Leadership / 08.02.23

Is the Cray Contagious? Persistent Artist Attacks Raise Questions About Safety, Security and Psychology

Access Staff

Pollstar (07/26/23) Lind, J.R.

Attendees attacking artists at live concerts, usually with thrown objects, is a disconcerting trend, with all provided explanations so far failing to provide clarity. Iowa State University Professor Douglas Gentile says aggressive behavior cannot be traced to a single set of conditions, though live performance offers a novel combination of variables. "You have high excitement and loud music," he explains. "That leads to physiological arousal, and we know that high physiological arousal makes aggression more likely," while alcohol "and other substances" can stoke aggression further. Gentile also sees crowd dynamics contributing, noting: "When we get a crowd together, all it takes is one person doing something and the crowd will follow pretty easily. It gets to a tipping point and no one knows what that tipping point is." Desensitization to violence is an additional element, causing potential aggressors to mentally miscalculate the harmfulness of their actions. Gentile thinks it may not be aggression "so much as a really poor, not particularly mature thought" that "doesn't include any consideration of the other person." He likens it to "the third grade boy whipping the ball at the girl he likes; it's saying, 'In this situation I don't have a better way of managing my emotions.'" Gentile suggests the possibility that aggressors "don't even think of it as aggressive at all, but they think that by throwing something ... [it] makes them more connected."

Read the full story from Pollstar.

Tags: Leadership , Concert Safety