Entertainment or suicide?

Jah people, what is there to celebrate when fun-seekers who enter venues with smiles leave in tears?

It is not by accident that entertainment is alternatively called an escape.

The exploits of the talented few give us a breathtaking break from the tiresome hustle and bustle in a world where presidents and political figureheads incessantly plunder billions and billions of banknotes while the poor get poorer.

That’s why many were peeved, annoyed, aggrieved, vexed, disgruntled, discontented, irritated, angry, mortified and stumbling on words when a canister of tear-provoking pepper powder left them scampering for their safety during Malawi vs Zambia music show at Robin’s Park last Friday night.

This comes barely a year after similar mischief disrupted a Black Missionaries’ gig at Club XL in the city, and this time the police suspect the latest scene was a plot by one of their feathers—a former cop.

Unless the suspect was born this way, the mishap could be a hangover of one of the cops who rejoice in torturing unarmed citizens exercising their rights.

When a hunter of law-breakers becomes hunted for interrupting public order, some questions need serious scrutiny?

Is there any end to sights of overzealous personalities unleashing tear gas, shock sticks, whips and other torturous tools on innocent entertainment enthusiasts during shows?

And this one lingers in my mind: How safe are the crowds that fill popular venues in case of blasts, fire, stampedes and other situations likely to cause breach of peace?

At a time every venue is required to have at least two doors (including emergency exits), the country’s recreation centres tend to operate with one entry which also serves as an exit. More often than not, the doorways are nearly obstructed by cashier’s tables and primitive, heavy-handed bouncers.

Until town planners and regulators of public entertainment intervene to save us from the mushrooming of life-threatening venues, tales of tear-stimulating canisters could be a signal of an entertainment sector that is increasingly becoming a ticking bomb.

And we are talking about congested venues whose maximum sitting capacity remains unknown even to the proprietors.

This is fun at owner’s risk. n