The bombings today at the Boston Marathon are an absolute tragedy and a horror that shouldn’t happen in Boston or anywhere else in the world. We are all checking in with loved ones in the Boston area. Socialist Alternative would like to express our grief, sympathy and solidarity with all the victims of this attack.

It is too soon, as we publish this, to say who committed these acts. If this bombing was politically-motivated, then it is an absolute disgrace to be condemned no matter what the ideas of the attackers. These sorts of methods that target ordinary working people have absolutely nothing in common with the work of socialists striving to build a mass movement that can challenge the rule of the 1%, end the chaos of capitalism and change society.

Times of fear and uncertainty can unfortunately lead to scapegoating and attacks on our civil rights. We are against all attacks on immigrants, particularly Arab and Muslim people, as a result of this tragedy. Whatever the religious or ethnic background of the perpetrators of this attack, an entire religious or ethnic group should not be made guilty by association. We are also against any further attacks on our civil liberties which have already been limited by the Patriot Act and other policies. We must not let the government exploit this tragedy by restricting the freedoms and democratic rights that ordinary Americans fought and died for in the past.