Before I jump right in here, let me make something clear: I am not some anti-establishment enthusiast. I don’t join protestors, throw things at officials or stick anything to The Man. I am just a guy with an observation and a suggestion to improve a problem.
Anyway, said problem lies with the way some of the game security officials acted during and after the USC game on Thursday. I understand the concept of crowd control and the importance of preventing fire hazards. Without these ideas in place, Great White fires run rampant through night clubs.
However, as I stood in the stands, I noticed several security people being overly pushy with fans that were attempting to find seats. I’m not talking Rodney King stuff, but the egos of the crowd controllers were pinned proudly on their uniforms, letting everyone know who was in charge.
The stands were packed, offering little room to breathe, yet the security force found it appropriate to nudge people along, ramming them into others in front of them. The people were told to hurry up and move along, even though people were constantly coming and going from different aisles, blocking those that were walking at the bottom of the bleachers.
At one point, I was looking for some of my friends in the stands when a voice to my left told me to move. I turned to him, noticing that he was one of the many security enforcers around, and told him I was only looking for my friends and would be about five seconds.
“I don’t have five seconds to spare, so move it,” he replied.
I asked him if he was sure he didn’t have five seconds and he confirmed his lack of time (that short conversation took five seconds) and told my friend and me to move. So, since I don’t have a cute little badge sewn onto my shirt, I had to walk away from where I thought my friends were and fight my way through a stationary crowd.
As we were moving, people were constantly coming down the aisles, causing us to pause and wait for them to continue. The officer apparently thought this was our fault, as he continually pushed me to try and make me keep walking, which was impossible due to the obstacles in our path. I told him so, and he told me to keep going anyway. Luckily, he turned around at some point to deal with something more pressing, like picking up peanut shells off the ground, and we were allowed to comfortably exit the stands.
This is not the only incident I experienced or saw others experience that night; otherwise I would not have brought this up. Many other fans were told to move when it was nearly impossible to do so. One word, forceful commands only make people angry and unwilling to comply. At least throw in a “sir” or “ma’am” when ordering someone to move.
It seems that when given a position of minimal power, people go insane. Just look at Dan Rather. Every time I turn around an official of some kind is abusing his or her authority, ordering around a perfectly calm, law-abiding citizen for no reason. I’ve seen young men told to put their hats on straight. What exactly is the purpose of controlling the wardrobe in a public place? A friend of mine was pulled over simply for going down a certain street. Not a closed off street or a one-way street or anything even remotely illegal. The officer said he was pulling my friend over for going down that street. I have only one word: what?
There is no need to be overly forceful with people who are already complying with the law. If I had been shooting someone or beating them with a tire iron in the stands, I could’ve understood force. However, I don’t live la vida “Grand Theft Auto,” so I’m against those two things. Usually.
My point is that authority figures should not overstep their bounds. They should do what they must to enforce the law without acting like some over-eager “Starsky and Hutch” police captain. I’m not asking for Hillary Duff niceness, just common courtesy. I simply request that all people of authority treat the law-abiding citizenry with respect, and the citizens will return the favor.
Now to bust some mailboxes.