You are in a public place..at a sporting event..at a mall

[SoCalDem]

Every other person has a backpack on.. Does it contain a change of clothes? extra provisions? goodies for the kiddies? or maybe a bomb/weapon?

Women have always carried handbags/purses/pocketbooks/diaperbags, but until quite recently men carried a hankie, a pocket comb, a wallet , keys & change..all in their pockets.

Professional men carried briefcases, but for the most part, men carried nothing with them.. (although husbands have given their wives all kinds of stuff to carry in their purses for them ..)

People these days are addicted to carrying shit around with them at all times.. i-pads...extra clothes/shoes...water...snacks..you name it. It's as if they may be stranded somewhere for days and must survive with what they have on them.

Perhaps future public gatherings should be back-pack free zones.

Couldn't we all survive for a few hours at a ball game, a race, a trip to the mall, without a backpack?

I am 64 , and never even SAW a backpack until I was 10...and it was on a hiker in the Rocky Mountains...and then never saw another one until my own kids informed me that they needed them for school...

I know the backpack manufacturers are thrilled at turning us all into pack animals, but the loner with a backpack would be easier to spot, if he was the only one who showed up at an event with a backpack..

[PeaceNikki]

1. "Big Backpack" has some lobbyists that will not stand for that.

Or something.

[Llewlladdwr]

2. For real?

Banning backpacks is the answer? This has to be the most asinine thing I've read today...

[JI7]

3. the Marathon specifically seems like an event with more than usual large bags being carried

do you think whoever did this bombing must have been familiar with how things were at a marathon, especially this boston one which is supposed to be one of the biggest in the world ?

they knew how crowds gathered, thinned down, when it happened. the timing etc.

plus marathons are in open large spaces, it's seems like it would be impossible to close off the entire length of the event.

a sports game at some arena would be much easier to control.

[madrchsod]

7. who ever knew there were cameras

i bet he knew how to avoid them.

some places do restrict backpacks and i think a lot more will in the future.

[SoCalDem]

11. In a large crowd where so many people were similarly dressed, he probably

planned on the blending in factor, and was not worried about cameras..

The guy is probably long gone by now, and unless he brags, it will be a long time before he is caught...

Hiding in plain sight is why so many of these bombers are effective.

Making them stand out in a crowd is the way to thwart them before they can carry out their plan.. If they cannot hide their devices, they will be noticed beforehand.

A guy walking around with 2 pressure cookers would have been noticed..

[Tien1985]

12. He could have been carrying around

A large kohl's bag. Or sears, or hot topic. Or any other place that puts merchandise in a large bag. Also, I highly doubt this person was able to fit two pressure cookers into one backpack.

[patrice]

4. It takes something different from laws to fix this situation. nt

[Tien1985]

5. Sorry SoCalDem

But backpacks aren't going away anymore than purses are. I'm not often carrying a backpack around--but when I did, it was because I lived close enough to the store to walk and was going to bring my groceries or other purchased items home sans car.

Backpacks/bags aren't the issue here. Violent tendencies unchecked and encouraged, lack of respect for others, the normalization of war and its trappings are the issues.

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

6. People also carry suitcases on mass transit to/from airports.....

.... would be difficult to have to ban those as well....

But then you can't have scanners everywhere... altho in Phoenix AZ Stadium and Disneyland backpacks ARE searched.

SO ban all those.... oversized coats? and hoodies?

Can't let the bad people ruin/rule our lives.

[SoCalDem]

9. Searching them helps, but think of the time & money saved

if it were just standard procedure (laws probably not needed) that at certain events, backpacks are just not allowed.

Mass transit/airports are places where backpacks would be expected to be, and probably a necessity.. People there are expected to be searched.

I am sad for the young people who will never know how it felt to travel without fear or anxiety..

[Luminous Animal]

8. This is just silly. Should we also ban diaper bags?

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. I will say this

The terrorist wins that way.

That said, adding to my work backpack...not just food bars, but a small first aid kit.