First of all, I have never heard of Travis Scott until the news came out about this tragedy, so I don’t really have a dog in this fight. His is not a genre music that I listen to or follow, so it’s not surprising that I’ve never heard of him. There are allegations that from the stage, Scott incited the stampede with his challenges to the audience to an almost riot-like state of activity, and that he has a history of such conduct at previous appearances of his. In fact, Scott was convicted for the same type of charges in a Chicago, Il incident. In the aftermath of the most recent tragedy, there are shouts of multi-million dollar lawsuits against him and/or against the promoters, the insurers, etc.
On the news this morning, there are calls for the promoters of his upcoming concerts to take him off of the bill.
In this particular case, the facts that make it matter are that he’s done this before, apparently has a penchant for including in his live “act” calling for the audience to surge and charge the stage, and calling for audience members to be violent. Additionally, it matters who he is because it’s even risen to the level that he was put on trial and found culpable for the exact same type of actions.
I don’t think that Scott himself is solely responsible here. The “fans” who feed off of his kind of shenanigans, especially those who know beforehand that it’s a staple of his yet still attend the events, and especially those who intentionally, actively and enthusiastically participate in the violence are equally responsible. They may attempt to hide behind some figurative wall of “I was just there to enjoy the music” or “I just got swept up into everything that was going on”, but it’s been discovered there’s a recording of a staffer briefing some security personnel that it’s expected to happen based on the history of how Scott and/or the audience acts. Some people may be going to Scott’s live events because they will have the opportunity to act out.
The point on which I do agree with you, however, is more along the lines that Scott isn’t the only “entertainer” who incites live crowds to violence, and that Scott’s audiences aren’t the only audiences who perpetrate it.
~
I’m still trying to figure out why any parents would take their young children to a crap “concert”, or allow their children to attend. One of the youngest victims of the stampede is a 9-year-old, correct?
:(
Hey, wait . . . !
~
I know, I caught the sarcasm immediately.
:)
:(