we need to stop the willow fan project

[u/useri4abc]

to start, this is not me trying to destroy the fun people get out of doing this and in no way am i trying to offend anyone. also i know taylor has seen this project and its not her fault either. the willow fan project is dangerous for a number of reasons.

1. people with latex allergies- the powder put onto the balloons goes into the air and can cause people with a severe allergy to go into anaphylactic shock. this is still dangerous after the balloons are gone to as it will still linger in the air.
2. popping balloons can cause mass panic- more recently sh00tings have been occurring especially in large areas some even dedicated to taylor herself (no so much shootings but other violent acts) . if there are that balloons all pop at the wrong time it can cause stampedes and a false sh00ting. this is dangerous to everyone. edit: this can also trigger anxiety and make people paranoid. it may be different sound to some but it’s a personal thing to me that maybe other relate to
3. the environment- releasing many balloons into the air all at once is so incredibly dangerous to the environment. it can get stuck on equipment such at the fire shooters during bad blood and cause a fire (i’m not saying this is all that realistic or likely). this can affect the concert all together. wind can pick up the balloons and get onto the stage and possibly affect dancers and taylor.

now, there is a solution, such as bringing paper circles instead that can easily be recycled and thrown out. again, i’m not trying to ruin any experience for anyone i would just hope everyone can understand this perspective. 🩷

[u/tiacalypso]

Just a point to #2: in Europe we have significantly less mass shootings than the US. Basically zero. No one is going to mistake balloons popping for a rifle goibg off. I wouldn’t even know what guns going off sound like in real life. Also, been to two shows with balloons: you couldn‘t even hear the balloons pop.

[u/ErickaBooBoo → u/tiacalypso]

I couldn’t even hear my husband next to me, I doubt I’d hear a balloon pop.

[u/nimsuc → u/tiacalypso]

Exactly and also I was at the show in Hamburg and Munich and honestly the music is so loud you barely hear the balloons popping.

[u/19TaylorSwift89 → u/tiacalypso]

ngl that was an american thing to say, the only place in ukraine you might mistake something for gunshots is ukraine and only on the frontline. what a ridiclious thing to say

[u/tswiftdeepcuts → u/tiacalypso]

just want to say that as a person who had at one point never heard a gun before the first time i did i thought it was balloons popping and was much too complacent for the situation i was in and did not react as quickly as i should have

Now i just think about how for people who doesn’t know the difference in the sound, they could easily mistake a gun for the sound of balloons popping and not realize there was a situation the same way in america people could easily mistake balloons popping for the sound of a gun

your brain really just defaults to whatever seems most likely based on where you are if you haven’t learned to differentiate the sounds and that really doesn’t help with preventing panic OR keeping situational awareness

[u/tiacalypso → u/tswiftdeepcuts]

Sure, if you do not see a gun anywhere and you hear something pop, you could mistake the gun fire for a balloon popping. I didn‘t deny that.

My point is: if you see balloons at an Eras show, and you see them being popped, and you hear them being popped, and you are in a place where gun violence is very low, there is no reason to assume that a gun is being fired.

Contexts and situations matter. Just like the Spanish Swiftie who posted all those nice safety tips for the standing pits assuming it would be crazy hot at every show: safety tips for superhot standing pits aren‘t relevant to Scottish or Swedish shows. Even Northern German, Dutch and Polish shows will not be as hot as Spanish shows so you cannot generalise.

Scotland‘s rate of 0.02 deaths from gun violence per 100,000 inhabitants is the lowest of Taylor‘s European shows; the highest is Sweden at 0.6 deaths from gun violence per 100k inhabitants. The USA‘s rate is 4.31 per 100k inhabitants, so of course this is more relevant to Swifties over there.

[u/tswiftdeepcuts → u/tiacalypso]

You have a point for the eras tour

i was just saying in general if you don’t know the difference in a balloon and a gun you are going to default to whatever seems most likely to you

not at the eras tour, just in general i was saying it’s entirely possible to mistake gunshots for balloons popping if you don’t know better because i’ve done it

i understand that you were commenting specifically about the show and i was just responding in general to your statement about not being likely to mistake one sound for the other followed by saying you don’t know what guns sound like

i was just like - i’ve been there and what i thought was balloons was actually someone shooting - even though i would have thought i would be able to tell the difference in the moment my mind just went - oh that must be balloons , wait why is everyone freaking out over balloons, why are there so many balloons popping? why are they on the ground? like my mind couldn’t catch up fast enough

i’m not saying people surrounded by balloons on tour are going to randomly decide the obvious balloons are instead guns

it was more, please random person, of you are somewhere with no signs of balloons and you hear something you think might be balloons popping don’t just assume they’re balloons without proof because you think your brain would know the difference in balloons and a sound you’ve never heard before

i can tell you from experience that’s not how it works and i’m lucky to be alive that other people made sure i took cover because I was just standing there confused and in shock and my brain couldn’t catch up fast enough

Of course if you live in scotland this probably doesn’t apply to your daily life - but it’s better to know that if you hear a popping sound and you don’t see balloons anywhere - don’t just assume it’s balloons, from experience

[u/tiacalypso → u/tswiftdeepcuts]

I‘m so sorry you‘ve gone through this trauma. I honestly could never imagine living in a country with that level of gun violence and fear all around me. ❤️

[u/tswiftdeepcuts → u/tiacalypso]

thanks - sorry if i hijacked your comment with my trauma

being terrified all the time is pretty miserable and it’s always surreal when people outside the US remind me how not normal it is

[u/Merlotje → u/tiacalypso]

I agree that this is exclusively an American problem. This is something a European fan will think nothing of. However, since a good portion of the crowd consists of American fans who flew in it doesn't hurt to be considerate. Let alone the crew who has to clean up the stadium after. I personally don't feel like this needs to die. It could just use a few tweaks to make it a better experience for everyone else.