The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Parents weigh in on concert fears
Iris Azulai’s 17-year-old daughter, Carmel, recently attended a large concert in Tel Aviv of the Argentine singer Lali. Given Israel’s history, the fear of terrorism is always lurking, particularly at mass events, but regardless, she would not have prevented her daughter from going.
“There is always that fear ... but I allow her to go because I say we cannot allow terrorism to take over our lives,” the mother said Tuesday following the Ariana Grande tragedy in Manchester, England. “It can happen anywhere and I just ask my daughter to be aware and take note of her surroundings.”
Before a suicide bomber struck in the north of England on Monday, young Grande fans at the 21,000seat Manchester Arena posted photos on social media with messages of excitement at seeing their 23-year-old, high-ponytailed idol live. But now, some parents are thinking carefully about their children’s summer plans to attend concerts.
“The worst part is that if something happens there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. All these things pass through my mind when she is there,” Azulai said.
Among those killed in Manchester was 8-yearold Saffie Roussos. She was the youngest of the 22 dead identified so far.
“The thought that anyone could go out to a concert and not come home is heartbreaking,” said Chris Upton, the head teacher at Saffie’s school, Tarleton Community Primary School in the village of Tarleton, Lancashire.
For many families and kids, concert going — especially freewheeling summer shows around the world — are a rite of passage, a step toward independence. Count American singer and songwriter Victoria Monet, 24, in that demographic.
She was among two opening acts for Grande on the European leg of Grande’s Dangerous Woman Tour. Monet told her 43,100 followers on Twitter after the deadly explosion in Manchester that the “ones who came to have the night of their lives ended up losing them.”
Monet added: “They weren’t safe. I will never understand this hate! I don’t know how to handle this and I can’t smile and I feel useless I’m sorry.”
Julie Dearing in Houston, Texas, has a boy and girl, a 13-year-old son not at all interested in concerts and an 11-year-old music lover who was, until she learned of the Manchester attack. Earlier this year, Dearing’s daughter watched Fifth Harmony and other acts perform at Houston’s NRG Stadium, which has a capacity of nearly 80,000.
“That was her first concert,” Dearing said. “I wasn’t worried then, but I am now. I don’t know that I would let her go to a concert now and I don’t anticipate her asking again, at least not for a long time.”