I stayed clear of the focus but still found myself a candidate for A. random arrest or B. fan-on-fan violence.

The police, for their part, did a terrific job of controlling the environment. Even as they were attacked by flying projectiles, they remained calm and didn’t overreact.

In only a couple of hours, the crowd was gone.

“…the individual forming part of a crowd acquires, solely from numerical considerations, a sentiment of invincible power which allows him to yield to instincts which, had he been alone, he would perforce have kept under restraint.”

One man turned this rule on its head and should be applauded for it.

When a quartet of large, scary men began rocking an unoccupied Saturn on a nearby dark street—with the obvious intent to turn it over—our hero clearly felt “invincible” enough to challenge them personally.

“This isn’t what Boston is about!” he screamed, and the men, glaring back, stopped.

“The transformed sentiments may be better or worse than those of the individuals of which the crowd is composed…A crowd is as easily heroic as criminal.”

Yesterday, our fellow citizens felt compelled to vote for President of the United States.

Whoever won the electoral vote (hopefully someone has by now) matters not; voting, as the act of a large crowd, is worthy of none but the greatest human dignity.

Hopefully Boston plays it safe if Kerry wins.

If he does, I think I’ll stay away from any victory rallies. I’ve learned my lesson.

—Staff writer Alex McPhillips can be reached at rmcphill@fas.harvard.edu.