THE DARK SIDE OF FLASH MOBS
A term originally associated with fun has turned more menacing.In popular culture, flash mob has also come to be associated with a large outpouring of violence, such as those that have plagued the United Kingdom this week.The March 27 shooting in Coolidge Park here was attributed to a flash mob gone awry, according to Times Free Press archives.”[Flash mobs] started as a fun thing, but it’s getting ugly,” Mayor Ron Littlefield told the paper.Chattanooga dance instructor Lindsay Fussell said when she planned an artistic flash mob event in front of the Tennessee Aquarium, she had to be careful to refer to it as a “spontaneous dance.”In some quarters, flash mobs have come to stand for group violence and/or robberies coordinated using social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.And cities and businesses are reacting. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter announced he plans to combat flash mobs by instilling a 9 p.m. curfew for anyone under 18, according to national reports.The National Retail Federation issued an 11-page set of guidelines for retail employees to deal with flash-mob incidences, labeled “multiple offender” crimes.According to the report, of more than 100 retailers surveyed in July, “over three-quarters (79 percent) of retailers report being a victim of a multiple-offender crime in the past 12 months, some of these incidents (10 percent) involving flash-mob tactics.”
Picture a day, an ordinary day. Maybe it’s a summer weekend, and families are strolling in the sun.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, there’s music. Someone begins to dance. Another person joins in. Then a whole group of people, all in sync, begins to move together. A crowd gathers. Onlookers are caught up in the spirit and run to join the celebration.
This is a flash mob, a seemingly spontaneous, but actually carefully planned, outpouring of dance, song or other exuberant activity.
Joyce Teal, of Hixson, has participated in several local flash mobs.