Since an idiot Maple Leafs fan pulled out a
“Toronto Stronger” sign before
a playoff game against the Bruins in Toronto, people have been talking about
when it is approproate to use the term “Boston Strong”. The issue came to the
fore again when the even bigger idiots
at CubbyTees decided to go with a Chicago Stronger” shirt on their website.
Idiot. |
So when is it OK to whip out this slogan? The
Boston Globe has run an editorial
about it, and there have been many columns from folks all around the print
world, as well as the web. Boston.com even has a nice overview of the debate here.
To me, "Boston Strong" is a
source of local pride. It identifies who we are and where we come from, most
recently in light of the Marathon tragedy, but I think that it goes much deeper
than that.
It speaks to a determination of spirit that
has lived within people from the area (I'd even venture to include most of New
England) since the first hearty, religious whack-job settlers from Europe
showed up. They we Massholes through-and-through, too stubborn to die in the
face of brackish water (hello, Townies!) and those first harsh winters. Since
then we've been constantly standing up to adversity, and the "eff
you" attitude of the people here has been passed down through the
centuries, from fanatical hellfire preachers, to revolutionaries, to abolitionists,
to wave after wave of tough-as-nails immigrants from the world over.
Yet it has only been within this most
recent generation where we have begun to overcome our Achilles Heel: Our stodgy
parochialism. For so long a city of isolated neighborhoods, the way that the
city and surrounding towns rallied together during that horrific week has shown us all that we may have
finally outgrown our penchant to be people from Boston, but not
communally of Boston.
In the days and weeks after the bombings
and shootouts, watching from afar I felt as if we have been discovering an
emotional "Urban Ring" in our city that we didn't realize was there
before. Finally, we felt as one. We weren't just jumping onto our neighborhood
line and heading downtown, we were connected already. People in Dorchester stood
in solidarity with those in East Boston; and the folks in Hyde Park with the
denizens of Southie. And who's heart didn't swell with pride when the
well-to-dos in the South End and Back Bay, who were all on the front line of
the attack, opened their homes to sweaty, exhausted, terrified strangers?
Dammit, those are OUR haughty rich folk!
So I'm totally, 100% OK with anybody from
New England slapping on a "Boston Strong" t-shirt, or drinking some
Dunkin' Donuts coffee out of a "Boston Strong", mug. But if you’re
selling something with “Boston Strong” on it, you should be donating no less
than 50% of any proceeds from the sale to The One Fund, or to some other
consortium of charities that promotes regional unity.
Awesome |
Dedication |
Boderline OK |
Boderline OK |
Unacceptable. |