Rachel Weisel | Letting the terrorists win with fast food

As I was walking past the Penn bookstore a few weeks ago, I noticed something that didn't quite belong: An electronic sign depicting some sort of creature I didn't recognize was hanging off the outside of the building. And it looked like it was giving me, and anyone else who happened to be walking by, the finger.

A few days later it was gone, so I didn't really think much about it. After all, this is a college campus. I've seen stranger things - that is, until Jan. 31, when I discovered that similar devices all over the country were causing terror scares.

In fact, the signs triggered a widespread panic that plagued the entire city of Boston. The devices there were found on major bridges and landmarks, including Fenway Park. Some had protruding wires and were thus mistaken for bombs. Authorities took the "threat" seriously, and shut down highways, bridges and even part of the Charles River.

Beyond Boston, these signs also affected other major U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and our very own Philadelphia.

The story took an interesting twist when it turned out that these signs were simply part of an unconventional marketing campaign, promoting a new movie based on TBS's cartoon series, Aqua Teen Hunger Force. That's right. A cartoon was responsible for causing all of this chaos and confusion.

Local police believe up to 56 of these devices were spotted in the city of Philadelphia, according to a Feb. 2 article in The Philadelphia Inquirer. One sign, for example, was found above a Footlocker store on South Street. The Philadelphia Joint Terrorism Task Force took down three others. TBS told city officials where the signs were located.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force airs on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, a group of programs for older and more mature audiences. I had never heard of it before and decided to watch a few episodes, to see what the hype was all about.

Aside from the crude humor, the show, about walking and talking fast-food items, seemed essentially harmless. While watching, I was able to identify the creatures depicted on the electronic signs. They're called Mooninites, and they want to take over the world. I guess they decided to start with Boston.

It's hard to believe that little more than a fictitious milkshake, a grumpy box of French fries and an amorphous meatball could have such widespread effects on this region of the country. If you ask me, the signs - made of tiny, colored light bulbs - looked a lot more like Lite-Brite toys than bombs.

But maybe these Mooninites are more powerful than I originally suspected. Maybe they were onto something, sending us a message, with their middle fingers, that we need to change our attitudes.

Unlike the Mooninites on the signs, though, I'm not trying to point fingers - at TBS, Cartoon Network or even the two men arrested for posting the signs. Nor do I want to poke fun at Boston, as most of the media seems to be doing. Rather, my point is, it's pretty sad we are constantly kept on such high alert. Our country has become increasingly alarmist, which is starting to come at a high price.

Perhaps some of our fears really are legitimate in this uncertain age of terrorism. But if we continue to live on the edge and let every little abnormality, suspicion and metaphorical Mooninite throw us off balance, then haven't the terrorists won? That is exactly what they want. We are playing right into their game. This time it was a silly cartoon that set off the domino effect. Who knows what will come next, unless we keep our reactions in check.

While most of the infamous LED signs are gone, except for a select few being sold on eBay as souvenirs (I found one for $2,500), and TBS has issued an official apology, this incident has left its mark.

Its significance consists of more than just the bizarre tale of yet another ridiculous terror hoax. It has exposed the culture of fear in which many of us live.

It is clear that, at the moment, we have a lot more than impolite fast-food items on our plates. Let's worry about our real problems and save the panicking for true emergencies that don't involve cartoon characters. Hopefully, the next time you go to the bookstore, you won't be greeted with any obscene gestures.

Rachel Weisel is a College freshman from Chesterfield, Missouri. Her e-mail address is weisel@dailypennsylvanian.com. Writes of Passage appears on Fridays.

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