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Seoul: At least 146 killed in crowd crush during Halloween festivities

theguardian.com

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Re: Seoul: At least 146 killed in crowd crush during Halloween festivities

#4
Crushes like this are especially hearbreaking because they are the result of people at the back of the crowd not knowing those at the front are being asphyxiated. We should teach more about this phenomenon in schools and have a universally understood protocol so crowds can alert themselves to a crush. We could have a code-word or gesture that can be spread quickly person to person and is understood to mean "everyone turn around, people are being killed." Combined with better overall awareness of situations that lead to crushes, it should be within our capabilities to collectively prevent these tragedies.

Re: Seoul: At least 146 killed in crowd crush during Halloween festivities

#5

Pure insanity.

Sanity is a local phenomenon. Being aware of the influence of your actions at a place beyond your immediate perception requires faculties beyond a rational mind.

It's awful & absurd. But... crowd dynamics are hard, our impacts are extremely hard to judge, only tall people get any info, & i respect that, those absurd difficulties of knowing wtf is going on, even though the aftermath is so obviously horrific. Being sensitive & thoughtful is the best humanity, but it is hard.

Re: Seoul: At least 146 killed in crowd crush during Halloween festivities

#6

Crushes like this are especially hearbreaking because they are the result of people at the back of the crowd not knowing those at the front are being asphyxiated. We should teach more about this phenomenon in schools and have a universally understood protocol so crowds can alert themselves to a crush. We could have a code-word or gesture that can be spread quickly person to person and is understood to mean "everyone…

In a monocultural society like South Korea, it's a good idea that probably could work very well and would have saved lives. I'm afraid here in the west it would quickly be abused by morons wanting to amuse themselves at gatherings and quickly be ignored, making it useless.

Re: Seoul: At least 146 killed in crowd crush during Halloween festivities

#7

Crushes like this are especially hearbreaking because they are the result of people at the back of the crowd not knowing those at the front are being asphyxiated. We should teach more about this phenomenon in schools and have a universally understood protocol so crowds can alert themselves to a crush. We could have a code-word or gesture that can be spread quickly person to person and is understood to mean "everyone…

In a monocultural society like South Korea, it's a good idea that probably could work very well and would have saved lives. I'm afraid here in the west it would quickly be abused by morons wanting to amuse themselves at gatherings and quickly be ignored, making it useless.

Right, that's why people keep pulling fire alarms for funsies too. Oh, wait...

Re: Seoul: At least 146 killed in crowd crush during Halloween festivities

#8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a monocultural society like South Korea, it's a good idea that probably could work very well and would have saved lives. I'm afraid here in the west it would quickly be abused by morons wanting to amuse themselves at gatherings and quickly be ignored, making it useless.

Right, that's why people keep pulling fire alarms for funsies too. Oh, wait...

I'm not sure if this is sarcasm or not. People definitely do keep pulling fire alarms "for funsies", and that's probably a lot easier to prosecute than "who falsely initiated the 'crowd crush' protocol".

Re: Seoul: At least 146 killed in crowd crush during Halloween festivities

#9

Crushes like this are especially hearbreaking because they are the result of people at the back of the crowd not knowing those at the front are being asphyxiated. We should teach more about this phenomenon in schools and have a universally understood protocol so crowds can alert themselves to a crush. We could have a code-word or gesture that can be spread quickly person to person and is understood to mean "everyone…

This is probably not the right reaction (and may well be unpopular), but it makes me angry. I know no one is trying to kill anyone, but it feels like people disregarding others' safety just to get a little bit closer to some amusement. Ideally people would just relax and accept that there isn't room for them nearer the stage/etc.

> everyone turn around, people are being killed

I wonder if this would worsen the danger as people push to get away from the crush while others are still pushing from the back (as they haven't been made aware of the situation). But the fact that people are in the back pushing in the first place still sickens me.

Re: Seoul: At least 146 killed in crowd crush during Halloween festivities

#10
I’ve been to a couple music festivals this year and I experienced the crowd at one of the main stages compressing. One thing that’s not talked about as much is the heat caused by surges. If you’re shorter, I could easily see getting cooked alive compressed by bodies unable to gasp for fresh air.

I’m much taller than most which helps with getting air but I was shocked to experience how hard it was to get out of the crowd, you essentially have to shove your way to the back. People will yell at you but you have to just think about yourself to get out of a surge.

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