Mooninites, Meet Homeland Hysteria
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Breaking News, Media, The War On Terrorism
Two guys were putting up guerilla marketing Lite-Brite signs around the country for Cartoon Network’s show Aqua Teen Hunger Force, but after a few people in Boston thought they were bombs and freaked out…the two are now faced with imprisonment?
Brilliant.
Take note of the last couple paragraphs in this…
CHARLESTOWN, Massachusetts (CNN) — Two men pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges they created panic by placing electronic light boards that caused a bomb scare Wednesday in Boston.The boards depicted a cartoon character making an obscene gesture at passing motorists.
Assistant Attorney General John Grossman called the light boards “bomb-like” devices and said that if they had been explosive they could have damaged transportation infrastructure in the city.
Asked by the judge to describe what the figure on the light box was doing, Grossman said, “Colloquially, he was flipping the bird, your honor.”
Judge Paul K. Leary told Grossman that, according to law, the suspects must intend to create a panic to be charged with placing hoax devices.
That’s right. They must intend to create a panic…as in to make people think people are going to get blown up. And do note that in the 20 other cities they placed these guerilla ads, nobody else freaked out like the Beantown brass. But now the Boston politicos want these two guys to lock these guys up because they overreacted to the situation.
Well, that ain’t the law folks, but welcome to a post 9/11 world where locking people up for basically doing nothing is the norm.
It seems, though, that the two still have their sense of humor well intact…
At a news conference after the hearing, Stevens and Berdovsky stepped to the microphones and said they were taking questions only about 1970s hairstyles.When a reporter accused them of not taking the situation seriously, Stevens responded, “We’re taking it very seriously.” Asked another question about the case, Stevens reiterated they were answering questions only about hair and accused the reporter of not taking him and Berdovsky seriously.
Reporters did not relent and as they continued, Berdovsky disregarded their queries, saying, “That’s not a hair question. I’m sorry.”
Good for them.
UPDATE:
A video of what these guys did.
I think The Phoenix said it best…
Boston, 2007 = Grovers Mill, 1938.
And how…
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 1st, 2007 and is filed under Breaking News, Media, The War On Terrorism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
February 1st, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Love it!
February 1st, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Actually… this made me really want to see aqua teen…. I’m about to go buy all the seasons on DVD. It may have been a promotion gone wrong, but I think after this whole thing it actually got more pr then they would have. On behalf of the mooninites let me just say: up yours america, we told you your defeat was enevitable, and i hope you can see this cause im doing it as hard as i can ..|..
February 1st, 2007 at 9:41 pm
might i just add… if things like this cause fear and panic and these guys actually get punished… The terrorists have won >.
February 1st, 2007 at 9:56 pm
They had my sympathy until they opened their idiotic mouths.
They could have been witty, sarcastic, exc. They could have used the platform to say that this in fact was an example of post-911 overreaction and hysteria. They could have used the opportunity to expound on freedom of expression and creativity, exc. And they could have deflected their own responsibility onto paranoia & hysteria.
They showed absolutely no sympathy for the average (non dreadlocked working stiff) Bostonian who was delayed, annoyed and hassled (regardless of who was to blame) or the cost to tax-payers.
Instead, they acted like juvenile, stupid asswipe stoners. Well, what can you expect from a white guy with dreadlocks. I hope he does go jail for a couple a months — the brothas will find those dreads, real cute.
No, not good for them. They need to get a hair cut and get a job other than vandalizing property with stupid shit.
February 1st, 2007 at 10:31 pm
there is no way that those guys will be found guilty. the law that they are being charged with breaking says that there has to be intent to create a hazardous environment, but they just wanted to promote athf.
and that press confrence was amazing. it would have been terrible if showed sympathy, because they had absolutly no fault in what happened. they didn’t do any damage, the police and the city government did. the only way they could act would be to act as if it was a joke, to do anything else would have added validity to their charges.
and dosperos, you are an idiot.
i smoke while i flip the bird, and i hope you can see me doing it because i’m doing it as hard as i can.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:37 pm
prometheaus, could you possibly be any dumber? Since when did showing sympathy for the situation that ensued equate to an admission of guilt. (wipe up the drool before it shorts out the key board, pro-meth)
I don’t give two shits about the retarded marketing stunt for the retarded cartoon watched by retarded people. Unseal the vacume lock you have on the bong and understand that an overreaction to bizarre electronic devices attached to key infastructure within a major city is predictable. And again, I don’t have a problem with the marketing. I just think those two are cornholing duchebags and I hope a good Irish dode puts a boot in their ass.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:55 pm
Pay no attention to DosPeros. He likes to stir it up, as a rule of practice.
And by the way, bravo DP. It’s been an incredible run. Keep it up. We all love it.
February 2nd, 2007 at 12:01 am
dude, apparently the only stupid person here is you. you skipped the entire post and went to the end. no reaction at all to what i said, apart from you being an idiot. you basically proved my point.
and i happen to be friends with retarted people and i don’t appreciate you using the word in such a demeaning manor. my friends, despite their handicap, are and forever will be 100 times better than you.
thanks,
prometheaus (?)
February 2nd, 2007 at 1:40 am
A few of them looked like pipebombs,So if anyout here see’s one of these innocent looking devices,pick it up as a souvenir and take it home.
I dare ya
February 2nd, 2007 at 8:12 am
DosPeros, please learn how to spell. The “dodes” and “duchebags” of the world are laughing at you. And not everybody who watches Aqua Teen Hunger Force is a pothead.
February 2nd, 2007 at 8:39 am
[...] Donklephant [...]
February 2nd, 2007 at 10:45 am
Xenon – you are quite right on my spelling. It is “Douchebag”, not “Duchebag.” My apologizes, how embarrassing. “Dode” on the other hand is an Irish slang for “Dude” and is spelled correctly. And I agree that not everyone who watches ATHF is a pothead, but this doesn’t say much for them.
February 2nd, 2007 at 2:39 pm
I would have had a lot more sympathy for the two scapegoats if they had gone against their employers and clued the cops into exactly what they were finding all over the city. Whether or not the city overreacted is immaterial to the fact that the entire region was near paralyzed for hours.
I also might have had more sympathy for them if they had at least considered feigning respect for all of the people who were affected at their press conference. I just wouldn’t have gone with the brash adolescent rebel thing. Made ‘em come of as the unrepentant 12 yr. neighborhood bully.
As it is right now, screw ‘em. Let them soak up some of the same consideration they had for everyone else and feel Menino’s foot up their arse ’til the end of time.
Do I think it was an over-reaction? Yeah, probably. But to kinda repeat myself it wouldn’t have gone on so long if the marketing company/network hadn’t waited so long to communicate with the city.
As an answer to the issue that this only happened in Boston and not the other cities, well Boston is the city that hosted the 9/11 hijackers the night before they blew up the WTC. If you think that fact, that they weren’t watchful enough has ever left the collective awareness of the city’s officials then yer being stupid.
And you gotta consider your market. Boston ain’t New York and it sure as hell isn’t San Francisco. It’s not a good place to stick things on overpasses that don’t directly relate to the sox.
February 2nd, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Well, I see 2 Dogs is still at it. That’s OK as he makes the rest of us look good in comparison.
My opinions match Justin’s well, except on one point. As long as these signs were not lit, they appeared to pose no threat. Construction contractors place these near roadways all the time. So the fact they had been in place for 10 days is a non issue if they were not lit.
As for the non-interviews the pair conducted, they are showing themselves for the jackasses they are. They are hurting their own case.
Laws were broken – misdemeanors involving placement of unauthorized signs within a right of way. Whoever gave the orders to place them there should be held responsible for both criminal & civil penalties. If they had received permission to begin with, there would have been no uproar.
But, if I were a terrorist, the fact they were not discovered for 10 days says this would be a good window of opportunity – as long as I never turned the lights. One lesson could be learned – Contractors who place these signs should be reporting where they are located to law enforcement. Then, if one appears that is not on the list, it might actually be discovered on the first day it is placed.
February 2nd, 2007 at 2:56 pm
if people knew about them for three weeks before this whole thing happened, then the only people that should be blamed are the police.
anybody with an internet connection could have figured out that those were mooninites. the police completely overreacted, and that is the only reason why the city shut down.
i kind of feel bad for those guys. they were only doing their job, and now the police are looking for a scapegoat for their screw-up. its not their fault the police overreacted. at least they’re taking it in stride.
but seriously, they thought the mooninites were bombs? i mean, fucking mooninites! they are cult icons in the united states, why the fuck would terrorists plant bombs with a glowing portrait of icknignot? wtf?
i guess in the end, the only thing that matters is that people in general are stupid.
February 3rd, 2007 at 1:24 pm
No, people in Boston are stupid.