Iridescent Chaos

“What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?”

The music came first, apparently. 

International Pillow Fight Day- Boston

On Saturday, April 2nd, at 3:00 p.m., warriors wielding pillows stormed Cambridge Commons for Boston’s biggest battle- International Pillow Fight Day. Whether young or old, BC or BU, foam or feather- all came together for the annual event celebrated in 140 cities around the world. Organized by the Banditos Misteriosos, Boston’s self-proclaimed “misterious playmate,” the event promised to draw a huge crowd.

My friend Tom and I showed up in relatively ridiculous attire: tie-dye shirts (which for some reason provoked more beatings) and ties all over. Many others showed up in costume. I saw Thing 1 and Thing 2, a guy in a cheetah bodysuit, multiple Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, teams in matching outfits, and general craziness of apparel. 

When I first rushed into the fray, I was not prepared for the mob madness. Pillows can hurt (especially when a gang of six BC guys attack a lone, unaided BU girl). All was chaos in the midst of the fight and people found all sorts of reasons to smack you. My friend Tom drew numerous yells of, “Get the tall guy!” I even found myself smacking a guy in a BU sweatshirt. There is no camaraderie in a pillow fight. The crowd was surprisingly bloodthirsty; whenever a pillow exploded in a cloud of feathers, a fierce battle cry would erupt from the masses and people would flock to the scene like sharks smelling blood in the water. I ended up getting more pleasure out of taking photos than taking a beating, so here are a few:

Tom, in his ferocious fighting mode

Note the TMNT outfit

This is how upper-middle-class white boys do gang fights.

A casualty of war.

Start ‘em young.

(Pillow) Fight for Freedom!

Action shot

Young hoodlums

Needless to say, I got a beating.

“In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns.”