Citizens must limit speculation after tragedy

On Monday, Boston became another name on a growing list of towns and cities destroyed by an act of terror.

Boston joins Newtown, Conn.; Aurora, Colo.; and New York City as locations now associated with a moment of fear, loss and suffering.

But there is an important distinction between each of these sites: The unfathomable terror that shook each location was not committed by one common attacker.

In Aurora’s movie theater shooting and Newtown’s elementary school shooting, the attacker was American. In New York, foreign attackers with motives against the United States brought down the twin towers.

It has been proven that there is no clear way to distinguish who is capable of bringing terror to this country and others. Yet even after the bombs went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, media and many individuals began finger-pointing.

After the attack, law enforcement officials searched the apartment of a Saudi Arabian man in his 20s who was at the race. He became the subject of discussion on several news outlets’ live broadcasts in the context of suspicion. The man has now been ruled as a witness, not a suspect, as reported by The Washington Post on Tuesday.

After the Sept. 11 attacks and other acts of terror committed against the United States by Islamic extremists, it has become commonplace in media and societal discourse to draw this conclusion.

But in searching for an answer to who caused the bombing, many media pundits denounced right-wing American groups, as well.

No matter who committed the crimes against Boston on Monday, the finger-pointing must end. It is important to limit speculation and instead await the truth.

This is a concept that should be carried with each individual in all aspects of life, as learning must come before making assumptions. Getting the facts correct is more important than receiving potentially false information first, a lesson media should learn, as well.

Attending a marathon joins the other conceptually normal activities of life — like going to the movies or school — that have been devastated by an act of terror. But because it is impossible to categorize and predict who will commit these isolated acts, we must continue to fearlessly board planes, enter classrooms and run 26.2-mile marathons.