Gate crashing
Gate crashing, gatecrashing or party crashing is the act of attending an invitation-only event when not invited.[1] The person doing the gate crashing is known as a gate crasher.
Reasons for gate crashing include but are not limited to:
- Avoiding entry fees
- Gaining access to free food and beverages (often alcoholic)
- Gaining access to a party that they wanted to be invited but weren't
- Taking pictures of famous people (see paparazzi)
- Having pictures taken with famous people
And more serious crimes like:
- Stalking
- Kidnapping
- Murder
- Rape
- Theft
- Fraud, and
- Causing general disruptions.[2]
Various techniques that involve blending in with the crowd can be used to gain access to some events.[3] Various measures can be taken to prevent gate crashers from gaining access such as collecting invitations at the door and employing staff to identify potential uninvited guests, but such measures can still be thwarted by a skilled gate crasher.[4]
The first "how to" gate-crashing book, Meet the Stars,[5] was written by Charlotte Laws in 1988. She went by the name Missy Laws at the time and details how she crashed dozens of celebrity-filled events, major award shows and even got past Secret Service to interview the president. Her story about Elvis was reprinted in Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.[6]
Notable gate-crashing incidents
2009 White House gatecrash incident
On November 24, 2009, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, from Virginia, and Carlos Allen, from Washington D.C., independently gate-crashed the state dinner between President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.[7]
Other countries
Australia
On 7 September 2013, after media reported the results of the 2013 Australian federal elections which saw the Liberal Party of Australia and National Party of Australia Coalition, a gatecrasher and anti-coal activist gatecrashed Coalition leader and Prime Minister-designate Tony Abbott's victory speech on stage.[8]
See also
- Freeloading
- Peter Hore
- Piggybacking (security)
- Wedding Crashers – 2005 romantic comedy film
- Wedding crashing
References
- ↑ "gate-crashing – The free dictionary". Thefreedictionary.com. Retrieved 2013-11-09.
- ↑ "House-trash party girl blames 'hackers'". theregister.co.uk. 2007-04-13. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
- ↑ "Top tips for gatecrashing". BBC News. 2001-12-17. Retrieved 2013-11-09.
- ↑ Angel, Amanda (2007-11-15). "Time Out New York – Holiday-party crashing". Timeout.com. Retrieved 2013-11-09.
- ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Meet-Stars-Missy-Laws/dp/0894960024
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=MfOqWgzMNccC&pg=PT152&lpg=PT152&dq=meet+the+stars+missy+laws&source=bl&ots=W4SBWmPwLr&sig=SsYnmHmluFdTdDl7KjVeqTEbySs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YEjBVOGdC4rVoASryoLQAw&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=meet%20the%20stars%20missy%20laws&f=false
- ↑ Argetsinger, Amy; Roberts, Roxanne (2009-11-26). "Washington Post – Off the list, but somehow on the South Lawn". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-11-09.
- ↑ Marszalek, Jessica; Jones, Gemma (8 September 2013). "Intruder upstages Tony Abbott's victory speech in major security breach". The Mercury. Retrieved 8 September 2013.