Concerts have become ridiculously expensive events, and even after buying a ticket, one cannot be too sure how well they will be able to see the show. If you happen to have someone tall in front of you, you might be bobbing and weaving all night. If one is confined to a wheelchair, the problem is only worse.
This is what makes the events at a recent Jelly Roll concert so fantastic. In a TikTok video posted by concert-goer Michelle Mulligan, a man in a wheelchair had somehow moved to the front of the barricade at a Jelly Roll North Dakota State Fair performance to get a better look. Otherwise, he likely can't see anything.
Jelly Roll bouncer proves humanity might be OK after all
The rule in many venues, of course, is that the area between a barricade and the stage needs to be kept open. This does make sense for safety purposes, but some common sense and decency need to be involved as well. A person in a wheelchair is different than a bunch of people standing near the stage.
A person in a wheelchair is not a threat. People climbing a barricade to get closer to a performer might be.
After moving to the front, a security crew supervisor went to the closest security guard and told the guard that the man in the wheelchair needed to be told to move. The security guard refused, knowing, logically, that allowing the man to sit and watch was the correct thing to do. Upon said refusal, the supervisor fired the security guard.
The guard, however, quit on the spot instead of being fired. He felt he shouldn't be forced to move someone with a physical disability just because of a general rule. He was right. The guard then took off his vest and tossed it at the supervisor.
To make matters even better, the security guard who replaced the one who quit was also given the order by the supervisor to remove the man in the wheelchair, and the second guard refused to remove the man, too.