Gatecrashers

THE word “gatecrasher” comes from the 1920s and refers to those who join an event (like a party or a concert) without an invitation or ticket. In the ’60s, local usage of the word embraced parties where gate passes were issued to legitimate guests.

Uninvited guests who join a social gathering without a formal invitation are not always opportunists looking for a free meal. They can be photo bombers just out for getting photos taken with VIPs at an event.

Staying with friends or relatives abroad can raise the prospect of being dragged to a party as an uninvited guest. (You know one of her cousins.) The accidental houseguest who is not counted in the original group gets thrown into the social pot — can I bring along my cousin and her family who are visiting from Manila and staying with me?

Regular friends have their own Viber group sharing inside jokes and common topics, like the deferred impeachment or immigrant woes abroad. Staying out of hearing distance, and in conversational exile, allows the host and his original guests not to work too hard to include the accidental guest in their chatter. They are not obliged to explain punch lines of obscure jokes which send everyone else rolling in the aisles.

Gatecrashers are kept away at bigger gatherings at exclusive clubs or hotel function rooms. There is a desk by the entrance that screens out the social hitchhiker.

Event planners are on the lookout for gatecrashers who wander around the buffet table. Invitations have strict RSVP requirements and follow-up calls to pin down the correct number of guests. Numbered tables can have assigned seating to ensure that only official guests are allowed in. Name cards are even stapled into the tablecloth for the VIP table to prevent transfers.

How can one spot a gatecrasher at an event? Certain behavioral patterns can be observed.

The gatecrasher heads for an empty table near the washroom. This allows him to check who is coming in to avoid any unwelcome look in his direction. It’s also a convenient way to escape on a toilet break.

Attire is a dead giveaway. Most events now adopt a theme, and guests are easily identifiable by their wardrobe. If it is a Katipunero theme, the lady in denims and a backpack with a side pocket for the thermos will surely stand out. Only the truly famous (even if uninvited) can get away with irregular apparel.

At annual stockholders’ meetings for listed companies, gatecrashers find their natural habitat. They need not dress up, affecting the look of reporters looking for a nice lead for tomorrow’s business page. It’s not really the company’s investor briefing that gatecrashers covet. They line up for the buffet and participate in the raffle, with the possibility of winning a trip for two to La Union. But are these unbadged wanderers executives, stockholders, legal retainers, or external auditors invited for the event? (None of the above.)

There are events that specifically try to attract uninvited guests. The prominence and popularity of a dearly departed person is measured by the number of complete strangers who pay their respects. Thus, a wake is considered a “blockbuster” (if that is the appropriate term) if the queue of people trying to get in stretches for several blocks. Movie stars and politicians are measured by this physical evidence of faded glory.

Rallies and protest movements also depend on total strangers getting together in one place. (Placards will be supplied.) While there are no invitations issued for these events, they are now being replaced in popularity by postings in social media. Still, the massing of complete strangers in a public thoroughfare reflects the public support for a cause. Gatecrashers are welcome. They may also be provided with incentives like meals and a cash allowance.

The phrase “uninvited guest” for a gatecrasher is really an oxymoron, combining contradictory words. If a person is not invited, how can he be classified as a guest? In our politically correct world, even this uninvited pest deserves humane treatment. (Sir, this way to the exit.)

Maybe, the polite term for the gatecrasher is “social butterfly”…which is anyway what some of them are.