EDIT: Shut down or hiding?

During the grueling manhunt for the second Boston Marathon bombing suspect Friday, Police officials ordered all Boston-area residents to stay indoors while police scoured Watertown and surrounding areas. Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick reiterated the ordinance just after noon Friday as well, urging people to stay indoors. Shutting down the city did keep the civilians safe from any passing gunfire, the possibility of a carjacking or more terrorist activity. News outlets across the nation, though, have criticized city officials, saying that closing the city hurt the working class because those people rely so much on every hour they work.

Even if people were called in to work, there was a significant possibility that residents would have stayed indoors, whether they were instructed to do so. Businesses were destined to feel the effects of the manhunt, shelter-in-place order or not.

But after the attack, the whole city was on edge. There were reports, both true and false, of more bombs found around the city. Men and women in military uniforms and Hummers traveled through the city. That’s enough to make anyone anxious.

At the same time people could have been comforted by the omnipresent law enforcement while the city was still alert after the initial attack. During the manhunt, especially in Watertown, S.W.A.T. vehicles and officers lined the streets — their presence was disconcerting. This shows  terrorists how ready the country is to respond to an attack with full force, but also heightens fear and ultimately furthers the terrorist agenda. President Obama said in his speech that we won’t cower in fear. Yet we cowered in fear, especially because we were told to do so.

By closing Boston, law enforcement showed aggressors that the U.S. could be severely affected by a terrorist attack, financially and emotionally. The response to terrorism was extreme in the sense that it proved something like the Boston Marathon bombing and the manhunt can change the day-to-day lives of U.S. residents. Closing the entirety of Boston essentially accomplishes a terrorist’s goal: To induce terror.

However, this is not a total criticism of the lockdown, because it undoubtedly kept the entire Boston area safe. Who wants to tell the world that the suspect got away because they were not adequately prepared? The response was appropriate because it did prove successful. As Boston proves just how strong it is as a historic community, we have to show the world that acts similar to the Boston Marathon bombing will fail to keep the city paralyzed, and that we will not be afraid in the future.