Thankfully the crude bomb that someone fashioned and put into a vehicle which he or she then parked in Times Square was discovered and dismantled before it was detonated.  I wonder who put it there.

I wonder about the politics of the person … and also, on a more micro level, wonder about the very individual motives and incendiary illusions that drive someone who deliberately chooses to do this sort of thing.

Who are you and what fucked up delusions drive you?  Seriously.  It takes time and thought to put together a bomb … to figure out how to do it, gather the necessary materials, construct it … then get it to wherever you plan to do your damage.  Each step along the way you could reconsider … change your mind … back off.  Each step along the way there could be a burst of sudden clarity … your humanity breaking through as you realize how very, very horribly wrong you were about what you were planning to do.

Your sanity and humanity could kick in at any step along the way.  But sometimes it doesn’t.  And it’s so good, then, when your plans are thwarted by someone else.

I am hoping that there was no Muslim-extremist involvement in this foiled event … that it was rather one of our home-grown terrorists.  Why?  Because I’d prefer self examination to the finger-pointing that would otherwise ensue.  It would be especially nice of thise were some Ann-Coulter-quoting birther-bigot trying to bring on the Second Coming.

I would like to see this recent event get us to look at how we define terrorism.  It would be nice if something like this brought us to realize that these impulses that we like to impute to “others” are right here, seething, all the time … fomented by the irresponsible language of pundits and so-called leaders … waiting to wreak havoc.

Terror.  What is terror?