I’ve seen that footage of the stage going down at the Indiana State Fair a couple of times now. Aside from the fact that it contributes mightily to my fear of crowds, the thing I notice (and I don’t think it’s just because I look for it) is that the people on the ground ran to help the people who were hurt.
Because that’s what most people actually do.
Except, of course, for those people who are too afraid of crowds to even show up. Irony is one of life’s most pretty ………. (fill in the blank.)
… excuses to make a personal attack on someone one doesn’t know. (Blank filled in.)
I suppose the fact that I don’t like crowds negates my work with public art, my having been a girl scout leader, grunt work at the town’s public library, bringing the neighbor’s paper to her front door because it is obviously painful for her to walk, my volunteering at a women’s shelter (and yes, they have provisions and services in place for male victims of abuse, just to head off that question) – all in small towns, where I do feel comfortable.