A bomb went off at a Colorado chapter of the NAACP yesterday. The office is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and although there were no injuries or deaths reported, there was minor damage to the offices, as well as to a hair salon located in the same building. The FBI has announced that it believes that the bomb was “deliberate.”

What exactly that means, however, no one is completely sure. The FBI has said that it could have been some sort of domestic terrorism, but they’re not able to be sure yet. Amy Sanders, media coordinator for the Denver office said:

Certainly domestic terrorism is one possibility, among many others. We are investigating all potential motives at this time.

Members of the NAACP have hinted that it could it have been a hate crime. Sandra Yong, President of the Denver Chapter of the NAACP said:

This certainly raises questions of a potential hate crime. But at this point we’re still gathering information. It’s a very sad situation, but we’re happy our people in Colorado Springs are safe.

She also stated that her branch:

Stands tall with the community of Colorado Springs in rejecting an attempt to create fear, intimidation and racial divisiveness. Although this is an active investigation, one thing is clear: This is an act of domestic terrorism.

However, the President of the Colorado Springs NAACP chapter, Henry Allen Jr., said on Tuesday after the incident that he wasn’t ready to call it a hate crime.

So, what exactly happened? What we know is that witnesses heard a booming sound around 10:45am and then saw smoke. In addition, the side of the building where the NAACP office is located appeared to be burnt. The bomb has been called by many news sources “makeshift” or “homemade.” It was placed next to a gas can, but luckily did not cause the gas can to ignite or explode.

There is a person of interest in the investigation. He has been described as a white man in his forties who drove a dirty white pickup truck and had a license plate that was covered or obstructed in some way. One witness said that he looked on the heavier side, and that he was wearing a Carhartt type jacket.

While no one’s certain that it was the NAACP that was targeted, it seems like the most likely target for the bomb. Most onlookers have pointed out that the nearby hair salon probably wasn’t the target.

The bigger story that has seemed to come out of the incident was the media coverage, or more accurately, the lack thereof. While this happened yesterday, it didn’t really get covered on last night’s news lineup. According to ThinkProgress:

A ThinkProgress search of television databases suggests CNN gave one cursory report on the incident at 6:34 a.m., while MSNBC and Fox News appear to have not mentioned the incident on air since it happened. Other networks, including Headline News, (HDLN) mentioned the incident in the morning news.

There were obviously other big news stories happening at the same time–the start of open-season on Congress, for example–but it still seems like a possible domestic terrorist attack should have gotten more than a “cursory report.” The hashtag #NAACPBombing is trending on Twitter, where many are coming forth to say that the social media tag is the first time that they’ve heard about the bombing.

Seriously, we should all be questioning WHY it took a trending hashtag for us to learn about the #NAACPBombing. We know the answer though…

— Derrick Clifton (@DerrickClifton) January 7, 2015

Here’s all the best media coverage of the #NAACPBombing that I’ve seen so far –> pic.twitter.com/6AtGymj8Jk

— Eric Wolfson (@EricWolfson) January 7, 2015

Despite the fact that the manhunt is still underway in Paris for the men who committed a terrorist attack there this morning, it is a bit weird that there’s been little coverage of the NAACP incident.

Given that the suspect is still at large, one of the best ways to keep people on alert and on the lookout is to spread the news. While the proliferation through Twitter has been great, and an amazing look at the way in which the internet has made it so much easier to communicate, it’s not quite enough.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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We’ve all experienced the bystander effect at one point or another in our lives. Whether you kept walking as a mother punished her child at the local park, or looked the other way when someone stashed a shirt from a store in their bag. Bystander effect knows no bounds and you will be affected by it at some point in your life.

Americans are nosy when it comes to Hollywood celebrities and their lives.

But when it comes to normal citizens, we don’t seem to want to get involved in their personal lives because of the “risks” involved.

Last Tuesday afternoon, a 27-year-old McDonalds worker named Catherine Ferreira was brutally beaten after work by her co-worker Latia Harris, 25. What Harris did is unequivocally brutal. In my eyes what is even worse is the bystanders who not only stood by and watched Ferreira get thrown around like a rag doll, but pulled out their phones and videotaped the event. You can watch it below if you’re so inclined but be aware that the video is graphic.

There are some cases when you just shouldn’t get involved, but when someone is getting beaten to a bloody pulp in front of her child, I believe that it is the bystander’s duty to step in and intervene. Whether it is verbally or physically, you cannot just sit by and watch a person get battered, and if you do, you might as well throw in a couple of punches yourself because you’re honestly just as bad.

Shaking My Head.

To the people in the video standing by watching and recording as the woman’s son pleads for Harris to stop pummeling his mother: shame on you. To the kids who record videos of fights and yell “worldstar!” as punches are being thrown: shame on you. To all the men and women who record drunk people as they make fools of themselves: shame on you. And to make matters worse, these videos are recorded for the sole reason of getting attention. Newsflash people, if your video goes viral on the web, that makes you about as famous as…

Honey Boo Boo…..

I’m no saint. I know that I am guilty of looking the other way from time to time. But what I do possess are morals and a conscience. Let me define those terms, because it seems like we have forgotten what they mean as a society. Now we could delve into the discussion of what morals really mean, and I could bring up Kant, Hume, and Nietzsche and we can discuss it for hours upon hours. But to save us time I’m just going to give you the Trevor Smith definitions.

Morals: A set of just standards that we conform to because we are civilized beings.

Conscience: That little voice inside your head that tells you when something is really wrong.

I know that we have evolved into a society that condones fighting, which is why people may not see the problem with Harris beating the shit out of her co-worker. But have our consciences disappeared? Did the little boy pleading for the fight to end not just break your heart? Did Ferreira’s limp body not make you want to jump in and say, “Hey Latia, I think she’s had enough?” No? I guess not.

Ah Choooooo

As a society our moral compass is starting to point in the wrong direction. We don’t need more videographers recording our worst moments, we need more heroes to step in and stand up to the Latia Harrises of the world. So I’m going to challenge you: the next time you see an argument heat up, or a kid getting bullied, or a fast food worker getting mistreated, say something. I promise you’ll feel great about yourself, and it will make a world of difference for the person you’re helping.

That felt good

—

Trevor Smith

Featured image courtesy of [Taylor Sloan via Flickr]

Trevor Smith

Trevor Smith is a homegrown DMVer studying Journalism and Graphic Design at American University. Upon graduating he has hopes to work for the US State Department so that he can travel, learn, and make money at the same time. Contact Trevor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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