Tragedy at Big Church Festival

[blonddrawers]

I was there when it happened. The site was immediately put on lockdown and up to 40,000 people were suddenly plunged into all the worry of what was going on. Was it a terror attack? Was it something else? There was very limited signal on site so it wasn’t possible to get messages out to family and friends but judging by the emergency response, we all knew something very serious had happened. We later learned a man had been killed by a falling sign and several others injured. When we eventually got out and got on to WiFi, it had made national news and the comments sections were absolutely stuffed with hideous joking comments about it being ‘a sign from God’ and other endless memes and jokes. I’m lost for words really. A 41 year old man has died and the internet apparently thinks this is funny because this was a Christian festival.

Have we lost all sense of humanity?

Terrible response

I'm disgusted with some of the comments I have read. Just disgusted.

very upsetting for his family. People online can be very unkind.

I was also there, I didn't see the sign fall but saw people rushing to help lift it. The jokes are really poor taste. There are three other people who were badly injured too, plus their families.

See, I’m Christian and have been to similar events. I appreciate it was terrifying and so distressing, as I know the feeling of fellowship.

However, I could also appreciate the irony and wordplay in the comments. Some were terrible and cruel, yes. Definitely sneering and nasty in tone. Some though were just black humour and very witty.

Tragedies generally do attract a certain amount of black humour.

It must have been very scary.

It’s such a tragedy. Sorry you had to experience that. I know in an ideal world you wouldn’t have to but avoid social media especially places like X and tik tok. I could tell there would be jokes about this. It’s terrible what social media does to people. I’ve seen jokes on news reports of children dying because the death was an unusual freak accident. I wish people would think about how it’s real peoples lives but they don’t or they do and don’t care.

I hope everyone is doing ok. It must have been a lot to process.

Some people can be so cruel and thoughtless.

I knew there would be people making jokes about this when I saw it was the top story on the BBc. But I've not seen any of them, you need to restrain your algorithm. Terrible thing to happen to anyone, anywhere.

As a festival goer and a sort of Christian I have been thinking about this tragedy and everyone affected. It must have been so frightening to be there and ‘in the dark’ about what it was. So much trauma - Thinking of the people that witnessed it. The people injured. The friends families of the man who died and the injured. The people who organised the festival and the people who put the signs up.

All those people looking forward to a weekend of music, praise and community and being a part of such an awful event instead.

There is something about a random tragic accident happening to someone who was trying so hard to live well and in a relationship with God while they were in a community gathering to worship that sets off religious questioning. There are no answers. So many Muslims have died at Hajj over the years for all sorts of random reasons. Life is fragile and precious and you just don’t know what is around the corner.

Where is God in all of this? I once read somewhere - Look for the helpers. The people that moved the signs and called 999, the ambulance services, the churches that will be gathering around the families affected, the bereavement councillors and colleagues who will listen to these stories in the years to come.

The jokes are how some people cope I guess, not considering of real people’s trauma.

I think many of us use dark humour to get through difficult things but the comments I was reading were vicious and nasty. A lot of comments were from people saying they were atheists and who were using it to score points about ‘sky fairies’ etc. I run a public Facebook page and I banned more than 50 accounts who turned up just to say something nasty. Weirdly, some of those people were parents themselves or worked in caring roles and I just can’t understand why someone would do that.

The chap has been named today - he was a minister from Eastbourne and has a young daughter.

I was camping at the festival too. The disgusting mocking and jeering is not dissimilar to that recorded in the bible when Jesus was sentenced and made to carry his cross. Such evil. Heartbroken for the victims and their families

I wouldn't take any of it to heart. People are foul on the Internet because they feel anything is fair game if not said face to face. It's not about Christians or faith as such - it's just the state of social media. It would have been the same if it had been a Buddhist festival or any other specific demographic. People are just awful.

A horrible thing to happen. Thoughts with the family and those that saw it happen.

@blonddrawers "I think many of us use dark humour to get through difficult things"

Were these internet posters relatives of the man who died? I very much doubt it. In which case using dark humour to "get through difficult things" simply doesn't apply. There was a similar thread about comments on Dolly Parton's dead body recently and I'm so tired to my soul of this excuse for jokes and banter. It isn't because it was a Christian festival. I expect there will be "bantz" around the loss of life in Nepal soon, if not already. My heart goes out to that poor man's family and to those who were injured. I'm not a Christian but I know the difference between love and hate, good and evil.

Sorry OP, this sounded as though I was having a go at you! I really wasn't.

Low energy people , lacking in love and compassion . Keep sending light into our beautiful world . Healing and love to all those who have been affected. Sadly we live in a harsh world but keep the light burning 🙏

Yes, I should probably have said that dark humour is something I use if it’s actually me in the situation. When my mum died suddenly some years ago, in between the waves of grief, there were some laugh out loud dark humour times too - but it was our grief and we can do it however we want. No one has the right to do that toward a stranger.

It’s ok, I didn’t think you were having a go.

I think it feels very personal as I was in the middle of it - normally I just ignore idiots online. Even today, nearly every news article with the man’s name, is about 75% sarky comments. It’s the sheer volume and the fact I’m playing whack a mole on my own company facebook page, banning trolls who turn up just to mock the man’s faith.

In lovely news though, £67k has so far been raised on a GoFundMe for his wife and little girl.

Yes I think dark humour is different if you're the one affected by the tragedy.

I'm hoping we might hear something about the other people who were seriously injured but I guess unless they die there's probably no obligation for the police to update the general public. But for people who were there and helping or saw it you feel attached somehow.

The last I heard there were 4 taken to hospital with 2 of them having ‘serious injuries’. I assume it’ll be on the people themselves to decide if they want their details to be made public. Given the widespread mockery of the man who died, if I were them, I’d probably not want my name released.

@blonddrawers I've seen a post on SM today indicating that the two people who were more seriously injured are stable and recovering. Hopefully it's accurate.