Amplify: Tommy Goff got a call two years ago that gave him pause. On the line, he said, was a rep for a superstar touring musician who had safety concerns and wanted to set up a panic room during a show.
A similar call from another well-known performer soon followed. Goff, the owner of B’Safe Shelters of Cheyenne, Wyoming, had for years been providing weatherproof and bulletproof safe rooms for Fortune 500 companies like Southwest Airlines and NBC – but until then had never considered offering a portable safe room for those in the music industry.
6 comments:
When I read the caption for this article to give me an insight into what it was about, I figured this would be about creating safe spaces for the crowds, but now I am very disappointed because creating a space safe for only the performers is creating a sense of triage by saying that performers are more important than everyone else in the crowd. The shooting in Las Vegas had the most impact on the crowd, and performers already have people there to protect them at all times, so what happens to those that risk going? Do they not deserve life just as much as the performers do? I do like the space that the companies have created, but I am not a famous performer at all, so why should my life be at risk as well? We need to find ways to create safe environments for everyone involved.
This is a really interesting concept. I can see the appeal of it, but it is so sad that as a society we have the need to create a shelter like this to protect us from each other. Any way that you can protect people from gun violence and bombing I fully support. However, this kind of a safe room might start something that has no end. People will want a place they can feel safe and secure wherever they are, so why not add some to office buildings or grocery stores or any public place? I do think that an important factor with these is that you are only safe from what is on the outside. If someone brought a firearm or explosive into the room, their would still be horrific results. If a performer does not feel safe but adding one of these would allow them to than that is a good way to still have them perform. I personally do not go to big crowded events because I get too anxious, partially because I don't feel safe.
It is a shame that this has become to be seen as a necessity in our world. Unfortunately, it really is. It makes me wish that there was some way for their to be a safe room for audiences as well, but really I do not see any way in which it would be possible to secure a room like that in the midst of a panic. It is interesting how elegant the interior of the room is. To me, it seems a bit excessive, but I suppose if you have the money to make it nice, why not? I wonder if these types of rooms will become standard in new building constructions. It seems like the rate at which gun violence is growing in this country, it may become more and more common for rooms like this to be built in everyday places. It seems like bomb shelters are not just for preppers anymore. Anyone can really be in danger at any point it seems. It is not paranoia, but really practicality.
As was discussed many times over on this blog and in the larger conversation, there is no way to completely protect against certain tragic events. However, prevention is not the same as protection. Prevention implies something or some system that stops an attack before it starts ro completely protects everyone. Protection is a step in that direction, but does not imply full protection. While I hope there is a magical way for prevention, I think we need to strive for protection, for now, and these safe rooms seem like a really great opportunity. There are other problems with these rooms. First off, now you have a giant hut in the middle of your venue. Where do you put it? In the back so it doesn’t restrict views? Now everyone would have to run to the back. Scattered all around the venue? I think it is pretty obvious that would be frustrating for ticket sales. Underground? Sure, that is not a bad option, but now you have to decide which venues need a bunker, and everything that comes with that. I am not saying we shouldn’t try implementing protection, but I wonder if there are better places in terms of protecting audiences than giant safe rooms.
I think safe rooms are a really good idea to have at concerts and big events. The only issue is that it can only protect a small group of people and it seems like that would be the performer and people close to the performer. It is good that at least some people can be safe, but why is their lives more valuable than the people attending the concert? I understand that it would be extremely expensive to make a safe room that can hold a large crowd of people. There really is not a perfect solution in situations like this. It is a smart idea to make the safe rooms secretive so no one puts anything dangerous in one, but that also means someone passing by looking for shelter would not be able to get in it in an emergency if they were not already told about it. I hope one day soon they will be able to make larger safe rooms that can be accessed by many people in the case of an emergency.
The title is misleading in that it tricks you to think that the venues are trying to implement some safety measure for the audience. But no, it was about having safe rooms backstage for the performer or staff. The article mentions 'crew' but I doubt that with the capacity to fit 10 to 30 people max, any regular crew would be included there. So basically it is for the performer and his/her staff. The rich and famous may come up with any kind of safety protection. What we really need to be thinking about is the safety of the general audience. So, in light of so many tragic events in performing venues, some venue owners are coming up with extra safety measures to protect the audience members. One could be metal protectors at the door, just like in museums and sports stadiums. It will elongate the pre-show time as much as three times, but it could be effective. Like people above, it makes me sad that we as a society cannot believe being in a crowd anymore. It's even sadder that the only way to enjoy performances in public is to have a safe 'panic room' behind you so you can run off to safety any time.
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