Tragedy to Triumph: Boston Strong

When two improvised, homemade explosives went off on Boyleston street in Boston, Massachusetts, the place I was born in, the place I love, my home, I was seething with rage and a blood thirst. They killed four Bostonians. They cut down two women in their prime, a young boy before he even had the chance to see his limitless potential, and a cop who wanted to serve and protect. They killed four people that share the same love for this city that I do. The same love we all share here.

We are Boston.

We're not easily intimidated. We celebrate toughness. In our history, with the battle of Bunker Hill, of Lexington and Concord, and Breed's hill. Blood filled the brick streets of Boston several times throughout history. We dealt with the Boston Strangler, we dealt with Whitey. We are a tough city.

And our teams reflect our strength. We have the Boston Redsox, the team not afraid to get their hands dirty and throw some punches when a pitch is thrown too close to the head. We have our Patriots, hard-hitting champions. We have our Celtics, with Rondo, who palmed Kris Humphres, gaining a suspension and even more of our respect. We have our Big Bad Bruins, the most fearsome hockey team in the NHL. We have the grueling Boston Marathon that we have celebrated for one hundred and seventeen years consecutively.

An event that would not be stopped, even by explosives.
Runners continued running past the finish line, then ran an additional two miles to the hospitals, to donate blood.

That's something that not only reflects the toughness of Boston and it's people. but also their comradery and loyalty not only to their fellow Bostonians, but to their fellow man.

Nobody told the runners to run to the hospital, but they did anyway.

Nobody had to tell rescuers to head toward the danger. They did anyway.

Nobody told the spectators to help rescuers tear down the jersey barriers to get to the wounded. But they did.

Nobody told people to hold the wounded close and keep them comforted. They did anyway.

Nobody told Bradley Cooper and Julian Edleman to go visit the victims in the hospital.

Nobody told someone to put Martin's shirt on the Bobby Orr statue before the hockey game. But they did anyway.


Nobody told the Bruins fans to sing when Rene Rancourt couldn't sing through his emotional distress, but they did anyway.
youtu.be/-KXHN-ETDig?t=46s



Then there were the tributes and signs of solidarity between those who were not there, or by those who even harbor a bitterness toward the city. Many involving Boston's favorite song, Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline".

For example, take the fans and organization of the New York Yankees. Whom I have hated for all my life. Until this happened: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN807-…


Neil Diamond flew over at 4am, on his own dollar, from Los Angeles to Boston. To sing "Sweet Caroline" for the Redsox Fans, despite having no music or instrumental track prepared for him. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF__vA…

All sports teams held a moment of silence for those lost, rival teams, out-of-conference teams. Even overseas they held tributes for us.



For us as a city, and for those wounded. And for these four people.
The victims of the explosion,

And the police officer who was shot simply because he was there at the wrong place, wrong time:



This moment is for you , Martin Richards, Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu and Sean Collier.
Justice is coming.

The mastermind was killed. And his younger brother was captured. The fear is gone. Justice triumphs.


Martin Richards had a message for the world before he died. One that we should all embrace:




The world has come together. This city was shaken, but not taken by fear.

We showed that we do not cower in the face of terror. We do not tolerate violence against our own.

And we showed everybody that if you fuck with Boston. We will hunt you down, and we will take you down.

Because: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoTnGa… "This is our Fucking City! And nobody gonna dictate our freedom!"


We are Boston.
We are Strong.
We are Boston Strong.

And we are not afraid.
Never.

As Obama said, "If they sought to intimidate us, to terrorize us, to shake us from those values that Deval [Patrick] described, the values that make us who we are, as Americans -- well, it should be pretty clear by now that they picked the wrong city to do it. Not here in Boston. Not here in Boston. "  

(Whole speech here -> www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04… )


This city endured more than these cowards could ever hope to achieve. And we endure it and take it in stride.

We are a Marathon city. Always pushing forward, no matter the pain. No matter the struggle.

And we will stand tall at the end of the race every time.

And in the face of adversity, this city came together and showed the world why the USA is not frail. We showed the world that we do not crumble to fear. We fight back. We march into the sound of danger to help our brothers and sisters. We pay tribute to those who are taken from us, and keep them in our hearts and prayers, to prevent them from ever being truly 'lost'. We showed everyone the strength of the human spirit, and from tragedy, we found triumph. This may not be the darkest say in Boston's history. But it is the darkest day in Boston's recent history. And we proved once again, that we never back down. We never stop fighting. We are Boston Strong.

And in conclusion, there is only one more thing I can say.


I love that Dirty Water.

Oh Boston,


You're my home.