Writer asks society to rethink raves

Society’s view of parties seems to be strictly limited to an overly typified stereotype. Normal mental associations conjure up images of alcohol, drugs, easy women and lots of rowdy people just waiting for something to happen.
Sadly, this image is carried outside the college campus and suburban neighborhood high school parties to other, more artful gatherings of people known as raves. The simplistic view of these parties is that thousands of people gather in a place where they are surrounded by drugs, and listen to techno music all night long while dancing.
What most people fail to realize is that while there is techno music as well as dancing, there are more facets to a rave than what most see as being the surface of the whole experience.
Saturday I went to one such party. The lineup of DJs included: Devolve, a live p.a. techno DJ which makes him a performing artist; T. Linder, another techno DJ; The Grinner vs. Interzone, a two-DJ tag team; and Spiralkind as the headliner, featuring Hi Fi Princess as the techno/psychadelic trance DJ with Hunnygun as her VJ operating the video wall.
The warehouse was filled with black lights, dance floor lighting, and a room with three Playstations on three televisions. The systems featured Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Tekken Tag Tournament, and Tenchu: Stealth Warrior. There was also a table where one could purchase such things as water, lemonade, slushes and hot cocoa.
The rave experience is not simply dancing and techno music, nor is it really a party, all things considered. It is more of an art form. Each DJ combines different things in their sets to make their performance their own, making them a sort of performing collage artist. Responses to the performances can vary from wild cheering and dancing to a clearing of the main room.
Considering the involvement of many different elements into the performances, raves likewise attract many different types of people with just one thing in common: The love of having a good time with lots of people. All sorts of interesting tastes in music and clothing find their way into events such as the one that I attended.
Heavy metal fans, rap fans, country music fans, and many more, each with a certain style of dressing that is all their own. Half of the fun that is to be had at these events is in meeting people, and then finding them later on in the night. Also, it can establish an acquaintance relationship that can sometimes extend to future parties.
Considering that raves are an art form, which can bring people closer together to garner their own fun experience, then one question remains: Why do the police seem to find these art shows to be the newest scourge on mankind?
Undoubtedly, there are illicit drugs in use at these parties, and that is most often the excuse used to break up the art experience. But, what about the parties where only one person out of so many thousand actually has anything on them to get busted for? The logical thing would be to just bust that one person and let the experience continue, like at any concert that you might go to.
Raves are run in much the same fashion as concerts. The venue is rented, the lineup of artists chosen, and a date is set. Tickets are sometimes made available, but more often than not, the admission is due at the door when you walk in. Raves even one-up concerts by not serving alcohol.
The real agenda seems to be censorship of an art form. Police don’t go crashing into art museums smashing paintings because they don’t like what they see. But, somehow, raves seem to be the notable exception to the first amendment, regularly getting shaken down when they are discovered.
Perhaps it is because they are not held at the Palace or the Silverdome.
However, the sad truth of it seems to be that an older generation is trying to quell the creative instincts of their own breeding.
The art does use computers, mixers, and turntables, there is no denying that fact. However, cartoons are created with computers, as well as the document that I am writing now. It doesn’t seem illogical that the newest form of art would involve a mesh of computers, vinyl recordings, and digital synthesizers.
Yet, because it is different, it is hated.
Why do festivals like Mardi Gras happen without tear gas cannisters and rubber bullets? Why is Spring Break always such a huge hit. The answer is simple: People unite in an area throwing aside all prejudices and misconceptions under the flag of having fun without hurting anyone.
Human beings choose to let go in a large act of hedonsim, and to the surprise of the authorities, they keep themselves under control. Raves are no different. People choose to come together in the name of fun and art. They choose to express themselves in a way that is just a little different than everyone else.
But, for some unknown reason, the police choose to violate first amendment rights in an attempt to control a new art form. The partygoers also choose to accept that at face value, and give another victory to censorship. Mardi Gras and Spring Break choose to accept nothing, and they are allowed to continue.
So, what is your choice going to be?