Tuesday, April 16, 2013

A word about Boston.

I went to college near Boston. The Monday of the Boston Marathon, in Massachusetts, is a holiday called Patriots' Day. We called it Marathon Monday, and all classes were canceled for the day. There's a longstanding tradition of students turning out en masse to line the streets where the race course approaches campus, kiss runners, and scream their hearts out in encouragement. (I never did this myself. Unconsciously I avoided almost all of the college traditions, and I'm not sure if I regret that or not.)

I remember one year two of my fellow students ran in the marathon, and the outpouring of love and support from the whole campus was overwhelming. I remember reading about runners who run for loved ones, living or lost. I remember reading about a father running with his son, who has cerebral palsy, by pushing him in a wheelchair. They've run the marathon thirty times in total.

Yesterday as I watched the news unfurl everywhere, including Ravelry, one of the things that surprised and hurt me was the sentiment that kept cropping up again and again - the one that goes, "I've lost faith in humanity" or "Human beings are sick to be able to do this to each other" or anything remotely resembling "X wide-ethnic-or-political-group is behind this". This is the best answer I've found to that sentiment so far. (If you're like me and despise being on Facebook, you can view it even without being logged in.)

I'm not about to forget the events of yesterday anytime soon. But to my good memories I'm going to add even better memories: the pictures of brave men and women running towards the explosions to try to help people out, the local residents who opened their homes to runners who couldn't get to their hotels, the Red Cross's announcement that they have more than enough blood donated now, thank you, you can wait on donating until later in the week.

These are the things I choose to remember about Boston and its Marathon.

No one I know was injured or killed. No one I know was anywhere close to the scene. It would be infinitely harder for me to say these things if they had. I respect and grieve for everyone who suffered a loss. But it's possible - and important - to grieve without falling into cynical depression. We need to not lose sight of all the good things, past and present, in the shadow of the bad. If, years and years down the road, we think of Oklahoma City or Manhattan or Boston and can remember nothing except the bombs, then we have already lost.

12 comments:

  1. I went to college not far from Boston myself. I'm from NY originally; are you from the East? My husband is a CO native. You and I seem to have a few things in common.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The short version of the story is that I grew up smack in the middle of suburban New Jersey. Massachusetts suited me infinitely better, though I'm slowly getting used to Colorado. Which college did you attend, if you don't mind?

      Delete
    2. I went to College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester. My husband went to Worcester Polytechnic Institute. We love MA but it's expensive to live there. Where did you go to college?

      Delete
    3. Wow, that must have been quite the change of scenery for your husband. I went to Wellesley, but I spent a good deal of my time hanging around Cambridge with friends instead!

      Delete
    4. I understand. I used to go into Boston pretty often because I had a lot of friends from high school who had gone to BU. Worcester isn't really where it's at, as you might be able to imagine. I don't know when you were at Wellesley but I had two friends who went there; one graduated in 1999 and the other in 2001.

      Delete
    5. I started at Wellesley in 2006, so I'm afraid I probably never crossed paths with your friends.

      Delete
  2. I really love your attitude! I'm from Germany so the media coverage about the marathon isn't very extensive, but in each report they mention the great attitude Americans have about the bombing and how they try not to be scared and just keep on with their lives. That's really impressive and your blog post just supports what the media say :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words. I'm a little surprised and very glad about what the German media is reporting - it seems like here all the news ever wants to report are all the horrible things and the frightening possibilities, over and over again.

      Delete
  3. Oh I definitely agree with the sentiments you've shared here. It is truly a tragedy. But as a scientist, I am relieved that the person/people behind it used something as primitive as explosives. It could have been something much, much worse that would have killed many more people. Something like what happened in Boston could happen anywhere any time, but we shouldn't live in constant fear of what might happen, because you are right, we cannot let them win.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly. Things could have been much better, but they could also have been much worse. So let's just keep moving forward as we can.

      Delete
  4. I totally agree, one (or 2) lunatics are not the entirety of this story. of course its tragic, and horrific, but all those people rushing to help, they are a much more important part of the story. But then I also think once a lunatic has been named (like the Sandy Hook Shooting) they shouldn't use their name unless neccesary, lets not give them the fame they desire.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, and what's more, let's not keep connecting their name with all other people of the same [background/skin color/nationality/belief system/general personality type].

      Delete