In the aftermath of Monday’s horrible scene in Boston, my thoughts turned to Kathrine Switzer and her 1967 stand on the same streets.

The reasons are many. Switzer’s story is a reminder that we will survive the ugliness and emerge better for it. It’s a reminder of the basic goodness in humanity, at a time when our faith in people might be in question.

Jock Semple attempts to remove Kathrine Switzer’s race number in 1967. (The Associated Press)

As a Syracuse University student, I became familiar with Switzer’s legacy soon upon arriving on campus in 1992. For those not familiar with the story, Switzer, then an SU student, entered and completed the Boston Marathon in 1967, five years before women were officially allowed to compete in it. She used the gender-neutral “K.V. Switzer” to register, which she always insisted was not done in an attempt to mislead the officials.

Switzer gained fame about five miles into the race, when race official Jock Semple attempted to remove her from the race, and according to Switzer said, “Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!”

The men around Switzer, mainly her then-boyfriend Tom Miller, gave Semple a shove and sent him flying. The resulting photo of Semple attempting to rip Switzer’s number off mid-race turned her into an icon for women’s rights.

This ugly scene from the Boston Marathon turned into a positive thing, although it would take until 1972 before women were officially permitted to race. Switzer would go on to win the New York City Marathon in 1974, and write the autobiography, “Marathon Woman.”

She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011 for creating a social revolution by empowering women around the world through running.

We will never look back on this bombing as a proud moment, but we should not lose our faith in humanity. Look what has happened in two days. The Red Cross cannot keep up with the donations and tweeted that its blood supplies are full. People lined up outside Tufts Medical Facility trying to help.

I saw a picture of Joe Andruzzi yesterday carrying a woman from the scene Monday. Andruzzi made millions and won three Super Bowls as a member of the New England Patriots. Now he’s just a guy trying to make his community better. He was at the marathon to raise money for cancer.

I heard a guy on the radio from Mississippi yesterday whose sister couldn’t make it to Boston this year. She’s a runner. Her brother said she has vowed that nothing will keep her from next year’s race.

I could keep going, but you get the idea. Americans have a passionate capacity for rebounding and turning negatives into positives.

K.V. Switzer showed us that 46 years ago.