WARNING: This post contains graphic images of gore!

If the alternative media is to successfully challenge the establishment, its crimes and corrupt ideology, it shouldn’t have to be stated that it’s important to remain grounded, factual and to hold ourselves to greater standards than the corporate and Government mouthpieces that make up mainstream news. It should also not have to be stated that to remain credible we need to distance ourselves from what BoilingFrogsPost.com contributor Ry Dawson calls the Shiny Bullshit; the irrational, reactionary, logic-lacking conspiracy theorists, who believe what they believe not because of actual verifiable and empirical evidence, but because their online buddy shared a sourceless image on Facebook and they thumbed-up each other’s delusions in a self-perpetuating conspiracy theorist circle jerk.

These are the people that think the Sandy Hook massacre was made up of actors paid to make it look like there was a crisis, that nobody died, and that a father caught nervously laughing on camera means the Government carried out the shootings. These are the people that think there were no planes on 9/11, or that the only logical explanation for the collapse of the 3 towers is an unverified “energy weapon”. Wherever there’s a sound argument for a conspiracy there is always those that divert attention away from it with their “shiny bullshit”, discrediting credible researchers and solid information, by getting it all lumped in to one big pile of woo woo.

As it stands we do not know the who what or whys of the Boston Marathon Bombing. It would be naïve to think that it wouldn’t be possible for the attack to have elements of a false flag or state sponsorship. It’s happened, happens and will happen again. However if one is to make such a paradigm shattering accusation you better be sure that you have evidence to back it up. Just like if the mainstream media points the blame at Muslims or right wingers or occupy activists. Evidence is the key. If there’s no evidence then you’re speculating and speculating doesn’t do anybody any good.

If you can rationally explain away a hypothesis then you do not have enough evidence for your hypothesis.

The Man With The Missing Legs:

One viral image that has been troubling people since the aftermath of the bombings crassly shows somebody with their legs blown off and a caption claiming the man to be an army veteran who lost their legs in Afghanistan…

Reactions to this have ranged from a sincere “that’s interesting” to the completely delusional “this proves the bombings were staged, the Government carried it out”.

We cannot possibly gather all the posts and theories surrounding this image, but the common theme as suggested by the caption is that this man did not lose his legs in the bombings so the bombings were staged.

Of course this completely ignores the possibility that an innocent legless veteran unfortunately happened to wind up in the bombings; just because somebody has no legs doesn’t mean they’re pretending they lost them in Boston, but those with a keen eye will actually notice that the left image shows there to be pieces of leg beyond the knee, whereas the right image shows a full amputee. Rationally we can then assume that they are not the same person and this has been a cruel hoax or the result of an overactive imagination. However conspiracy theorists have gone in the opposite direction and are also claiming that because there is more leg shown on the left image, that this extra bit is a movie set prosthetic with ketchup and he’s faking it.

When prompted to explain in what context there would be fake injured people during a real bombing, theorists suggest there was a drill going on. A sort of mock marathon bombing to test the emergency response, that either eerily coincided with the real thing, was deliberately used to make the carnage look worse than the real thing, or there was no actual bombing and everyone was faking it.

So can anyone verify this grandiose staged incident? Has anyone come forward who was in the vicinity and saw people setting up their props? You know at this giant public event? No! Has anyone involved, who realized their bad acting was being used not to prepare for potential attacks, but for far more sinister purposes, broken their silence? Nope! So what evidence is there that the man in the image was involved in a drill or exercise? None!

One single eye witness has come forward to say that: “They kept making announcements to the participants do not worry, it’s just a training exercise,” when bomb sniffer dogs were used at the starting line, some 20 or more miles away. In an era of heightened security it is not bizarre for this type of activity to take place at public events, and quite how this one quote can be conflated to meaning fake injury victims were taking part in a full scale mock bombing, or worse a staging of the whole incident, is anyone’s guess.

Branching theories:

Often accompanying the captioned image above are a series of other photos that careless conspiracy theorists claim support the theory that at least some of the bombing was fake.

Apparently this image is not of real bomb victims because the blood is too red or bright. It is true that once blood leaves the body it becomes deoxygenated and begins to thicken and darken, but this is not an instant process and the photo is clearly in the immediate aftermath. We also cannot discount aspects of digital imagery and lighting. Look at the glove, it’s bright, and look at the man’s leg, it’s bright too. The image itself is bright. Is it rational to create a whole theory based on one still digital image and a passing understanding of hemoglobin?

This image shows other spots of darker blood. But more importantly it shows where one of the blasts took place and the subsequent commotion. When there are emergency drills that involve mock victims they don’t go to the expense of creating a whole Hollywood style set in the spitting image of a Boston street, complete with smoke and rubble!

The reason why there isn’t a trail of blood in the above photo? Because hero Carlos Arredondo is pinching a main artery in his right hand and had tied material around the legs to slow the bleeding. Believe it or not flesh itself does not simply pour with blood and we can assume his flesh and plenty of blood had already left his body. Or was that too red for people to believe?

Who is the legless man?:

According to Local Boston Media the legless man is NOT the army veteran purported in the disgusting viral Facebook post, it’s Jeff Bauman Jr., of Chelmsford. His personal Facebook page was revealed by his father, and a glancing look at the non private photos confirms the theorists are wrong.

Conclusion:

The reason conspiracies are exposed is because the evidence is there to expose them. Just because the Government and media have lied in the past doesn’t mean we throw all critical thinking skills out of the window and just make stuff up or cherry pick perceived but explainable anomalies to fit a world view. That is the height of close-mindedness.

For a further analysis on why the “drill” theory currently doesn’t hold weight, read Tom Secker’s Boston Bombings Bullshit article on the InvestigatingTheTerror.com website.

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Keelan Balderson is the editor of WideShut.co.uk, and producer of documentaries 7/7 What Did They Know? and Perfect Storm: The England Riots. Keeping a critical eye on Government, Corporate Power, and the causes of Terrorism, he aims to broaden the Western world view.