Run For Your Life, It's Lite Brite!!
posted at 4:12 PM
We spent quite a bit of time on my KMOX show today talking about the overreaction to yesterday's Lite Brite scare in Boston, the result of a guerilla marketing campaign for a Cartoon Network show that was blown out of proportion.
One of the best perspectives on the story came from Steve Safran, managing editor of LostRemote.com, who realized early on that this animated character was no threat to national security. As any parent knows, the greatest threat from Lite Brite is stepping barefoot on those damned bulbs that have fallen out onto the carpet. If only the broadcast media and law enforcement authorities in Boston had paid some attention to the blogosphere. Listen.
One of the best perspectives on the story came from Steve Safran, managing editor of LostRemote.com, who realized early on that this animated character was no threat to national security. As any parent knows, the greatest threat from Lite Brite is stepping barefoot on those damned bulbs that have fallen out onto the carpet. If only the broadcast media and law enforcement authorities in Boston had paid some attention to the blogosphere. Listen.
10 Comments:
You got it right, only a complete moron would have thought those carton LED characters were a bomb. I can not believe they were so stupid that they the police even blew one up.
I believe these devices have been around a long time. take a look at this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throwies it describes the devices which consist of a magnet, watch battery, and a led (light emitting diode) taped together. Not very scary looking really.
Your supposed to throw them at metal buildings to create a sort of graffiti. I believe these guys just took it a step further and lined them up into a design.
Besides if you were going to place a bomb, would you really want it to light up!?!
Maybe you should start an annual lite bright award for anyone or any group over reacting to a situation!
I am zeroing in on the word ”hoax”.
As far as I can tell, this wasn’t a “hoax”.
You are right on.
I haven't had a chance to listen to the show yet and normally I'm pretty much against over-reacting to ridiculous events. In this case, while there was an over-reaction, I'm not sure we should take the approach that funny-looking and cartoonish bomblike mechanisms are obviously harmless. If so, it wouldn't take much for real bombmakers to realize that if you slap a Spongebob Squarepants sticker onto your device you can hide it in plain sight (which I'm sure they do realize already, so let's not encourage them). If you are going to stick anything onto the undersides of bridges and other public and private structures which you have no permission to do so, you are ostensibly breaking the law in general and thus should think about all potential legal consequences.
I just got out of my car, where I listened to you talk about the Boston publicity stunt for the adult carton show. I am sure glad you find this so amusing. I am wondering what your reaction would be if one of these turned about to be a bomb but the Boston Emergency Response Team shrugged it off saying it was nothing to worry about, or if you had a real emergency that was not responded to, while emergency workers were chasing down one of the toys. Everyone seems to be looking at these devices saying how could you see one of these and think it was a bomb. I'm sure that is what the people in Oklahoma said when they saw a rental truck parked in front of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City. You must get a real chuckle out of the local news coverage when they park a rental truck in front of the Arch, the Federal Courthouse and Busch Stadium and no one seems to notice. Hindsight is always 2020, and maybe I watch too many DieHard movies, but I wonder what would happen if you stumbled upon a circuit board with loose wires and batteries taped onto the building where you work, no matter what the pattern of lights. Would it be so funny?
I didn't say that the authorities shouldn't have checked them out. I said that they (and the media, especially) shouldn't have blown them out of proportion. After all, these things were also up in 9 other cities, and there was no panic because people kept things in perspective.
Remember that the most basic factor in terrorism is terror -- and once again we have proved that it's really easy to scare Americans! FDR was right about fear.
I disagree with your cavalier attitude about this. It was a publicity stunt..ill convieved in my opinion.
They could have taken the boxes and mad them less nondescript.
What I see here is 'community standards' , What is OK in other cities, maynot be acceptable in Boston. Pornography that is accepted in Boston is not permitted in Orlando, and stunts that are accepted in other cities, are not acceptable in Boston.
Some one in Boston saw the 'device' and thought it strange..they acted in good faith and contacted the authorities. If the devices were labeled, so that local police could have contacted the Turner Broadcasting and its establish the bona fides of the hoaxers, this would not escalated.
This is poor judgment on Turner Broadcasting and it's agents.
Was it poor judgment on Turner Broadcasting (et all)...yes.
Did the city of Boston over react, to displays that had been up for a number of days before the "bomb scare"...yes
Turner Broadcasting did the right thing when the story "broke", contacted authorities in Boston (and other cities) and explained all.
The only intent Turner (et all) had was to pull off a publicity stun, in the "in your face" manner that Adult Swim does.
Turner should put up the $500K to cover the costs in Boston...it was thieir mistake, and hey...$500K is a small price for all the positive publicity they could gain from it.
Boston authorities need to back off, drop charges against the two, and get on with running the city.
Great interview.
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