AITA for making a girl have a panic attack at a concert?
First of all, English is not my native language, so please excuse any grammatical errors. Second, hi Charlotte, luv ya, I watch your YouTube channel daily, and I decided to join your Reddit to share this story.
I (F30) went to a stadium concert this week. I don't know what the laws are like outside my country (Brazil), but here there are laws to assist people with disabilities at events like this. Besides paying half price in tickets (you need to show proof with a medical certificate, or they gonna make you pay the other half of the ticket before your entering), priority line with entry 30 minutes before the gates open and there's also a separate area to enjoy the event without being in the middle of the chaos.
To enter this separate area you need to show your medical certificate and you can bring a companion, since some disabilities require constant assistance. A person with a disability can choose to stay in this area or in the middle of the crowd; it's their choice. At the entrance, you're given a wristband that allows you to enter and exit the area whenever you want. Now, the story:
I have autism, which was late diagnosed, so I can stay in this separate area with a companion to help me. For this concert, I chose to stay in this area because it had seating and was less chaotic than a standing area full of people, since it's not common for concerts here to have assigned seating near the stage; everyone stands, crowding as close to the stage as possible. I arrived early with my friend, and we got a great spot.
Everything was calm until a fight broke out at the entrance to this area. A girl and two friends wanted to enter, but only one had the diagnosis, and she could only bring one of the two; the other friend would have to stay in the standing area, away from them.
I love a good gossip, so I stayed quiet, paying attention and memorizing the face and clothes of each of them. Two entered the area and sat behind me, the other left. I left my friend taking care of my spot and went to buy my merch and food for the two of us before the concert. As soon as I returned, I found the three of them sitting behind me.
One of them didn't have a wristband. That's when I realized the area at the back was only separated by some security tape, and the girl probably jumped over it to get in and be with her friends. I spent half an hour thinking about what to do, after all, one of them was taking the place of someone who needed it. These areas usually reach capacity near concert time, and they don't let anyone else in precisely to avoid overcrowding, even if they have disabilities.
I ended up telling the firefighter what happened, and then he went to deal with the situation. The girl who jumped the tape had to leave, but before she did, she decided it would be great to insult me with every imaginable insult, including being ableist about my diagnosis. While all this was happening, their friend who had the diagnosis had a panic attack because of the situation, and the three of them left the area. I think they might have missed the concert in the infirmary trying to calm the girl down because they didn't came back.
I felt guilty for causing a panic attack in another person who was there to have fun and just wanted to be with her friends in a big stadium concert, and I wanted to know your opinion if am I the asshole.