"}becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys:
\n\n\n\n\n\nHow to protect yourself during stampede
this isn\u2019t the usual thing I\u2019d share on my stupid nerd blog, but this is SO important.
I was nearly crushed in a crowd like this once. It was terrifying because you have NO control over the panicking mass of humans around you. you are just at the mercy of all this chaotic force. this is a real thing that can happen very suddenly! it did happen in the news recently!
My situation was, the olympics was happening in my city, I was on my way home from school, and a crowd of people suddenly flooded into the street around me. in seconds it went from, busy-city-street-crowded, to, wtf I can\u2019t even move crowded.
I was so pressed against the backpack of the man in front of me, my feet lifted off the ground a moment. People were climbing lamp posts, signs, bus shelters, trees, everything to get up out of it. it was like the street became an ocean of people, and all the people\u2019s survival instincts were making them dumber. everyone was yelling. no one knew how to solve it.
police, fire fighters and medics saved us by breaking the locks on the inside of the mall we were trapped next to. a huge group flooded into the building, releasing a bit of the pressure on the people outside. I was in that group that got in.We were trapped in the mall awhile. Because the olympics was on, they had big screens in a few sitting areas of the mall that would normally be showing the games. but now the coverage was focused on this crowd surge. They showed a helicopter shot of the building we were now in, totally surrounded by colorful dots. a solid mass of humans with no space between.\u00a0
I know someone was partially trampled and needed medics, because I saw that, but i don\u2019t know the statistics on who else was hurt, hopefully no one killed!
I don\u2019t know if these methods can definitely save you, but they might give you a better chance. so watch and share!Sharing to my own stupid nerd blog for the same reason, this is SO IMPORTANT. Human crushes are one of the most unexpected ways to die. People go out to a show or a sports game, and make it there, but they never come back.
Other strategies include staying away from large obstacles (like fences) that you could get crushed against, and doing your best to stay above the crowd. Try to climb onto something if you can.And also \u2014 not to get nitpicky with deadly tragedies, but they\u2019re called \u201chuman crushes,\u201d not \u201cstampedes.\u201d It\u2019s an important difference in description and also in respect. The deaths usually happen because the victims are pinned together in a tight space, they can\u2019t breathe (as in the video) and they suffocate. \u201cStampede\u201d doesn\u2019t convey what actually happened to those people. The crush that happened in Seoul recently wasn\u2019t because people \u201cstampeded,\u201d it was because they couldn\u2019t move at all and they suffocated. But calling it a \u201cstampede,\u201d you\u2019d think it was the people themselves that ran over each other, like wild animals. It\u2019s disrespectful and untrue.
Horrifyingly, the victims of many human crushes have been blamed for their own deaths, which are usually purely accidental or due to criminal mismanagement from authorities. If you\u2019re in a mental place to read about tragedies and police corruption, check out the Hillsborough Disaster, in which 97 people died due to the incompetence of the police, who then blamed everything on the victims: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster
If you can\u2019t play the video:
1. Stand like a boxer. Nice wide stance, arms up like you\u2019re preparing to either throw a punch or shield against one, i.e. elbows bent by your waist and fists by your shoulders. That will keep some space around your chest
2. If you fall and can\u2019t get up, roll onto your side and curl up in the foetal position
\nVideo\ndescription: \n
\nA\nsegment from a newscast that starts with narration saying, \u201cJust\none small push \u2026\u201d and showing a group of people stumbling\nforward after being pushed by one person. The narration continues,\n\u201ccan be enough to throw just a handful of people off balance.\u201d
\nA\nbanner appears at the bottom of the screen. It reads: Only on GMA /\nSurviving a Stampede / How to survive a crushing crowd. A person\nsteps forward and begins talking to the camera. They say: \u201cSo\nwhat\u2019s amazing about that is, just one person pushed, and then a\ncrowd of 15, 20 people gets pushed together, and then you\u2019re,\nyou\u2019re steps are so small, you\u2019re all stumbling, on each other.\u201d
\nThe\ncamera cuts to the crowd again and then fades do a 3D render of a\nperson. The narration says: \u201cNow an expert shows us a better way to\nstand. Legs staggered for balance, and arms up like a boxer. In super\ndense crowds, that separation will help protect your heart and lungs\nfrom potentially thousands of pounds of chest-crushing pressure.\u201d\nThe 3D animation shows the heart and lungs in a small circle, and the\nperson is surrounded by red arrows to indicate outside pressure. \n
\nThe\nnarrator continues: \u201cIt\u2019s a simple pose but surprisingly\neffective, possibly lifesaving.\u201d The camera shows the same group\nfrom before standing in the position described. They are pushed\nagain, and the forward motion is much less than before. \n
\nThe\nsame expert from before says, \u201cWow, that\u2019s a lot better, huh?\u201d\nThe camera cuts to show a person lying on their back on the ground.\nThe narration continues: \u201cBut if you do fall over, he says, stay\noff your back and stomach. Here\u2019s why.\u201d
\nThe\nperson lying on the floor looks up at the other people in the room\nand says: \u201cLie down on me like you would do if you got knocked\ndown, too.\u201d Three additional people join the pile, and the person\non the bottom grunts. They say: \u201cOooo \u2026 okay, the other guy . .\n. Okay, I can\u2019t breathe. My lungs are compressed. I can\u2019t\nbreathe, and you\u2019re on my heart. Someone off camera says at the\nsame time: \u201cWe can see it in your face.\u201d
\nThe\ncamera cuts to the same person, now with no one piled on top of them.\nThey are lying on their side and covering their head with their\nhands. The narration says: \u201cHe says do everything you can to get\nup, but if you can\u2019t, lay on your side to protect your most vital\norgans, your lungs and your heart, and cover your head.\u201d The 3D\nrender is shown again in the described position and with the circle\nindicating the heart and lungs\u2019 location. The footage cuts back to\nthe real person on the floor. The expert from before is gesturing and\nsaying, \u201cThis is about living or dying.\u201d
\nEnd\ndescription.