Large crowds and gatherings

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How of many us here can handle/not handle large crowds and gatherings, I ask?

Me, I can handle them well. Having been going to anime conventions since 2006, I can acclimate well to any big gathering, especially if there are thousands of them there! Having my music around also helps, and my mind is also constantly wandering from thought to thought. (Mostly involving TV, of course).

I have to be in the right frame of mind, and in the right company, and even then, I now realise that it takes me some time to decompress after such exposure.
I generally avoid crowds, but I see it as a practical issue.
I don't like being unable to get to where I need to be, such as toilets, food, drink, or an escape route.
I also don't like the feeling I could be separated from who I've gone with, which is usually my wife, and she uses a wheelchair, so I worry for her (she's independent, intelligent, and self assured, so this is just me worrying unnecessarily, though that doesn't alleviate the problem).

I also worry about being able to get home, especially if I will be relying on others to get me home, such as public transport or taxis.
I'd drive from one side of the country to the other over having to catch a plane, deal with crowded airports, or rely on unfamiliar transport.
On the other hand, my wife is much more flexible, and if I am with her, she alleviates my anxiety about this stuff.

I've been wanting to go to one of those comic cons for years. I just never did. Why? I actually don't know. I think just going somewhere crowded by myself amplifies my loneliness tenfold.

I can deal with large crowds ok, I have been going to anime conventions since 06 and my parents have taken me to big events like sporting matches and theatre shows when I was a kid.

I avoid nightclubs though, they tend to have so many people in them that you have to push past people in order to go anywhere. also you have to shout to make yourself heard.

Have a football (soccer) season ticket and have been going to matches every other week for the past 25 years or so. I like the anonymity of being in a crowd and the fact I can stare at people and study them.

Though I have to know what my role is in a crowd. If it is just a crowd that has formed and no one knows what is happening then I become very self concious and look to escape

I'd rather not be in a croud. I start to get irritated because everyone seems to be moving too slow, it gets to where I start ushering them along. I get croud rage. I'm similar in busy traffic, even though I'm on my bike, ive just got very little tolerance with people who just shouldn't be aloud out in public. I especially have no time for people in supermarkets who just stand in the aisle gossiping and blocking the way like they've got all the time in the world.

Last edited by babybird on 12 Aug 2013, 8:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

I think you should try one RedRobin, hopefully the fact that everyone is there with a common interest, it's not going to be too rowdy(?) and there will not be much, if any, intoxication(?) should make it an easy situation to deal with. You might make some friends and you don't know until you have tried.
(* I've never been to one, I hope my assumptions are accurate)

Personally I will avoid crowds if possible but I can usually make it work if I have a good reason for being involved.

You know what's ironic? I have no friends, frequently go to hockey games alone (usually about 8,000 in attendance) and I usually have a least 15-20 people say hi and call me by name. My uncle who thinks I'm a total geek and weirdo nearly had his jaw hit the floor To answer the question I only like big crowds when I'm familiar with them and those who attend hockey games, contrary to popular opinion, are usually polite, friendly and welcoming. Weekend games can bring out a few crazy, out of control drunks but the security is FAR more aggressive in dealing with them right away then they used to be.

I thought 'crowd' was spelt like 'croud'. I just had to look it up.

I think that's the way they spell it in France.

Oh well that's ok then.

The french word for crowd is 'multitud'

What's French for bonjour?

I don't like crowds. I get crowd rage, people stopping in front of you for no apparent reason, people cutting across you, bumping into people. While I can put up with the constant noise of voices and music all over the place, it does stress me out.
Plus there's so much going on around me as well as my worry that I might see some one that knows me and will have to chat to them.
I worked as a steward for a few months, getting matches every couple of weeks. The first few matches were fine because it was a novelty and I didn't have to interact with the crowd very much. After that it was chaos. I had to check as much tickets as I could and had only 2 seconds to glance at the ticket while the people were still walking. As well as that I had to deal with queries and directions. It gets worse when people are drunk or they don't like what you are saying.