Aqua Teen Terrorist Force :)

I don't think it was funny either. And I would have been sooo mad if I had been stuck in all that traffic because of this stunt.
If what they were doing was legal, maybe they should have notified the authorities of what they were doing, and the whole mess could have been avoided.

In Philly they said it is illegal & it costs $1500 per sign per day until it comes down.

after seeing the signs, i really dont get why people even paid them a second look.
i can see gamers stealing them... but that is about all.

These board with lights, wires and battery packs were placed in strategic locations underneath major bridges in Boston. They appeared at first look to be potentially harmful devices, and in light of 9/11, the city officials DID THE RIGHT THING.

I know the family of one of the people killed on that first flight out of Boston that hit the World Trade Center, and this kind of thing is NO JOKE.

You can NOT expect law enforcement personnel in their late 30s, 40s, & 50s to just look at that character and automatically KNOW that it is from a late-night cartoon aimed at teenagers and 20-somethings.

Looking at it in hindsight, I can see how the locations were chosen to make it appear that the "mooninites" were trying to take over by attaching themselves to the infrastructure, but it was NOT well thought out and in extremely poor taste, and scared and angered lots and LOTS of people.

Adult Swim is NOT a mainstream cartoon, and the professionals involved in protecting Boston most likely have never seen the program.

I do not believe that the artist that was arrested should be prosecuted, I believe that Turner Broadcasting should however. Blame it on the ones who thought up the campaign, not the poor grunt hired to execute it.

Homeland Security is no joke, folks, things are vastly different now than they used to be, and people need to remain mindful that we are extremely vulnerable right here on our own soil.

Originally Posted by GingersMom

Homeland Security is no joke, folks, things are vastly different now than they used to be, and people need to remain mindful that we are extremely vulnerable right here on our own soil.

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Thing is, we always were extremely vulnerable. We just thought we weren't. The only difference now is that people overrreact to everything. And nobody ever talks about the fact that we killed Saddam Hussein, who has nothing to do with terrorism, and Osama Bin Laden, who killed thousands of americans, is still out there, and is most definitely NOT in Iraq. Why is that we flip out over a cartoon (and no, maybe they didn't think it was a cartoon character, but does the darn thing look all that threatening? It's worth a second guess, maybe even a bomb squad to check it out if you're being overzealous...but not the reaction it did get) or a strange smell, but refuse to think about the things that are ACTUALLY endangering us?

Originally Posted by Snuzy

I don't think it was funny either. And I would have been sooo mad if I had been stuck in all that traffic because of this stunt.

If what they were doing was legal, maybe they should have notified the authorities of what they were doing, and the whole mess could have been avoided.

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I agree

I just started watching my DVR'd Futurama from last night, and there is a HUGE apology at the beginning. It says they told the company putting them up to stop as soon as they realized what went wrong, and also that they told the police exactly where they were (As they should have, obviously)

So, I imagine it won't happen again at least.

Well, I still think it is all just a big silly overreaction to an advertisement. The terrorists still have won sending us into panic over something so silly that they had nothing to do with and Adult Swim and ATHF got some great publicity because now, almost everyone has heard of them and the show.

These things were in 9 other cities as well... what is different about Boston?

Boston is the city where the 9/11 planes took off from and if you get anywhere near the airport, you can tell that no one there has forgotten and they don't want anyone else to forget either. It is like some collective guilt complex.

The Mass Bay Transit Authority apparently is going overboard to do nowadays what they feel they did not do back them. I used to fly transatlantic about 10 times a year between Logan and Germany between 2000-2002. Now I am down to about 4 times a year. After 9/11 flying in or out became a huge PITA. Before you could get there 30 minutes before a transatlantic flight (heck I even once got a free upgrade to 1st class because I got there late and that was all they had left). Shortly afterward if you did not get there 3 hrs beforehand then you were in trouble. Landing at Logan, well, once a flight got there 45 min early, but we had to wait on the plane until the regularly scheduled arrival time so they could get the special security people to check passports as we were disembarking (not passport control, just to get off the plane). I don't know if security is better or not, but it certainly is a lot more hassle. I don't fly out of Logan anymore even though it is the closest major airport where I could get a direct non-stop to Europe. I puddle jump to Philly or NY.

So no, I am not happy about what has happened, but in this type of climate if you say you don't have a problem with little electronic widgets on places like bridges and tunnels, what's to stop the real bad guys from making use of that and commiting a real act of terrorism. It may sound silly, but if someone were to actually DO it, the Boston authorities would look like chumps and that is the last thing they want to have happen. A gazillion people would stand up and say "I told you so".

I found it pretty funny. Hey the little guys look weird and flippen me the middle finger is a bit odd but COME ON!!!! I dont think terrorist have a sense of humor.

I think it was an overreaction. They could have closed off the area around the first location, sure, but once they saw it was a lite brite, that could have been the end of it. Now they're overreacting again, probably because they don't want to look silly by backing off.

I think your thought about the collective guilt complex is interesting. I try not to fly in or out of Logan anymore too. Coming back from Europe was an ordeal at that airport

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

These things were in 9 other cities as well... what is different about Boston?

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That's exactly what I thought. And one of the major cities that was "infested" with these advertisements was New York City. Don't give me that Boston was the most affected city when 9/11 occurred. NYC didn't have a hissy fit about these little thingies, and they are also on hyper-alert.

Sorry, Boston overreacted. Like others said, check out one or a couple, but you don't have to put the whole city in a panic due to a little dude that looks like he's from Space Invaders flipping the bird.

Boston is just embarrassed for being so stupid- so they are retaliating. Shesh, those things had been up for three weeks and they just now noticed them. They've been up in something like 11 other cities. I seriously think the city is retaliating because they feel like tools.

Originally Posted by valanhb

Don't give me that Boston was the most affected city when 9/11 occurred. NYC didn't have a hissy fit about these little thingies, and they are also on hyper-alert.

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Just in case I was not clear...I was not trying to say that Boston was the most affected, nor was I offering an opinion as to whether the reaction was justified or unjustified. What I was trying to get across is that MBTA appears to feel responsible for allowing 9/11 to happen since if they had had better security in place, those hijackers might not have been able to fly the planes into the WTC and this has made them go to extremes since then about major arteries, bridges, tunnels, etc that are anywhere near the airport. Since the city is so small, that pretty much means everywhere in Boston.

I see both sides of this really - part of me thinks it's really silly... well, most of me does. And I think Boston overreacted, and also are feeling embarassed for not catching it for three weeks in the first place. At the same time tho, the ppl who put it there had no malicious intent, and it's ridiculous to behave as if they did. It was advertisements for a show - that's it. They should get a warning, and thats all. They didn't intend to alarm anyone, and it makes me angry the way some officials in Boston are saying things like they "wanted to scare people". horsefeathers. They wanted to advertise their show, that's all. It might not have been the smartest idea, but it's not criminal intent, either.

On the other hand, I do understand that the cops are charged with protecting the public, and that since 9/11, ppl are on edge, they have to check out everything.. I really do understand that. But I just feel that, now that we know it wasn't a bomb, and there was no malicious intent, the city needs to just let it go.

Originally Posted by arcadian girl

I see both sides of this really - part of me thinks it's really silly... well, most of me does. And I think Boston overreacted, and also are feeling embarassed for not catching it for three weeks in the first place. At the same time tho, the ppl who put it there had no malicious intent, and it's ridiculous to behave as if they did. It was advertisements for a show - that's it. They should get a warning, and thats all. They didn't intend to alarm anyone, and it makes me angry the way some officials in Boston are saying things like they "wanted to scare people". horsefeathers. They wanted to advertise their show, that's all. It might not have been the smartest idea, but it's not criminal intent, either.

On the other hand, I do understand that the cops are charged with protecting the public, and that since 9/11, ppl are on edge, they have to check out everything.. I really do understand that. But I just feel that, now that we know it wasn't a bomb, and there was no malicious intent, the city needs to just let it go.

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Well said.

Haha, I just posted about this in the other forum...I saw one on the train platform and my first reaction was not "Oh no, a bomb" it was "Oh cool! Someone rigged a lite brite up to the train station and it's giving us all the finger!"

As of today, they have sadly all been taken down in Chicago. Well, other than the 15 or so that have evidently been stolen.

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

. Well, other than the 15 or so that have evidently been stolen.

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See i know someone would be stealing them,
hmm have to check ebay and see if someone put one up for sale yet.

Originally Posted by EricaNicole

I found it pretty funny. Hey the little guys look weird and flippen me the middle finger is a bit odd but COME ON!!!! I dont think terrorist have a sense of humor.

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i think it says someplace they are not allowed to have fun or do anything with style.

Look if they had placed them in bag, or backpacks with something that made ticking sound(however that is only in the movies) something like that,, that would be bad,
i really dont get how people could think they were a bomb.

better safe then sorry yes i agree, there was no attempt here to start a panic.