By now, you’ve probably heard of the tragic loss of life that occurred at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival. In the days following the deaths of ten attendees, there has been a great deal of discourse over who is responsible. Many have been pointing their fingers at Travis himself, noting his tendency to incite riots and yell “fuck security” at his own shows, and generally ignore the safety of his fans. However, despite his actions, I don’t necessarily think that he is to blame. I honestly don’t think he understands object permanence.
The idea that objects and people continue to exist even when you are not looking directly at them is a basic developmental milestone for most infants, but not, I believe, for Mr. Scott. In his hit song ‘WHO? WHAT!’ (likely referencing his inability to understand the continuity of existence), he raps “Ain’t seen the best yet, open up your eyes, yeah”. This lyric was likely influenced by one of the many times he has closed his eyes and forgotten that other things and people exist around him. In another song, ‘STOP TRYING TO BE GOD’, Scott raps, “but never turn your back on her”. It is now evident that when he turns his back on ‘her’, she ceases to exist in his mind.
One video from the infamous concert shows Mr. Scott on a platform, staring at a dying fan, while singing in full autotune. Some might consider this proof that he knew of injuries occurring at his concert and that continuing was an inexcusable act of prioritizing his success over human lives, but I’m not so sure. He was probably just staring because he was trying really hard to understand why this fan kept disappearing every time he looked away, and I think we should all give him credit for that.
To be honest, I’m not even sure that he understands that other people exist with minds and lives of their own. He might believe that he lives in his own weed-infused Truman-Show reality, where none of his actions have consequences (because let’s be real, they don’t). If we take all this into consideration, it’s perfectly reasonable for Mr. Scott to throw a fit mid-show when a kid once stole his shoe, yet do nothing last Thursday and even go to Dave and Busters after the Astroworld concert.
We should all have a little more compassion for the compassion-challenged people among us, and instead of blaming Travis Scott, offer constructive solutions to his affliction. For example, I encourage Ms. Kylie Jenner to try playing Peek-a-Boo with him regularly to develop important skills. In fact, it can even become a family activity, as I’m sure he could learn a lot from Stormi as well. And to Mr. Scott directly, I say, “we need to use gentle hands and speak with kind voices when we play with our friends”.
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