Urban crowds actively disperse when a visibly disabled person tries to speak

Evidence

A young man, a spastic, has just entered the hall and is standing quietly, listening to the speaker. Suddenly he becomes animated, rushes forward, losing more and more control of his limbs as he does so. He flails his arms, trying to attract the attention of the main speaker. He begins to talk, he is angry, but the words come out slurred and indistinct. He struggles to make himself understood, but succeeds only in becoming more excited and more uncontrolled. His head rolls against his shoulders, his legs bow, his arms move in all directions, his eyes dart to and fro. The crowd, so noisy before, is hushed. Eyes turn from him and people begin to leave, slowly at first, then with increasing momentum until only a few persons remain. Newcomers stop for a moment to listen, but unlike those before them, do not remain for more than a few seconds. He watches the crowd disperse, pleads for them to listen, lurches toward those nearest him as though to prevent their leaving. Finally, after completing his argument with the speaker, he himself leaves. A young co-ed greets an incoming friend a moment later, tells her of the incident and expresses her view that the entire episode was vulgar and grotesque. — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 918

Categorization

• XREF: Direct illustration of the psychic limit of civil inattention that ties into the reader’s cross-reading of Simmel and Cole — detachment here hardens into active communal rejection of the visibly different other.
• CANDY: A striking, self-contained vignette of how a crowd emptied out for a disabled speaker — snackable anecdote for elevator conversation.