Writer Shawn Musgrave was there when the rally originated, and followed it until the end. Check out his videos and photos of the rally as it moved from Marsh Plaza all the way to Boston Common, gathering hundreds of people along the way.
Say what you will about Boston University “not having a campus” or a quad to gather on, when a rally-able event goes down, students know exactly where to head en masse. A bit past midnight, an hour or so after news broke that American forces had killed Osama bin Laden in a firefight in Pakistan, I rode home from Allston to find two hundred or so people amassing on Marsh Plaza. I bolted back to my apartment, grabbed a camera and followed the rally for the next three hours.
It became clear right away that no one was leading the crowd — when asked how they had heard about the gathering, most said that they had “assumed something would happen,” or had seen some announcements on Facebook and Twitter from people already in the crowd. BUPD was already on Marsh when I arrived, seemingly nonplussed by the whole thing, as if they had already anticipated something like this would happen. A FOX news van soon followed, only to leave minutes later as someone in the crowd shouted to head toward Kenmore Square.
At first the crowd marched on the sidewalk but as hundreds swelled the ranks the group became much bolder and spilled onto Commonwealth Avenue, waving flags and cheering at the honking taxis and motorists.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc1xhQ4LTYI
Boston Police Dept squad cars were stationed at every block from Charlesgate to Arlington, and one even pulled in front of the crowd as an escort. I rode at the front of the group and talked to four BU students on skateboards who quickly realized that they could lead the horde wherever they wanted. They joked about heading toward Logan Airport but, hearing the idea shouted from the crowd behind, set their wheels toward the Boston Common.
More students (including from Suffolk, Emerson, Berklee and BC) and city dwellers continued to join as the group turned off Commonwealth Avenue at Arlington and skirted the Public Garden toward Boston Common. They headed toward one of the gazebos just off Tremont as over a thousand people continued to pour into the park.
Finally seeing the whole beast amassed was thrilling and eerie. The strong military and ROTC representation from multiple branches was striking. Many were draped in service flags or wore some sort of military insignia, including a few in fatigues and camoflage. One even sported a fake assault rifle. As the crowd settled in and around the gazebo, chants became slightly more organized and coherent. Victory cheers (“Ole,” “We Are the Champions,” and “Fuck Osama”) spread through the group as well as innumerable rounds of the national anthem.
As with any spontaneous event, messages and motivations were decidedly mixed. Some sported revolutionary banners such as “Don’t Tread on Me,” while Texan flags and even one Israeli banner suggested that people gave wildly different meanings to the event. One sign (drawn on a pizza box) declared that its bearer was “Here for the Orgy,” while a “Bring them Home” sign was shot down and put away almost as soon as it was hoisted in the air. Young and old mixed in the crowd as news media descended and Boston Police set up a perimeter but did not intervene. Smoke began to cloud the air in and around the gazebo — one group pictured below shared “victory cigars.”
While some tried, largely in vain, to give speeches or endow the demonstration with a more political purpose, it was clear that this was a party through and through. Students posed for frequent photographs, laughed and brainstormed new chants (a round of “BC sucks” got a widespread applause). This was perhaps the eeriest aspect of the night, observing the willingness of a crowd to shout as one. A round of “He’s dead” was particularly chilling and Oz-ish:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkRQYS4aic4
By two o’clock the crowd had thinned a bit and BPD was anxious to get the crowd cleared out. A few more “O Say Can You See”s, a moment of silence and a music circle rounded out the night before the crowd dissipated.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBNLzhB7UXw
What can or should one take from an event like this? Perhaps there is little significance to glean from the whole thing. What began as a spontaneous gathering never really lost that character — a swarm simply looking for a reason to amass. But there were certainly some who were disturbed by the retributive tone of the event. Some wondered aloud how such dancing on Osama’s grave might be received abroad, while others recoiled outright at the idea of so many gathering to celebrate a death, no matter whose. Even as the world has yet to learn all the details of bin Laden’s demise or see what fallout may come, it is surely premature to read the tea leaves of a gathering such as this. Crowds will gather, the cat will mew, and the hive mind will always have its day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ0Yqznde7M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cYtObbXbUY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-jOBkmvIPk
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Nice article, shawn. I thought it was kind of eerie and i dont really know whether to think that people just go to any “thing” or whether they actually have some sort of gut reaction to this event for whatever reason. in any case i think whatever emotions someone may have can be amplified and warped by the fervor of a crowd, thats why regardless of whether you think this is a worthwhile cause of celebration, these kinds of emotions gathering in one place are dangerous.