Last night a bunch of friends and I went to see the Screen on the Green movie festival at Piedmont Park in Atlanta. They were showing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and we got there just after the movie started. We couldn't hear much because the place was packed and people were yelling and walking around the entire time. Still, it was the first time I was seeing the film so I did my best to assume the storyline.
I went to the porto potties with my friend at one point, and on our way back, we saw a huge crowd running toward our direction screaming. The first thing both of us thought was that someone had gotten shot. We went back to our seats though and sat down. We could see over the whole crowd and saw people getting up to leave. Soon after, the screen flickered as the organizers feigned technical difficulties. They announced the event was over because the projector was having issues. The article above describes how it was because of the perceived unsafe situation at hand.
We hung out for a bit after, not knowing it was unsafe, before heading to leave. On our way out we passed through numerous large groups of teens. At one point our group of friends were approached by a young man who asked if any of us had an iPhone. He jammed his hand into my pocket, and finding nothing, went to my next friend's pocket, where he found his iPhone. Yelling ensued, as the young man grasped onto my friend. My other friends and I tried to break everything up, while the rest of the crowd around us circled around yelling. Finally, we got our friend free and in the resulting standoff one of my other friends got hit. The young man bolted when the police poured in, and we saw the young man fall flat on his face; he had been tasered by a police officer.
This was my first time experiencing anything like this in Atlanta or anywhere. I felt bad since one of my friends who I went to undergrad with was visiting from North Carolina, and this was to be his one memory of Atlanta. I haven't had any issues like this before. I hope Screen on the Green continues, just under safer conditions.
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