Thursday 20 June 2024

No Need For Special Pleading Here...

..instead of 'My child should be able to break the rules due to disability', the key take should surely be 'why are there rules about dancing in the aisles at a pop concert?'.

A single mother has told how she and her seven-year-old son who has Down's Syndrome were escorted from a Pink concert 'like criminals' because he wouldn't sit in his seat.
Vanessa Vasey, 48, paid £630 for tickets to take Jesse to see his idol at her P!NK Summer Carnival Tour 2024 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, on Saturday. But Jesse's disabilities and sensory disorders meant he refused to sit on his seat, so Vanessa, Jesse and their friend Kirsty stood near to the seating area while the child danced to the support act.
They were then approached by about six security guards who told them to take their seats, the mother said. When Vanessa explained the situation, she was given an ultimatum to sit down or leave.

I mean, it's not a chess match or art appreciation class - why shouldn't children want to, and be allowed to, dance in their seats?  

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Pink representatives have been contacted for comment.

No doubt there's some H&S nonsense to be quoted but, really....

5 comments:

Bucko said...

I don't know, but that rule might have been around for some time. There was a scene in the movie about Jerry Lee Lewis where they all get out of their seats and start dancing, then the police pour in carrying battons.

I don't know why they have that rule or if it's necessary in a seated venue, but where an entitled mother and a disabled child are concerned, I always wonder if there is more to the story that we're not being told

KJP said...

Well she is not getting much support in the comments section of the newspaper.

He may have disturbed other patrons but the wider point is that if you allow one person to break a rule then others will feel entitled to break other rules.

John Tee said...

"the wider point is that if you allow one person to break a rule then others will feel entitled to break other rules."

That.

I do wonder how many 7 year olds would want to sit for three hours though? Perhaps taking 7 year olds to concerts isn't that good an idea.

Do pop concerts really cost £630? Gosh!

johnd said...

When Bill Haley's "Rock around the Cock" film was screened in the late 50s,(yes I am that old), patrons in cinemas tried to dance in the aisles.This was quickly stopped on safety grounds.Thinking back to those times,this was the right decision on safety as having a mob of teens jiving in narrow spaces is a recipe for disaster.

JuliaM said...

"I don't know why they have that rule or if it's necessary in a seated venue, but where an entitled mother and a disabled child are concerned, I always wonder if there is more to the story that we're not being told"

There usually is.

"Well she is not getting much support in the comments section of the newspaper."

No, so I see.

"I do wonder how many 7 year olds would want to sit for three hours though?"

Good point!

"Do pop concerts really cost £630? Gosh!"

It does seem to pour cold water on the claim that disability benefits are too low...

"..having a mob of teens jiving in narrow spaces is a recipe for disaster."

😎