The Boston Marathon was a national tragedy because people saw it happen live, nationwide. The Boston Marathon was televised. People were watching it before, du

The Boston Marathon was a national tragedy because people saw it happen live, nationwide. The Boston Marathon was televised. People were watching it before, during and after the tragedy happened. News outlets, even outside the New England area, make a big deal about Patriot's Day every year. Therefore, eyeballs were on it nationwide, so when a tragedy happens there, the media & government have to let people know they are in control of the situation & make a big deal out of it (I personally believe it shouldn't have been declared a "national tragedy", but that's beside the point here). To be honest, I didn't know about this incident in New Orleans until today. I didn't even know they had a Mother's Day parade.