the definition of a “flash mob” courtesy of Wikipedia: A flash mob (or flashmob) is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and pointless act for a brief time, then quickly disperse. The term flash mob is generally applied only to gatherings organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails.
Recently I was caught in a flash mob. On March 20th, at approx 8:00 pm I got off my bike at the corner of South & Broad st. in Philadelphia, PA. I would have ridden down South st. but I was forced into walking by the sight of hundreds of people. High school kids to be exact. If you know anything about high school kids you know that hundreds of them on one street is bad news. It didn’t help that I was walking against the crowd, and I was the only person in sight with a bike. I was shocked to get to my destination unharmed. Although the crowd didnt seem to be angry or violent, the noise was incredible. Maybe it was me, but the possibility for disaster seemed to be inevitable. Later I read that a delivery guy on a bicycle got beat up pretty bad, and some business owners were closing down their stores. I’m just glad I was carrying pizza or something.
The pics below are not mine, wish they were, but if I had my camera with me I don’t think I would’ve made it out with the pics anyway. I’ve heard some rumors about more flash mobs being planned in Philadelphia, but with the weather changing people might be more inclined to just be outside instead of organizing “controlled chaos” and “making a statement”.
Laurence Kesterson/The Philadephia Inquirer
