The Dude in the Cowboy Hat Yesterday I linked to a post on the atlantic that included a horrific picture of a man in a wheel chair, with both his legs blown off, being led from the scene. in other shots of the same scene, you can clearly see one of the men with him holding a bloody tourniquet around one (or both) of his legs: the dude in the cowboy hat, who has quite a story himself: cross posted from Mother Jones. -- The Man in the Cowboy Hat: Meet Carlos Arredondo, a Hero of the Boston Bombings —By Tasneem Raja| Mon Apr. 15, 2013 11:17 PM PDT 8 One of Monday's most gripping—and graphic—images was a picture of a young man who appears to have lost both of his legs, being frantically wheeled to an ambulance by responders. On Twitter, there's been a lot of discussion about the ethics of running the picture without blurring the young man's face, as the Atlantic did for over an hour on its site before altering the image. The Washington Post chose to crop the image so the victim's legs are visible only above the knee. One of the responders in the photograph—the man in the cowboy hat—has been identified as Carlos Arredondo, a Costa Rican immigrant whose Marine son died in action in Iraq in 2004. The day he learned of his son's death, Arredondo locked himself in a van with five gallons of gasoline and a propane torch and set the van on fire. He survived, became a peace activist, and was among the spectators who rushed toward the fumes after the explosion today. After tying a tourniquet onto the young man's legs and wheeling him past the finish line to emergency help, Arredondo, seen badly shaken and trembling in this video, gripping a small American flag drenched in blood, talks to some bystanders on the street about the explosion: <iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pWHHWB3Jr60" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Arredondo was at the marathon to cheer for a runner who'd dedicated their race to his son. In 2011, Arredondo's other son, Brian, 24, committed suicide after suffering years of depression and drug addiction following his brother's death. You can see the 52-year-old, cowboy-hat-clad activist in the immediate aftermath of the attack at the 2:00 mark below, lifting pieces of broken fence and debris away from victims lying on the sidewalk: <iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/046MuD1pYJg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> There's a post on reddit from someone who says they're a friend of the victim in the wheelchair, and that he found a record of his friend—Jeff—through Google's Person Finder, an app for locating loved ones after an emergency. The app said Jeff "was in the Boston Medical Center ER as of 23:20 UTC." The thread also has a Facebook message from someone asking for prayers for his son, Jeff Jr., who was injured in the blast: Can everyone pray for my Son Jeff jr who was at the finish line today in Boston. He is in surgery right now with injuries to his legs. I just can't explain whats wrong with people today to do this to people. I'm really starting to lose faith in our country. They added an update to say Jeff is in stable condition, and that "Carlos Arrendondo should never have to buy a drink in this town again."
Great story about Arredondo and it sounds like he had a tough life. For me I see the workings of Karma in his story, others can call it God or Fate. For all of the suffering he's endured he survived his own suicide attempt to end up helping save the life of someone else. A story like this reminds me that while we might feel at any single point we are suffering so much that we cannot bear it anymore that there is more to life than our own pain and we are connecting to the all of the existence.
Props to this guy, and all that he did. He's had a very hard few years, from what it sounds like. I guess I'm a dick when I ask why we're just singling him out, though? Because of the life he had before yesterday? I think every single person that was there deserves a huge hand. Especially the doctors, EMTs, nurses, and citizens in general that ran towards the smoke instead of away from it. Quite a few deaths, I'm sure, were avoided because of them.
he was really visible and was in the one most traumic photos i've seen. add to that his interesting history and a compelling story is created. plus the video of him talking is so raw and emotionally it make you want to cry.
I don't think there are a lot of on medical first responders who would grab a hold of a guy's arteries while running him to an ambulance. It's a pretty jarring image.
Most medical first responders probably would and did grab guys' arteries to save them. That is what they are trained to do. Arredondo though wasn't a trained first responder. He was a bystander on the scene who wasn't required by any professional duty to act.
Not exactly. Good training is supposed to make responses automatic to the point that you don't have to rely on will or higher thinking to act. We are obviously not robots but a trained EMT decision to act is going to be less likely influenced by things like panic and squeamishness about gore. All of those things affect a persons will to act in such a situation.
Obviously, just trying to add some movie referenced humor only for a second amid the carnage...we all want to cope and try to see a silver lining in heroism.
One of the most iconic images in American history. Carlos, even after losing his sons will have a legacy and a place in history. Poetic justice for those who persevere. A small reminder in the midst of the rubble that life is fragile, but also beautiful.
Well said moe...we all have low points, but it's an example like the one in the story above or just simply being a good father after struggling in life before your child was born that makes living a beautiful thing.
I firmly believe people like Carlos are made or wired differently then most people...Never know you have it unless you are forced into a situation.
lost one son to a war for oil. lost another son to the drug. tried to suicide. witnessed a terrorism attack in Boston. Is this hero living from USA or middle-east? Very very sad image in American history.
