Eat what gives
Alexander Vikulov/RIA Novosti
Alexander Vikulov/RIA Novosti
It seemed that after feeding the citizens of a great country pancakes with a shovel (Hello to the founder of thetradition of Stavropol) this, to put it mildly Russophobic genre of festive events had to be reversed. But instead, he thrives on the eyes.
Only last month: in Sterlitamak residents staged a stampede for the free ice cream to the city Day; in Naberezhnye Chelny again for some reason with shovels fed the people the “biggest in the history of Russia” by Charlotte; in Yakutsk citizens ate the cake that was baked for orphans, but orphans the distribution is not managed; in Voronezh, with the battle fought with giant pieces of gingerbread, baked to 430 anniversary of the city…
Not far behind, and Moscow. In early September, in the framework of the festival “Spasskaya tower” on red square, made in the back of the dump truck 20 tons 100 kg Greek salad.
According to the organizers, broke the Guinness Book record. According to witnesses, practically beat themselves the organizers at the food Bank.
The newspaper “Metro” wrote that to try the salad out of the truck came a few hundred people and quickly hustled: “Crowd of hungry Muscovites demolished the fence. People grabbed empty plastic containers and wondered: “Where’s the salad?”, “A salad?” Not found on Vasilevsky descent of the promised treats, the townspeople went home with nothing. And some as compensation for the disappointment was plucked from the tables, table cloths, taped, and took them with me.”
The reporters of “Komsomolskaya Pravda” paint a picture more fun: “After the record salad the fun way appeared on the plates of the participants and spectators. Into the back climbed three guys, completely wrapped in cellophane. In their hands were shovels (again, these shovels! — Author), in buckets they loaded the salad and pulled down. Tomatoes and olives fall to the pavement. Fatty oil, the organizers promised to clean up… “Take as much as you can carry”, — told the audience volunteers. And no one is shy, the mountain of Greek salad disappeared in the eyes…”
In General, good fun. Especially ate.
And, it would seem that everyone is happy. The city held a large-scale festival, the PR provided the mass, promising a free meal, people for free then he ate some salad. Anyone with even crushed. Plus the Guinness Book record is set. But I cannot relinquish the idea that the good is feeding people with shovels is not going to end.
The organizers of such entertainments — from government officials to PR — can, of course, know nothing about the infamous Khodynka, where in the crush at the king’s gingerbread killed almost 1,500 people, but organize mass events exactly in the same patterns. As if on purpose awakens the darkest instincts: to snatch a piece, pushing the middle, losing their dignity in the fight for the spoon of the salad bucket, spit in disgust at the sight free fucking brought shovels shovel.
And if in the crush at the king’s presents 120 years ago died very very poor and illiterate,
today that induces well-educated and, judging by the photos, well-dressed citizens with smartphones in hand to rush to the fence for soldering and cheap food?
For some reason I important to understand. Maybe then, and more about us will be clear.
The first explanation of the attraction of people to a freebie. A sacred thing for all Nations and peoples. Even found on the road small coin warms the soul. But if this coin got to run in a crowd of rivals, or to crawl on his knees through the mud (say, a coin rolled away), which is much less pleasant emotions from unexpected bonus. So freebie freebies strife.
The second explanation is the effect of the crowd: everyone ran, and I ran. Why, why — and itself I will not understand… Like and not been hungry. Then, when the salad and chewed, even as it was uncomfortable — I’m such a savage. Too, sometimes. As psychologists say, “people in the crowd perceives and behaves in a fundamentally different way than the same people individually, coming from the crowd…”
A third explanation — the thirst for justice that many citizens born in the USSR so often confused with egalitarianism. Why it was given and it was given, and I was not given?
To me it may not be necessary, and Greek salad I don’t particularly like, but where is the justice?
A friend on Facebook, too, trying to understand the phenomenon of squeezing for a free piece told a story. In 2013 one fast food chain in conjunction with the Department of culture of Moscow has decided to please inhabitants of capital on pancake day.
“In just a week we traveled nine yards in different districts. The Department of culture organized the cultural program, and our firm — pancakes, ” he recalls. Pancakes were baked on the spot and distributed free to all comers. The queue was constantly kind of abuse, saying that you are not standing, etc., but the worst is the local grannies, who broke forward and, pushing children, demanded — not asked, but demanded twenty pancakes without waiting for the Board of veterans or immediately three pancake for people with disabilities who are unable to descend into the courtyard.
Was young father, who came to understand why their child ate a single pancake, and the neighborhood, perched in the third round, gobbled up three. And required two way.
I tried to explain that we have the occasion to come into the yard of the children that we have neither the physical not the financial possibilities to provide pancakes all the disadvantaged area that we can’t keep track of how many times someone joined the queue, and the queue bake pancakes for everybody.
In response fell threats that we will complain to the police, the prefect, the local gangsters, who will teach justice, etc. so good idea for a project turned into a nightmare”.
It seems more the network such events are not conducted. But the organizers of various public events, including the capital, for some reason, this format is very loved. Equating the crush and abuse of the crowd to mass enthusiasm. And not really thinking about the fact that this format degrades the dignity of man. That would be to humiliate, say, ” well, Yes, not without it, of course. And still shouldn’t put people who came to have fun in such bestial conditions.
Videos like thrown into the crowd of pigs in Tyumen or throw the sausage out of the plane in Penza, gaining hundreds of thousands of views in Russia and in the world. Comments are so derogatory for Russian citizens, it is a shame their quote.
Of course, it’s silly to make such individual subjects global insights: that the people saw in the coffin of the European way of development, if they Cutlery is not necessary, enough the shovel or bucket… Not everyone, thank God, not all… But the question is, where does the enthusiasm of the masses when it comes to the really important stuff remains.
Well, that’s why people are willing to sacrifice their health, choking in the crowd for a piece of burnt pancake, but too lazy to go out, for example, permitted a rally against the laws of Spring, which threatens tomorrow to pull out of their pockets tens of thousands of rubles?
Or why they are willing to go somewhere in the field where they promise to throw them a sausage, but too lazy to walk to the polling station? Maybe because the piece of pancake or a round of sausage — this is a real, tangible, albeit small benefits here and now, and the fight against harmful to the wallet of the law or the decent people in Parliament — it is a long, tedious and, most likely, a failure. Citizens have, as well as power, not strategy and tactics. Today, she took it, and tomorrow will be tomorrow and think about this.
So I’ll go for a better Greek salad at the Red square I’ll go, if fresh democracy in the country has not yet delivered.
