Flash Mob Cry Baby

Pushing the treadmill speed up to 5.2, I stuffed the buds into my ears and blasted “I Gotta Feeling” on my iPod. Involuntary tears came to my eyes. What is that all about?, I wondered.

I had 40 minutes of treadmill time to figure it out, during which time I determined that I have a Pavlovian response to that song because of the YouTube video where the Black Eyed Peas surprised Oprah with a flash mob for her anniversary a couple of years back.


And I always get teary-eyed when I see a flash mob.

I’m a flash mob cry baby.

But I don’t get emotional for any old flash mob. I respond to the grand scale mobs—not the small, weak ones. The organizers of Oprah’s flash mob allege that 21,000 people learned the choreography. That qualifies as grand scale, my friend.

Secondly, I respond to the songs that they play. This flash mob in an American mall food court is fantastic, not because there is free advertising for Arby’s, Subway, and Panda Express, but because children, adults, and seniors were all blessed with the sounds of the sacred Hallelujah Chorus while spreading mustard on their corn dogs.


Lastly, location is important. I love this classic flash mob in the cavernous Antwerp train station where children and adults dance to “Do Re Mi’ from the Sound of Music.


A search on YouTube reveals that there were flash mob tributes to Michael Jackson in Paris, Cebu, Stockholm, Seattle, Bucharest, Montreal, London, San Francisco, and apparently every other major city in the world.

There are flash mobs that pay homage to Glee songs, and some enterprising advertisers—like T-Mobile-- are organizing flash mobs to draw attention to their products.

But why do I love flash mobs, and why do they invoke such an emotional, visceral response in me? Simply put, flash mobs represent everything that is good in the world.

They are a joyful celebration of life-- exciting and spontaneous. Flash mobs shine a spotlight on the arts— music and dance. They represent large-scale unity. Flash mobs require humans to cooperate with one another and they highlight the value of global community. They are a profound example of people peacefully working together, delighting others, calling attention to an issue, celebrating, and spreading good will and cheer. Flash mobs exult in turning ordinary places- a food court, public square, train station- into sacred space.

And most importantly, flash mobs represent a transcendent moment-- an “ascendancy of the soul” as Thomas Moore would write.

And if I can get all of that inspiration from just 40 sweaty minutes of blasting a mediocre band’s music through my iPod, then flash mobs are even more powerful than I thought.