An integral and by now much-anticipated element of a spectacle such as the Boston Mass Casualty Event (BMCE) of April 15, 2013 involves establishment of charities through which the incident may gain legitimacy in the public mind. Such entities provide fiscal channels by which event participants may be compensated and are also vital for public participation via charitable offerings.
Here, perhaps predictably, one find the unusually swift development of “The One Fund Boston,” a now celebrated aid organization whose very name oddly resonates with the new agey themes of “resilience” and “unity” promoted by mass grief and woe maven John Woodall.[1] “We are one Boston. We are one community,” Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is quoted as saying on “One Fund’s” website. “As always, we will come together to help those most in need. And in the end, we will all be better for it.”[2]
One Fund is in fact the sole creation of the 2013 Boston Marathon’s chief corporate sponsors—the John Hancock corporation and the Hill Holliday advertising firm. Website captures from the Internet Archive indicate the entity was up-and-running with a logo and web presence on April 16, less than twenty four hours after the incident, just as the dreaded Tsarnaev brothers still roamed free and long before the professed bombing’s fatalities could be laid to rest.
The rapid-fire creation of the relief fund is an example of how individuals, politicians and businesses in Boston unite in a crisis,” Advertising Age gushed, referencing an interview with Michael Sheehan, Chairman of Hill Holliday. “Communicating mostly by text-message, about a dozen key players at Hill Holliday, Hancock and the Mayor’s Office managed to create the foundation from scratch.[3] Within a week One Fund had raised over $23 million from corporate and individual donors [4] including John Hancock, Bank of America, and Bain Capital. The charity has to date raised a total $71.3 million.[5]
On April 17 at 9:29AM One Fund filed its articles of organization [6] with the Massachusetts Secretary of State. Yet One Fund’s quickly-drafted articles list only two individuals fulfilling the roles of president, treasurer, clerk, and board members—James D. Gallagher, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel of John Hancock, the US subsidiary of Canadian-based Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (“ManuLife”), and Hill Holliday’s Sheehan. “If you can think it,” one of Hill Holliday’s mottoes reads, “we can make it real.”
Sheehan recently left Hill Holliday to become a consultant to the Boston Globe.[7] Examination of existing photographic and video evidence of the bombing’s aftermath combined with amateur videos taken from the scene now suggest how the Globe was likely given exclusive rights to photograph and videotape the BCME, as the video below suggests. The paper has also been direct role in propagating inflated injury tallies following the event.[8]
The One Fund even proffers a referral service to BMCE martyrs, many of whom sustained grievous “hearing issues,”[9] needing advice on how to manage their newfound wealth. Because of The One Fund contributors’ “unprecedented generosity,” a document on the charity’s site reads,
many victims and families may be receiving very large monetary gifts. To help address the management of the gifts that you may receive, the One Fund is happy to connect you with financial advisory firms that have volunteered to consult with you at no cost. If you are interested in learning more about this free consultation, please contact One Fund Boston at …[10]
John Hancock and the broader insurance industry’s benefit from the BCME and its influence in the intertwined public opinion and policy-making processes shouldn’t be underestimated. Both stand to profit greatly from the enhanced risk environment brought about by the renewed specter of international terrorism, the supposed cause of the BCME itself.
In light of the manifestly dubious nature of the Boston Marathon bombings [11] the active and multi-faceted solicitation of contributions to address the event’s aftermath suggests a possible conflict of interest, to say the least.
The true beneficiaries of the BMCE include not only the American police state that has grown by leaps and bounds since September 11, 2001, but more importantly the global corporatist class that likewise benefits from the quickening demise of a critical citizenry. Those select few with the control to shape public consciousness now recognize more than ever that the masses will accept as genuine almost any tragic domestic event, provided it is presented within the infotainment formulas to which the population has grown so accustomed.
Notes
[1] James F. Tracy, “New World Order Religion,” memoryholeblog.com, April 14, 2013.
[2] The One Fund Boston, “About,” n.d. Accessed January 16, 2014.
[3] “How Hill Holliday Created Relief Effort One Fund Boston in Seven Hours,” Advertising Age, April 19, 2013.
[4] Lindsey Tanner, “One Fund Boston Raises More Than $2o Million, But Will It Be Enough For Injured Marathon Victims?” Huffington Post, April 25, 2013.
[5] “Thank You,” The One Fund Boston, n.d. Accessed January 16, 2014.
[6] “Articles of Organization,” The One Fund Boston, n.d. Accessed January 16, 2014. Accessed January 16, 2014.
[7] Beth Healy, “Globe Hires Former Hill Holliday CEO as Consultant,” Boston Globe, January 3, 2014.
[8] James F. Tracy, “The Boston Marathon Bombing’s Inflated Injury Tallies,” memoryholeblog.com, May 11, 2013.
[9] Ibid.
[10] “Memo re Financial Advisory Services,” The One Fund Boston, n.d. Accessed January 16, 2014.
[11] James F. Tracy, “Witnessing Boston’s Mass Casualty Event,” memoryholeblog.com, April 22, 2013.
