--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was no direct way to prevent the…" description: "\"There was no direct way to prevent the Boston murders. There are some easy ways to prevent likely future ones: by not inciting them. That's also true o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/noam-chomsky-42_autopsy_there-was-no-direct-way-to-prevent-the-b_2427075.jpg" --- # There was no direct way to prevent the Boston murders… ![“There was no direct way to prevent the Boston murders. There are some easy ways to prevent likely future ones: by not inciting them. That's also true of another case of a suspect murdered, his body disposed of without autopsy, when he could easily have been apprehended and brought to trial: Osama…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/noam-chomsky-42_autopsy_there-was-no-direct-way-to-prevent-the-b_2427075.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/noam-chomsky-42_autopsy_there-was-no-direct-way-to-prevent-the-b_2427075.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/noam-chomsky-42_autopsy_there-was-no-direct-way-to-prevent-the-b_2427075.jpg) > “There was no direct way to prevent the Boston murders. There are some easy ways to prevent likely future ones: by not inciting them. That's also true of another case of a suspect murdered, his body disposed of without autopsy, when he could easily have been apprehended and brought to trial: Osama bin Laden.” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Chomsky argues that many violent acts could be prevented by avoiding rhetoric that incites hatred, citing the lack of due process in high-profile cases. **In simple terms:** Preventing incitement can reduce future violence. Key Takeaway Avoid inflammatory language to stop future crimes. Themes Political rhetoric violence prevention justice media responsibility terrorism Mood cautious reflective concerned Type policy ethical When to use this quote - Public speaking - policy drafting - media regulation - law enforcement - education programs Key Concepts Ethical responsibility policy analysis counterterrorism Questions to Reflect On - What practical steps can reduce incitement in public discourse? - How can societies balance security with civil liberties? A Different Perspective The statement oversimplifies complex geopolitical factors behind terrorism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Boston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boston/) [Easy way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy-way/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Terrorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrorism/) [Trials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trials/) ## Related quotes > [We might work on ways to prevent plastic getting into the ocean in the first place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/we-might-work-on-ways-to-prevent-plastic-getting-into-the-ocean-in/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [“You know that movie, where the little boy says 'I see dead people'? The Sixth Sense. Well, I see them all the time, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/you-know-that-movie-where-the-little-boy-says-i-see-dead-people-the/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [“Diamonds were everything I hoped to be; beautiful, yet containing unimaginable strength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerri-maniscalco/diamonds-were-everything-i-hoped-to-be-beautiful-yet-containing/) [Kerri Maniscalco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerri-maniscalco/) > [Jerusalem - a divided city, where demonstrations for and against various issues occur regularly. One day, during an Orthodox demonstration against autopsies, I happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micha-bar-am/jerusalem-a-divided-city-where-demonstrations-for-and-against-various/) Micha Bar-Am > [The family indeed is dead, if what we mean by it is the modern family system in which units comprised of male breadwinner and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-stacey/the-family-indeed-is-dead-if-what-we-mean-by-it-is-the-modern-family/) Judith Stacey > [“What must it be like, knowing you raised the devil? It probably felt the same as knowing you sat by a monster day in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerri-maniscalco/what-must-it-be-like-knowing-you-raised-the-devil-it-probably-felt/) [Kerri Maniscalco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerri-maniscalco/) > [“Their minds were crying out to be set free, but they refused to unbind them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerri-maniscalco/their-minds-were-crying-out-to-be-set-free-but-they-refused-to-unbind/) [Kerri Maniscalco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerri-maniscalco/) > [I was at our beautiful home in Martha's Vineyard, near Boston, sitting on the porch looking at the ocean when I got a phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-danson/i-was-at-our-beautiful-home-in-martha-s-vineyard-near-boston-sitting/) [Ted Danson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-danson/) > [“I need to know when,' he said, 'In this case when is more important than how. Do you have a time-table?' For although images…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/i-need-to-know-when-he-said-in-this-case-when-is-more-important-than/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [In 1976 I was working in the Gulf Country around Cape York, in an aboriginal community of about 300 people. The Health Department sent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archie-kalokerinos/in-1976-i-was-working-in-the-gulf-country-around-cape-york-in-an/) [Archie Kalokerinos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archie-kalokerinos/) > [We think of Shots Fired as almost an autopsy of Ferguson that shows the events from every street in the house. And, in dealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/we-think-of-shots-fired-as-almost-an-autopsy-of-ferguson-that-shows/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [You look like an open autopsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-look-like-an-open-autopsy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I taped the autopsy photos from Marilyn Monroe's death to my lunch box in fifth grade, and I would write stories in which someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-taped-the-autopsy-photos-from-marilyn-monroe-s-death-to-my-lunch/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [When I see a large group of people, I wonder how many of them will eventually require autopsies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/when-i-see-a-large-group-of-people-i-wonder-how-many-of-them-will/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“My notebook was filled with images of things a lady had no business being fascinated by, yet I couldn't control my curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerri-maniscalco/my-notebook-was-filled-with-images-of-things-a-lady-had-no-business/) [Kerri Maniscalco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerri-maniscalco/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More Autopsy quotes > [“My notebook was filled with images of things a lady had no business being fascinated by, yet I couldn't control my curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerri-maniscalco/my-notebook-was-filled-with-images-of-things-a-lady-had-no-business/) [Kerri Maniscalco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerri-maniscalco/) > [When I see a large group of people, I wonder how many of them will eventually require autopsies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/when-i-see-a-large-group-of-people-i-wonder-how-many-of-them-will/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [I taped the autopsy photos from Marilyn Monroe's death to my lunch box in fifth grade, and I would write stories in which someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-taped-the-autopsy-photos-from-marilyn-monroe-s-death-to-my-lunch/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [You look like an open autopsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-look-like-an-open-autopsy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We think of Shots Fired as almost an autopsy of Ferguson that shows the events from every street in the house. And, in dealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/we-think-of-shots-fired-as-almost-an-autopsy-of-ferguson-that-shows/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [In 1976 I was working in the Gulf Country around Cape York, in an aboriginal community of about 300 people. The Health Department sent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archie-kalokerinos/in-1976-i-was-working-in-the-gulf-country-around-cape-york-in-an/) [Archie Kalokerinos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archie-kalokerinos/) > [“I need to know when,' he said, 'In this case when is more important than how. Do you have a time-table?' For although images…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/i-need-to-know-when-he-said-in-this-case-when-is-more-important-than/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [I was at our beautiful home in Martha's Vineyard, near Boston, sitting on the porch looking at the ocean when I got a phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-danson/i-was-at-our-beautiful-home-in-martha-s-vineyard-near-boston-sitting/) [Ted Danson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-danson/) > [“Their minds were crying out to be set free, but they refused to unbind them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerri-maniscalco/their-minds-were-crying-out-to-be-set-free-but-they-refused-to-unbind/) [Kerri Maniscalco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerri-maniscalco/) > [“What must it be like, knowing you raised the devil? It probably felt the same as knowing you sat by a monster day in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerri-maniscalco/what-must-it-be-like-knowing-you-raised-the-devil-it-probably-felt/) [Kerri Maniscalco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerri-maniscalco/) > [The family indeed is dead, if what we mean by it is the modern family system in which units comprised of male breadwinner and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-stacey/the-family-indeed-is-dead-if-what-we-mean-by-it-is-the-modern-family/) Judith Stacey > [Jerusalem - a divided city, where demonstrations for and against various issues occur regularly. One day, during an Orthodox demonstration against autopsies, I happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micha-bar-am/jerusalem-a-divided-city-where-demonstrations-for-and-against-various/) Micha Bar-Am > [“Diamonds were everything I hoped to be; beautiful, yet containing unimaginable strength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerri-maniscalco/diamonds-were-everything-i-hoped-to-be-beautiful-yet-containing/) [Kerri Maniscalco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerri-maniscalco/) > [“You know that movie, where the little boy says 'I see dead people'? The Sixth Sense. Well, I see them all the time, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/you-know-that-movie-where-the-little-boy-says-i-see-dead-people-the/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [Shave a gorilla and it would be almost impossible, at twenty paces, to distinguish him from a heavyweight champion of the world. Skin a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/shave-a-gorilla-and-it-would-be-almost-impossible-at-twenty-paces-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) Browse all 48 Autopsy quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There was no direct way to prevent the Boston murders. There are some easy ways to prevent likely future ones: by not inciting them. 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