Why do people need to get so stupid at concerts?

[hanselthecaretaker]

Astroworld Festival timeline: How the tragedy unfolded

It took just minutes for a crowd of concertgoers to transform to a deadly melee during the Astroworld music festival on Saturday that killed nine people.

www.goodmorningamerica.com

Several dead, among them a 9yr old kid with brain trauma and crushed organs. FFS people.

This is an extreme case but riled up, lunatic people at concerts is nothing new by any stretch. AFAIK it seemed to start with teenage girls in like the 50’s at Elvis concerts. They would apparently even destroy his cars afterwards in a frenzy just because they “loved” him so much. Here were are some 65 years later and it’s gotten worse, with bigger and more insane crowds apparently having so little bearing in life that mob deaths occur in the wake of their need to let loose. I suppose it’s a symptom of a much bigger problem but goddamn. This kinda falls under the whole if people can’t handle their drugs and alcohol then maybe they shouldn’t be doing them so much.

Why can’t mere screaming and waving your hands in the air be enough? The irony of people treating whoever’s on stage like they’re a bloody deity when the only thing separating them from themselves is all the $$$ they themselves contributed.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Astroworld Festival timeline: How the tragedy unfolded

It took just minutes for a crowd of concertgoers to transform to a deadly melee during the Astroworld music festival on Saturday that killed nine people.

www.goodmorningamerica.com

Several dead, among them a 9yr old kid with brain trauma and crushed organs. FFS people.

This is an extreme case but riled up, lunatic people at concerts is nothing new by any stretch. AFAIK it seemed to start with teenage girls in like the 50’s at Elvis concerts. They would apparently destroy his cars in a frenzy just because they “loved” him so much. Here were are some 65 years later and it’s gotten worse, with bigger and more insane crowds apparently having so little bearing in life that mob deaths occur in the wake of their need to let loose. I suppose it’s a symptom of a much bigger problem but goddamn. This kinda falls under the whole if people can’t handle their drugs and alcohol then maybe they shouldn’t be doing them so much.

Why can’t mere screaming and waving your hands in the air be enough? The irony of people treating whoever’s on stage like they’re a bloody deity when the only thing separating them from themselves is all the $$$ they themselves contributed.

It's the mob mentality. When excitement swells enough in a congested mass of people, reason and logic go out the window, and I think a form of "fight or flight" instincts kick in. Don't forget The Crush in England just 30 years ago. 97 dead and almost 800 injured at an overcrowded soccer match.

 

[BrawlMan]

Why can’t mere screaming and waving your hands in the air be enough? The irony of people treating whoever’s on stage like they’re a bloody deity when the only thing separating them from themselves is all the $$$ they themselves contributed.

Because there are some ignorant people that never matured gracefully, or think it gives them the right to act like jackasses that only have basic instincts.

This is an extreme case but riled up, lunatic people at concerts is nothing new by any stretch. AFAIK it seemed to start with teenage girls in like the 50’s at Elvis concerts. They would apparently destroy his cars in a frenzy just because they “loved” him so much. Here were are some 65 years later and it’s gotten worse, with bigger and more insane crowds apparently having so little bearing in life that mob deaths occur in the wake of their need to let loose. I suppose it’s a symptom of a much bigger problem but goddamn. This kinda falls under the whole if people can’t handle their drugs and alcohol then maybe they shouldn’t be doing them so much.

​

 

[Piscian]

My gut instinct is to blame the producers on this, though I'll grant based on the music the intelligence of the audience might be in question as well. I've never been to one of these 50k whatever person shows, I just don't understand why someone would want to go to that. Just getting to the stage would be a nightmare.

I've been moshing all my life and been fine. Theres videos online somewhere of me at some 10k person Slayer concert a while back and getting thrown around by teenagers and crowd surfing and everyone was perfectly fine. I've been to some crazy shows from Insane Clown Posse, Less Than Jake, Bloodhound gang etc and never seen anyone get more than a little beat up and I've been literally thrown over security fences. I think the difference is the artists and security always kept an eye on the crowd and if it ever got intense like people get crushed against the fences they open the fences and will filter people out and say "ok you take a break and well let you back in the crowd gate at the back.", especially trouble makers. The fact that there was an uncontrollable amount of people allowed in an unsecured area is at the root of the issue.

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

Natural instinct (but mostly a rabid scapegoating press out for working class blood to shield responsibility from the wealthy) might cause people to blame the crowd, but it is not the way...






Also the Hillsborough tragedy was a proven cover up between the police, Thatcher and the monopoly of right-wing press in the UK, it's actually pretty fucking emblematic of extensive class corruption in this shitty country;

The great betrayal: how the Hillsborough families were failed by the justice system

The long read: After 32 years of establishment lies, media smears, inquests, trials and retrials, the families of the Hillsborough dead have yet to see anyone held accountable

www.theguardian.com

Ok, that article is quite long and I can't fit quoting it into this one post, but it's a horrid example of the corruption of power and why Thatcher is just fucking evil and despised by anyone with experience in class awareness. Sorry, swearing is not frustration from anyone here but towards the cycle of blame deployed by bad faith press every time, and talking about Tories brings on the red mist.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

The "average" human being has an IQ of 100. A crowd of people also has an IQ of 100, divided by how many people are in the crowd.

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - Men In Black