[ExI] yelling fire

[SR Ballard]

Charles Spurgeon dealt with a similar incident early in his ministry: 

“Emotional Trial by ‘Fire!’
The service was underway when, during Spurgeon’s prayer, several malicious troublemakers shouted, “Fire! The galleries are giving way! The place is falling!” even though there was no fire.

In the subsequent panic, Spurgeon attempted to quell the commotion, but seven people were trampled to death and twenty-eight were hospitalized with numerous serious injuries. ”


SR Ballard

> On Apr 9, 2021, at 12:13 PM, Dave Sill via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
> 
> 
>> On Fri, Apr 9, 2021 at 11:09 AM spike jones via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>>  
>> 
>> I heard an expression this week that reminds me of my cheerfully misspent childhood: You can’t yell fire in a crowded theatre.  I always assumed it true.  But… is it?  I understand it is a reference to the limits of free speech.  It makes reference to something the old timers all understood but moderns do not. 
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> In the old days, theatres were made of wood and were full of flammables.  They had no sprinkler systems, no smoke detectors, no fire alarms, no extinguishers, grossly insufficient emergency exits.  Proles would trample each other in panic trying to get out if anyone screamed fire. 
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> What would happen if someone did that now?  Answer: probably nothing.  I wouldn’t get out of my seat.  Any building that meets modern fire code doesn’t really burn worth a worry.  The carpet is fire suppressed, drywall doesn’t burn at all, there are smoke detectors everywhere.  If someone started screaming fire, the bouncer would likely throw the bum out, but I doubt there would be legal consequences.
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> Conclusion: you can yell fire in a crowded theatre.
>> 
> 
> See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_fire_in_a_crowded_theater
> 
> Doing that did cause a significant number of deaths a hundred or more years ago. As a justification for not allowing anti-draft pamphlets to be distributed, it's not such a great argument.
> 
> -Dave
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