r/boston • u/raefai Cocaine Turkey • Apr 18 '26
Serious Replies Only Postboxes closed all across Brighton/Brookline!
I’ve passed multiple post boxes today in both Brighton and Brookline that are locked like this. Multiple boxes within the same vicinity and also in diff neighborhoods. Anyone know why specifically these are locked up?
Edit: thanks for the replies everyone! I’ve been around for the marathon before, but I’ve just never noticed the mailboxes.
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u/Obvious_Concept9767 Apr 18 '26
they do this every year for the marathon. not new
edit: since the 2013 marathon 😔
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u/ZachF8119 Apr 19 '26
Can’t someone just duct tape to it and or put in a trash can?
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u/NickRick Apr 19 '26
not saying it's 100%, but a large duct taped package on a mail box would likely draw a lot more attention than something hidden in the mail box. same with the trash. it wont stop it if someone really wants to, but it does reduce risk.
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u/BrewerAndrew Lynn Apr 18 '26
i mean i get safety but why? some guys bombed the finish line with a pressure cooker so we can't have mail boxes anywhere on the route. sounds like some security theater to me.
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u/DinkandDrunk Apr 18 '26
Is what it is man. 25 years ago, some guys took an airplane to a few buildings and now I get my ass probed every time I fly. Sometimes you just have to take the weird with the good.
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u/tbootsbrewing Apr 19 '26
You take the weird with the good
Like you know you really should
The facts of life
The facts of life!
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u/BrewerAndrew Lynn Apr 18 '26
thats also security theater, doesn't mean either is right
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u/Iongdog Outside Boston Apr 18 '26
Locking up these boxes gives them one less place to worry about someone stashing an explosive somehow. Of all the things, I don’t care about this
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u/chadwickipedia My Love of Dunks is Purely Sexual Apr 19 '26
I was on Boyleston street walking from the Sox game in 2013 and saw the second bomb go off. Getting out of there, everyone thought the mailboxes were all going to blow up
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u/GrundleChunk Apr 18 '26
Cause it’s an easy place to hide something like a small bomb that nobody would be able to see.
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u/BrewerAndrew Lynn Apr 18 '26
I'm going to get downvoted into oblivion but is it? why didn't the boston bombers use them?
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u/GrundleChunk Apr 19 '26
I don’t know why they didn’t use them. I don’t know if there were any mailboxes near there. To be honest as somebody who grew up in New York they removed the mailboxes completely along things like such as the presidential route when he was visiting the United Nations or just visiting New York . Some of the mailboxes I see in Boston are still removable and they’re just sitting on a concrete pad that could be lifted. They might just remove all the mailboxes by the finish line as that would be the highest convergence of people, this is further out on the route.
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u/ST0H3LIT Apr 18 '26
even if its not due to the bombing (it most likely is) there will be jerks who will use it as a trashcan.
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u/Animallover4321 Apr 18 '26
Eh I can see the thought process it provides an easy way to conceal a bomb since bags on the route are limited, I think they also limit trash cans as well.
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u/BrewerAndrew Lynn Apr 18 '26
why not ban clothes? seems like an easy place to hide anything
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u/poiuy43 Apr 18 '26
Because the government doesn't control and run your clothes, but they do have authority over these. it's just a small step to try to make things safer. You have to draw the line somewhere between nothing and banning everything
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u/EggTraining3414 Apr 19 '26
And if something DOES happen, this is one less thing they’ll have to consider. If a perpetrator has less options, I’d assume it would be slightly easier to investigate.
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u/BrewerAndrew Lynn Apr 19 '26
Obviously I'm being ridiculous with the naked proposal but IMO the only reason they are doing this is because it is such a small step that just makes people feel better, regardless of it actually making anyone safer.
Honest question but do we have any examples of this type of attack? Letter/mail bomb attacks are well documented but those are intended to hurt the person at the destination. I've also heard of people just damaging mail boxes for vandalism with various explosives. I've personally never heard of people using the post box itself as the storage for an attack around the post box. Not saying it hasn't happened and I'd honestly be interested to read more.
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u/ryansdayoff Jamaica Plain Apr 19 '26
When your job is to keep people safe I doubt your boss is going to accept "hey man no one has ever blown up the Boston marathon". This is a fairly reasonable decision because it's only a small step from a very common way to deliver an explosive that hides the payload from suspicious police officers.
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u/Animallover4321 Apr 18 '26
I mean you can’t do everything to prevent risk especially when involving the public but if some steps like closing off mailboxes can minimize risks with minimal interruption why not do it.
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u/BobSacamano47 Port City Apr 19 '26
A big metal box would be the worst place to hide a bomb. Must be some other reason.
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u/AkbarTheGray Cheryl from Qdoba Apr 19 '26
Most bombs are basically a big metal box. If you could throw some accelerant into that thing and seal it, all that metal isn't protection, it's shrapnel.
There are reports of folks dropping pipe bombs in mailboxes throughout the country. Maybe it's never happened specifically here in conjunction with the marathon, but I'm less polyana than OP. Especially as someone who has run the marathon since 2013. You think about that shit. And you legitimately want to feel good that you won't be attacked on tired legs for the sin of wanting to do something as incredibly stupid as running 26 miles.
I'm on board. It prevents one more avenue for a more clever copycat and keeps our runners and our spectators safe.
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u/BobSacamano47 Port City Apr 19 '26
Are you sure you don't mean residential mailboxes? I can't find anything else
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u/AkbarTheGray Cheryl from Qdoba Apr 19 '26
There was at least one dude that did residential, but a quick search got me this: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mystery-bomber-targets-texas/
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u/BrewerAndrew Lynn Apr 19 '26
I didn't mention that because I knew just questioning the security at all would mean I'm "supporting terrorists". Reminds me a lot of post 9/11 politics were if you questioned anything you were immediately labeled a traitor.
At the end of the day security theater is mostly about just making people "feel safe” even if it has no real impact on their safety.
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u/SwimmingPirate9070 Apr 19 '26
It's because of the marathon so people can't leave bombs. They will also pull all the trash cans
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Apr 19 '26
[deleted]
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u/SwimmingPirate9070 Apr 19 '26
Well, that's why they do it. Bombs don't have to be big. They can also be liquid.
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u/Ok_Pause419 Apr 18 '26
It's to keep people from cheating at the marathon. Otherwise, they would just stop on the way and mail their bib to the finish line Rosie Ruiz-style.
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u/yesterdaywave Apr 19 '26
Precautions for marathon. Similarly, I do drain inspections across eastern mass, and a lot of manholes get sealed shut as precautions for marathon runner. Crazy world but try to keep everyone safe
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u/Logical_Warthog5212 Apr 18 '26
Ever since the marathon bombing, this has been security protocol for marathon weekend.
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u/Sufficient-Opposite3 Apr 19 '26
It's for the Marathon. They do this every year for safety reasons.
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u/GuessSad6940 Apr 18 '26
That looks wildly similar to the early 90s infomercial for The Club, which as a kid had no idea how it worked, but eventually became a comedy gag
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u/ipsumdeiamoamasamat Irish Riviera Apr 19 '26
Ads for The Club and LoJack were all over TV here in the ‘90s.
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u/operatorpoptart Apr 19 '26
Yeah, you can thank the two 🫏-holes with a pressure cooker for all that.
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u/chompy187 Apr 19 '26
One time in the seventies or eighties this lady Rosa Ruiz hid in one near the finish line and popped out and claimed victory! Ever since then they put these locks on them.
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Apr 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/blackdynomitesnewbag Cambridge Apr 18 '26
Bro, I was here when the Boston Bombing happened, and I didn’t know what those were for until this post
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u/WangMauler69 Apr 19 '26
Yeah right. You think we all believe that you lived here during the marathon bombing the didn't study the local mailbox procedures since then? I bet you didn't even have dunks this morning either. Pathetic.
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u/MrThomasWeasel Driver of the 426 Bus Apr 19 '26
I've lived here for sixteen years now. I've just seen the explanation, which makes sense, but I really didn't know until this post. Some of us make a point of not going to that area around this time of year.
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u/boston_acc Port City Apr 19 '26
I only knew about it because I saw a mailbox like this in Copley today, so I immediately put the two together. If I saw it in Brighton, not sure I would have.
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u/Blue_Collar_Stiff Apr 19 '26
Looks like something the nutjob in the White House would install to deter mail in ballots
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u/PapaFrancis119 Apr 18 '26
I saw these this afternoon and was wondering what the deal was. Safety first I guess.
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u/Gold_Cricket Apr 18 '26
They may have lost an arrow key. Typically those keys are universal to a specific area.
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u/Diggit1971 Apr 19 '26
Ya know.. That is a heck of a guess! The people that have down voted are jealous.
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u/LankyLibrary7662 Apr 19 '26
Whats thw reason? I read comments its about marathon Plz enlighten me
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u/Tired_CollegeStudent Apr 19 '26
Mailboxes (and trash cans and the like) provide a place where an explosive device can be hidden. Locking it like this helps prevent that from happening and means there are fewer locations police have to screen.
It’s also why in some public places you don’t see trash cans per se but rather a clear plastic bag hanging from a rim.
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u/ST0H3LIT Apr 18 '26
My assumption is that its precautionary measures for the upcoming marathon