 4/19/13, 8:21 AM
Tregonsee said...: A lot of people who, based on Patriot's Day, Tax Day, Spring, proximity to Hitler's birthday, and other numerologies decided these must be home grown Rightists, are going to be deeply examining their own ideology. Or not.; 4/19/13, 8:22 AM
Calypso Facto said...: Swarthy. But we can't say that any more.; 4/19/13, 8:22 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: The unprofessional hack media will call them "conservatives" in any event.; 4/19/13, 8:25 AM
Amy said...: It's not about race. The common thread is Islamic extremism. How difficult is that to understand????; 4/19/13, 8:25 AM
rhhardin said...: They're dingy.; 4/19/13, 8:25 AM
TWM said...: Islam is open to all races . . .; 4/19/13, 8:26 AM
Mark said...: They were here since 2003 I hear, half their life.; 4/19/13, 8:26 AM
ed said...: @ Shanna

"Maybe they were tan."

Beige; 4/19/13, 8:26 AM
MisterBuddwing said...: I'm perplexed that Chechen extremism has come to our shores (not that I would have felt better if the bombing had taken place in Moscow).; 4/19/13, 8:29 AM
Kelly said...: The Uncle said the younger one was a "good boy" and the older one was a loser.

Why would anyone root for them to be an American anyway? What kind of sick minded person wants your fellow countrymen to be a cold blooded murderer?; 4/19/13, 8:30 AM
Michael said...: What a relief that Mass. Has tough gun laws and the citizens of Watertown are not armed.; 4/19/13, 8:30 AM
traditionalguy said...: Seeing those two walking along in the videos did make me think of a wrestlers swagger like walk, and sure enough the younger brother was a good amateur wrestler.

Wrestler's are not team players. They are the ultimate individuals in one on one matches they refuse to lose.

This guy will not surrender.; 4/19/13, 8:31 AM
Brent said...: Why are you afraid to say they are Islamic. Like the 9/11 terrorists.
But remeber, profiling is always bad.; 4/19/13, 8:31 AM
Vet66 said...: Maybe they felt at home with the liberal community on the east coast providing them opportunity and cover.; 4/19/13, 8:35 AM
ricpic said...: Muzzies. What difference if they are light skinned, dark skinned, semitic, caucasian? The defining mark is muzzie. Now wait for the religion of peace full court press from our bestests and brightesests.; 4/19/13, 8:35 AM
Scott M said...: It just, again, exposes the hypocrisy involved in a worldview that basis everything on identity politics.

I don't care how lily white they are or are not. I don't care if they pray to Allah. I do care if they are militant Islamists convinced that killing infidels will quicken a global caliphate or some such nonsense.

The focus on skin color has been laid open in this case, exposing both the internal assumptions behind that focus and showing it to be lacking.; 4/19/13, 8:38 AM
Brew Master said...: Ann,

Got any links to talk of "dark-skinned" suspects.

Be specific with your quotes please.; 4/19/13, 8:39 AM
Hagar said...: I think we need a national registry of pressure cookers.; 4/19/13, 8:40 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: ok - it's a repost.

Do the FBI have a David Sirota-skin-color-detecto-gizmo? I sure hope so. It's important we know the exact shade of white or off-white or mildly tan of the perps skin.
Such superficial irrelevancies are important to the collective left.

They were from a Muslim region, know for radicalization.
hmmm.
The media have no problem entertaining and speculating that it "could be angry white supremacists or a tax payer group" without any evidence. Now that evidence is rolling in, the pro-democrat media are tight lipped about the obvious.
The media want to be extra careful. After all, speculation is so unprofessional.; 4/19/13, 8:40 AM
ricpic said...: Scott, that "nonsense" is central to Islam. It ain't no fringe craziness. The instructions to spread Islam by the sword and smite the infidel are all over the Koran.; 4/19/13, 8:41 AM
MisterBuddwing said...: But remeber, profiling is always bad.

You raise an interesting point. If these guys showed up at the airport, would you single them out?

Or are we going to have to require people to reveal their religions?; 4/19/13, 8:41 AM
Larry J said...: I couldn't care less about their skin color. I just want them stopped. It'd be better if one is caught alive but that seems unlikely to happen.; 4/19/13, 8:42 AM
Yu-Ain Gonnano said...: Stolen from another blog:

The Left wanted it to be extremist White Guys.

The Right wanted it to be Muslims.

Everybody Wins!; 4/19/13, 8:43 AM
Brew Master said...: Kelly said...

Why would anyone root for them to be an American anyway? What kind of sick minded person wants your fellow countrymen to be a cold blooded murderer?

People rooting for these guys to be of any particular stripe do so because they want to use them as examples to demonize entire groups of people, fulfilling their preset prejudices.

"Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it"; 4/19/13, 8:43 AM
Larry J said...: Kelly said...
Why would anyone root for them to be an American anyway? What kind of sick minded person wants your fellow countrymen to be a cold blooded murderer?

They want to score political points and demonize their opposition. They see conservatives as evil (projection) and look for any scrap of evidence to bolster their claims.; 4/19/13, 8:45 AM
pm317 said...: White Muslims.. what do you know? It is a gift to the lapdog media. They could just drop un-PC part and achieve their rant against white privilege.; 4/19/13, 8:45 AM
DADvocate said...: This will throw David Sirota into a conundrum from which he will never recover.; 4/19/13, 8:47 AM
AllenS said...: Caucasians come in all kinds of shades. The farther south, the darker they are.; 4/19/13, 8:50 AM
edutcher said...: Like George Zimmerman, they were white Moslems.

Oy!; 4/19/13, 8:52 AM
Chase said...: You raise an interesting point. If these guys showed up at the airport, would you single them out?; 4/19/13, 8:52 AM
Shanna said...: People rooting for these guys to be of any particular stripe do so because they want to use them as examples to demonize entire groups of people, fulfilling their preset prejudices.

I bet nobody had 'chechnyan' in the pool!; 4/19/13, 8:53 AM
Third Coast said...: Just heard an uncle say he warned the youngest one against getting too involved in Islamism. Sounds like they're definitely "caucasian" Islamists.; 4/19/13, 8:53 AM
pm317 said...: Are Obama and the left sighing a sigh of relief that the suspects were not Saudis? They can't displease their masters.; 4/19/13, 8:55 AM
Chase said...: I don't think profiling at airports does any good.

The profiling I am for is this:
Ostracize the idiot pundits and public officials who speculate anything other than the obvious, and provable: This was always MOST likely to have been done by Islamic extremists. And it was.; 4/19/13, 8:55 AM
Shanna said...: I don't think profiling at airports does any good.

I think you should profile for behavior. People acting sketchy, twitchy, whatever. If we had half competent profilers that is, from what I've seen at the airport we would probably have to throw out everyone we've got and start over to get them.; 4/19/13, 8:58 AM
sakredkow said...: I'm perplexed that Chechen extremism has come to our shores (not that I would have felt better if the bombing had taken place in Moscow)

I might have felt a little better.; 4/19/13, 9:02 AM
JAL said...: Yeah isn't it amazing how the religion of peace spread over the centuries and in its inclusive brotherhood for all MEN has created murdering and maiming jihadists in all colors, races and nationalities.

Common thread, and all that.; 4/19/13, 9:04 AM
furious_a said...: We've got Chechens now, shit...they're aQ's varsity. The "Black Widows", Beslan, the Nord-Ost siege.; 4/19/13, 9:04 AM
SteveR said...: Taking bets on from which direction the sun rises. I'll take the East.; 4/19/13, 9:04 AM
bagoh20 said...: I commented on day one that it would involve a Chenchen named Dzhokha, but it got deleted. Let that be a lesson to you.; 4/19/13, 9:05 AM
Darrell said...: From the Daily Mail: The mother of the two Chechnyan brothers suspected of setting off two bombs at the Boston Marathon was arrested last year for allegedly stealing $1,600 worth of clothes from an upscale department store. Zubeidat K. Tsarnaeva, 45, was charged with two counts of malicious/wanton damage and defacement to property after allegedly swiping the merchandise from a Lord & Taylor in Natick, Mass; 4/19/13, 9:06 AM
Chase said...: I think you should profile for behavior.

Which is what they do at Israel's airports. Extremely wise and successful considering the much much higher daily odds
of terroism over there.; 4/19/13, 9:06 AM
polifrog said...: Caucasian and dark skinned...; 4/19/13, 9:08 AM
JAL said...: I don't think profiling at airports does any good.

Shanna: I think you should profile for behavior. People acting sketchy, twitchy, whatever. If we had half competent profilers that is, from what I've seen at the airport we would probably have to throw out everyone we've got and start over to get them.

Someone should ask the Israelis. They have this down.

They profile for *behavior.*

While traveling this last week tried to up my airport awareness. Interesting.; 4/19/13, 9:08 AM
bagoh20 said...: I'm seeing a pattern lately with these mass murderers; they all seem to have mothers. We need to follow that wherever it takes us. Once the vaginas started to monologue, they started plotting destruction.; 4/19/13, 9:11 AM
AllenS said...: One look at the names of these two terrorists and the officials at the airport WOULD NOT search them.; 4/19/13, 9:12 AM
TWM said...: "We've got Chechens now, shit...they're aQ's varsity. The "Black Widows", Beslan, the Nord-Ost siege."

So true, they are as nasty or even nastier than the cartels down south of our border.; 4/19/13, 9:19 AM
TWM said...: CNN says they have no idea that their religion had anything to do with this.

Well then, move along now, nothing to see here folks . . .; 4/19/13, 9:21 AM
edutcher said...: They look like the 2 Arab kids in "Lawrence Of Arabia" who have a man-crush on Peter O'Toole.; 4/19/13, 9:21 AM
bagoh20 said...: I'm also a dark-skinned Caucasian, so I'm required to say that there is no proof these guys did it. They have been scapegoated by the whities and darkies in an evil pincer maneuver of semi-racism.; 4/19/13, 9:24 AM
Joe Schmoe said...: Now that evidence is rolling in, the pro-democrat media are tight lipped about the obvious.

That merely tells me that the press is not really scared of white, supposedly 'right-wing' groups, but they are really scared of Islamic jihadist groups. They don't want to be the next target.

That's why the media has so much fun trashing the Catholic church. The Catholic church isn't going to set off homemade bombs in the media offices. The Islamic jihadists will.; 4/19/13, 9:24 AM
dc said...: I used to know two muslims from Croatia.One had blond hair.His brother looked like Howdy Doody.; 4/19/13, 9:24 AM
Anonymous said...: "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" climaxes with his pilgrimage to Mecca in which Malcolm X discovers people of all races can be Muslim and united in that holy faith.

Islam solves racial and ethnic hatred, but uplevels it to a violent supremacist ideology based on religious belief.

However, violent supremacy is violent supremacy whether it's based on race or religion. Anyone who has contempt for the KKK ought to have a similar contempt for Islam. The only difference is there about million times as many Muslims as KKKers.; 4/19/13, 9:26 AM
Steve Koch said...: Not a surprise that the terrorists were islamic or that Althouse didn't mention that. Why would American lefty or righty terrorists attack the Boston Marathon? It always seemed likely that the bomber would turn out to either be islamic or a psychopath (or both).; 4/19/13, 9:27 AM
Third Coast said...: This isn't going to help the Gang of Eight in their quest to open the borders to the immigrant hordes.; 4/19/13, 9:30 AM
Beaver7216 said...: Ahh, the racism of racism. No scientist seems to talk about race anymore (we are all homo sapiens) but politicians love talking about it. What % of Indian blood makes one Indian? Are Turks and Persians Asian, to be counted with Chinese and Pakistanis?
Amazing how pseudo science is readily endorsed and forms the basis for laws.; 4/19/13, 9:31 AM
edutcher said...: BTW, let's not forget the somewhat dark "person of interest" deported yesterday.

Third Coast said...

This isn't going to help the Gang of Eight in their quest to open the borders to the immigrant hordes.

Or Barry relaxing visa requirements for Saudis.; 4/19/13, 9:38 AM
Darrell said...: BTW, let's not forget the somewhat dark "person of interest" deported yesterday.

Didn't happen. You can find it yourself.; 4/19/13, 9:39 AM
Larry J said...: I think you should profile for behavior.

If you're concerned about Islamic terror, you can't profile by race. Islam contains members from just about every racial group on Earth. The most populus Moslem country on Earth is Indonesia. There are also millions of Muslims in the Philippines and China. Islam is very widespread in Africa and in parts of Europe (Chechnia and some former Yugoslav republics come to mind). Then you have converts like Richard Reid, the Shoe Bomber. He was a white guy. So, what does a Muslim look like? They look like anyone else and it's fair to say that most of them pose no threat to anyone.

It's the radicals of any group (Muslim or otherwise) who pose threats to others. You're more likely to catch them by profiling their behavior than anything else.; 4/19/13, 9:40 AM
Anonymous said...: This was always MOST likely to have been done by Islamic extremists. And it was.

Yes. That was my bet from the very beginning. It was just a matter of crunching the numbers:

* Most of today's terrorism in the world and the US is perpetrated by radical Muslims.
* Almost all of the terrorism using pressure cooker bombs is by radical Muslims.

Sure, the world is wild, wacky place and any nut or fanatic can learn from other terorists and go boom in the time-tested ways, but the odds were strong that these were Muslims and they were.; 4/19/13, 9:40 AM
William said...: It's worthwhile to note that there have been no red haired terrorists or mass murderers in American history. I would recommend vigilance and caution with all out groups, but gingers you can trust. However, beware of dye jobs..; 4/19/13, 9:41 AM
Steve Koch said...: Richard Reid is part black, part white.; 4/19/13, 9:43 AM
Chef Mojo said...: Chechen extremism is Islamist extremism, and always has been. Their first revolts against the Tsar in the 19th Century were pronounced Holy Wars, and have never stopped being such.

Chechen guerrillas are Islamic first, Chechen second. Always has been that way since the Russians rolled over the Transcaucasus. The Chechen revolts have always been religiously driven.

Islamists aren't too particular where they make their jihad, as long as there are plenty of infidels to kill and maim. Boston works just as well as Grozny or Moscow.; 4/19/13, 9:52 AM
bagoh20 said...: If I had to profile an average group of Bostonians to find the terrorists, these guys would definitely be in my "likely" group. Clearly not because of race, but young, fit, and something I can't define, but know it when I see it, and when I don't. I think humans have an innate ability to do that, although it's far from foolproof. It would cause me to question those guys more. I think I have that look too, and I would expect and welcome the extra scrutiny. I actually think I get it at airports. I look a little swarmy, and evil, I can't do anything about it, but it's real, and I want them following their instincts rather than ignoring them.; 4/19/13, 10:02 AM
bagoh20 said...: I'm surprised at how stupid most of these terrorist are. They seem to make little effort to disguise themselves or look non-threatening, but that may be because they know we regulate ourselves out of using the obvious clues.; 4/19/13, 10:05 AM
edutcher said...: Darrell said...

BTW, let's not forget the somewhat dark "person of interest" deported yesterday.

Didn't happen. You can find it yourself.

This is my source.

Yours? If it's this, I need something more than Big Sis' word.; 4/19/13, 10:08 AM
Anonymous said...: Bad day for libs.

The ricin letter guy, Paul Kevin Curtis, is a Democratic activist and an Elvis impersonator. Plus he's not too bright.; 4/19/13, 10:08 AM
Michael said...: Bagoh20. "and I want them following their instincts rather than ignoring them."

Unfortunately we are being taught that our instincts are wrong, misplaced, racist, evil. Ditto what was once common sense.; 4/19/13, 10:08 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Arabs are Caucasian. Iranians. Indians (from India), etc etc

"is the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia/Middle East, Asia Minor, Central Asia and South Asia.[2] Historically, the term was used for many people from these regions, without regard necessarily to skin tone.[3]"

Dark skinned can be quite a range. And looking at their photos, the guys are "swarthy".; 4/19/13, 10:14 AM
bagoh20 said...: I would think that people could be selected and trained to be very effective profilers who could sit and watch people filing through an airport security line and pick out suspected people for further scrutiny. We could have the environment be dynamic with changing scenarios and even agents play-acting during this screening time that would tend to bring out clues in those attempting to do something wrong.

I think this would be much more efficient, and fun. Work should be fun, especially when IT'S FRIDAY!; 4/19/13, 10:15 AM
Darrell said...: edutcher,

I came across a detailed article about the deportation being incorrect--with supporting evidence--but I can't find it now. I looked at dozens this morning. But I did find a mention that Michelle Obama may have visited Abdul al-Harbi in the hospital, and I find that charming.

http://shoebat.com/2013/04/19/report-alharbi-visited-by-michelle-obama-in-hospital/; 4/19/13, 10:21 AM
edutcher said...: To the "I came across a detailed article about the deportation being incorrect--with supporting evidence--but I can't find it now", it's happened to me, but questions have been raised and it might be nice to know exactly what's going on. Something about this doesn't ring true.

As you'll note, it was Pam Geller who wrote the Breitbart piece, so we're looking at someone fairly credible.; 4/19/13, 10:26 AM
edutcher said...: Good point on the "swarthy" Caucasians, DBQ.

As I said, the Gray Lady will describe them as white Moslems or something.; 4/19/13, 10:27 AM
Darrell said...: Abdul al-Harbi will probably go back on his own accord until things settle down anyway. I'm sure his relatives with al-Qaeda ties want the spotlight to go dim.; 4/19/13, 10:29 AM
bagoh20 said...: Now see, used the incorrect "swarmy". That proves my non-racist innocence. I don't even know how to spell dog wissle.; 4/19/13, 10:30 AM
Geoff Matthews said...: I'm pretty pale, but I doubt my ancestors have been to the Caucus region for more than a millenia (if ever).; 4/19/13, 11:50 AM
cubanbob said...: Perhaps the Senate should rethink this pending immigration bill.

Forget about amnesty for undocumented democrats and focus in on Muslim immigration.; 4/19/13, 12:33 PM
Fred Drinkwater said...: "Tamerlan" Huh. Wonder if that's an assumed name. Did he want to be the next "Sword of Islam"?
Also, Chechen tactics - remember Beslan? The more innocent the dead, the better, it seems.
And of course, an obvious motive: revenge for the Persian defeat at the Battle of Marathon.
Anyway, glad my friends and relatives in the area are OK.; 4/19/13, 1:34 PM
Anonymous said...: Hey! I'm a white guy. May I be offended?; 4/19/13, 4:38 PM
Gospace said...: "Yu-Ain Gonnano said...
Stolen from another blog:

The Left wanted it to be extremist White Guys.

The Right wanted it to be Muslims."

Most of us on the right simply wanted the culptits caught- though DOA on arrival in the hospital is fine.

As for wanting it to be Muslims, if I had found anyone willing to take the bet- I'd have bet the bombers WERE Muslim. I offered to several people who agreed with the President and his administration they were probably tax protesters or TEA Party types- and no one, not one, took me up on it.

Wonder why? A complete mystery, that....; 4/19/13, 4:51 PM
Kirby Olson said...: Armenian looking. Armenia is about two hundred miles from where these creeps are from.; 4/19/13, 7:20 PM