On the twelfth of April, a video from The Story So Far’s show at Toronto’s Mod Club was uploaded to YouTube and it’s been a pretty big topic lately on social media and not only between punk fans. The video features someone getting up on stage during TSSF’s set and taking their phone out for whatever reason during the beginning of a song. Lead singer, Parker Cannon, then goes on to physically assault the fan by literally kicking her off the stage. Various amounts of people across all kinds of social media platforms and even news sites have been in a heated discussion and for good reasons too.
Parker apparently has a history of using unnecessary violence, also having kicked another fan off stage in Houston last year.
The responses have been mildly unnerving. Some argue that the singer wasn’t in the wrong because the fans who went up were invading the bands space. While, yes, it is beyond frustrating to have someone all up in your performance space, there are other ways to go about fixing the problem. You could go the route State Champs’ Derek Discanio did and gently tap the fan off stage or let venue security deal with it, they’re there for situations like that!
Another thing that’s worrying is that even in the description of the video, it says to “Seriously stop being so sensitive about this.” while another defense is being used in the comments, one that I’ve seen all too much. If I had a dollar for every time I heard the phrase “that’s just how shows are, they’re violent, get over it”, especially when referring to pop punk/rock/punk/alternative shows, I just might be able to afford college tuition for a solid four years.
For a scene that claims to be an inclusive, welcoming scene, I have heard and seen the most exclusive things go down. Aside from both awful assault from both crowds and artists, there has also been a slew of slur usage one example being Ben Barlow using an ableist slur back in October.
Inclusive would mean respectful of disabled people, mentally ill people, people of colour, people on the lgbtqia+ spectrum, ect and that inclusiveness has yet to be true and prevalent very often. Especially when it comes to ableism, what I’d say is one of the largest issues in the scene. As someone with extreme health issues who avidly enjoys going to shows, it’s very visible to me.
Many venues aren’t accessible for people in wheelchairs or people who have problems standing in general admission pits and often don’t have disability seating. In the occasion where disability seating is available, the seating is often in areas that are rather sub par. My able bodied counterparts should not be the only ones who can see their favorite bands well on the sole basis of their ability to last forever in line or survive a pit. I’ve bought general admission balcony tickets for ten to twenty dollars more expensive than my able-bodied friends’ GA pit tickets, making shows just that much more inaccessable for disabled fans and/or fans with poor health. And oh god, lets not get started on the dangers of festivals or lining up for a show for an extended period of time.
The standard and normality of violence at shows and horrible general admission pits full of pushing and no regard for each other’s safety and the acceptance of those such things by fans is terrifying to me. People getting pulled out of pits because they collapsed from all the pushing and what not should not be acceptable, that should not be “just how a concert is”.
During one of Halsey’s Badlands Tour dates in Houston, someone had a seizure from the pushing in the crowd being so bad that it triggered a chronic health issue they had within one to two minutes of Halsey coming out and not getting help from those around them. When I looked at the conversations going on about it on twitter, people were blaming them for it, saying that it was their fault and they should have known better. And while, yes, you should have an idea of what would be too much for you and your body and your health, that should not be the cost of overestimating or not knowing. And crowd’s should not be that awful, you go to a concert to go see someone who lights up your world and you are in an audience not a WWE fighting ring.
People saying things like “if you have chronic illnesses you shouldn’t go to shows, you should know better” are truly wrong. People with chronic illnesses should be able to experience and enjoy things just like everyone else and they should not expect violence and unsafety at concerts; no one should. Violence, unsafe, fear provoking, dangerous environments should not be the words to describe shows, they should not be the norm. It’s so scary that people have the apathetic, indifferent attitude of “get used to it!” instead of realizing the full-extent of the situation; that concerts for the disabled can range from uncomfortable to dangerous and working to change that painful reality. People should not be scared for their health at shows whether it’s a pop concert or a punk rock show.
Then, recently at Foxing’s Chicago show, I called before to see if they could reserve seating for me since I knew seats there were limited and there was no way I could go if I wasn’t sitting during the show. Thankfully, the staff got it arranged, they’re absolute angels, but at the show there were groups of people taking pictures and snapchatting and yelling things at me because “why did I think I was so special and who do I think I am”. At another show, one where I’m not even sure I remember who it was for, I had physical violence threatened against me for sitting during the show because I wasn’t feeling well enough to stand.
How much you love a band should not be determined by how loud you are yelling or how long you’ve been standing or how close to the stage you are because some people can’t do those things but that doesn’t mean they love them any less. Not all disabilities are visible ones!
Had it been me up on that stage with Parker Cannon and he had kicked me, or someone with chronic health issues like mine, I would have been severely injured. Please be mindful that you might not be able to see someone’s disability at a show and maybe, just maybe, try to consider making the scene less violent and more inclusive of people with health issues. The phrase “violence is just what happens at shows” should never be used again, especially when insinuating that a scene is inclusive of everyone.
Parker apparently has a history of using unnecessary violence, also having kicked another fan off stage in Houston last year.
The responses have been mildly unnerving. Some argue that the singer wasn’t in the wrong because the fans who went up were invading the bands space. While, yes, it is beyond frustrating to have someone all up in your performance space, there are other ways to go about fixing the problem. You could go the route State Champs’ Derek Discanio did and gently tap the fan off stage or let venue security deal with it, they’re there for situations like that!
Another thing that’s worrying is that even in the description of the video, it says to “Seriously stop being so sensitive about this.” while another defense is being used in the comments, one that I’ve seen all too much. If I had a dollar for every time I heard the phrase “that’s just how shows are, they’re violent, get over it”, especially when referring to pop punk/rock/punk/alternative shows, I just might be able to afford college tuition for a solid four years.
For a scene that claims to be an inclusive, welcoming scene, I have heard and seen the most exclusive things go down. Aside from both awful assault from both crowds and artists, there has also been a slew of slur usage one example being Ben Barlow using an ableist slur back in October.
Inclusive would mean respectful of disabled people, mentally ill people, people of colour, people on the lgbtqia+ spectrum, ect and that inclusiveness has yet to be true and prevalent very often. Especially when it comes to ableism, what I’d say is one of the largest issues in the scene. As someone with extreme health issues who avidly enjoys going to shows, it’s very visible to me.
Many venues aren’t accessible for people in wheelchairs or people who have problems standing in general admission pits and often don’t have disability seating. In the occasion where disability seating is available, the seating is often in areas that are rather sub par. My able bodied counterparts should not be the only ones who can see their favorite bands well on the sole basis of their ability to last forever in line or survive a pit. I’ve bought general admission balcony tickets for ten to twenty dollars more expensive than my able-bodied friends’ GA pit tickets, making shows just that much more inaccessable for disabled fans and/or fans with poor health. And oh god, lets not get started on the dangers of festivals or lining up for a show for an extended period of time.
The standard and normality of violence at shows and horrible general admission pits full of pushing and no regard for each other’s safety and the acceptance of those such things by fans is terrifying to me. People getting pulled out of pits because they collapsed from all the pushing and what not should not be acceptable, that should not be “just how a concert is”.
During one of Halsey’s Badlands Tour dates in Houston, someone had a seizure from the pushing in the crowd being so bad that it triggered a chronic health issue they had within one to two minutes of Halsey coming out and not getting help from those around them. When I looked at the conversations going on about it on twitter, people were blaming them for it, saying that it was their fault and they should have known better. And while, yes, you should have an idea of what would be too much for you and your body and your health, that should not be the cost of overestimating or not knowing. And crowd’s should not be that awful, you go to a concert to go see someone who lights up your world and you are in an audience not a WWE fighting ring.
People saying things like “if you have chronic illnesses you shouldn’t go to shows, you should know better” are truly wrong. People with chronic illnesses should be able to experience and enjoy things just like everyone else and they should not expect violence and unsafety at concerts; no one should. Violence, unsafe, fear provoking, dangerous environments should not be the words to describe shows, they should not be the norm. It’s so scary that people have the apathetic, indifferent attitude of “get used to it!” instead of realizing the full-extent of the situation; that concerts for the disabled can range from uncomfortable to dangerous and working to change that painful reality. People should not be scared for their health at shows whether it’s a pop concert or a punk rock show.
Then, recently at Foxing’s Chicago show, I called before to see if they could reserve seating for me since I knew seats there were limited and there was no way I could go if I wasn’t sitting during the show. Thankfully, the staff got it arranged, they’re absolute angels, but at the show there were groups of people taking pictures and snapchatting and yelling things at me because “why did I think I was so special and who do I think I am”. At another show, one where I’m not even sure I remember who it was for, I had physical violence threatened against me for sitting during the show because I wasn’t feeling well enough to stand.
How much you love a band should not be determined by how loud you are yelling or how long you’ve been standing or how close to the stage you are because some people can’t do those things but that doesn’t mean they love them any less. Not all disabilities are visible ones!
Had it been me up on that stage with Parker Cannon and he had kicked me, or someone with chronic health issues like mine, I would have been severely injured. Please be mindful that you might not be able to see someone’s disability at a show and maybe, just maybe, try to consider making the scene less violent and more inclusive of people with health issues. The phrase “violence is just what happens at shows” should never be used again, especially when insinuating that a scene is inclusive of everyone.