News (Media Awareness Project) - US WI: Editorial: Raves Aren't The Problem |
| Title: | US WI: Editorial: Raves Aren't The Problem |
| Published On: | 2000-09-16 |
| Source: | Capital Times, The (WI) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-03 08:25:41 |
RAVES AREN'T THE PROBLEM
Following the tragic death early this week of Brett Zweifel, a 16-year-old West High School student who had reportedly attended a Saturday night rave at the Barrymore Theatre, there is already pressure for regulation of these all-night dance parties.
The desire to crack down on raves is understandable, but misguided.
Yes, Zweifel's death may have resulted from drug use. And yes, drugs such as Ecstasy are used by some young people who attend raves.
But that does not justify stirring up the 1960s-style scare stories and drug war rhetoric in order to restrict or actually ban raves. Nor would such an initiative succeed.
Rave culture is far more prevalent than most media reports suggest. With their mix of innovative dance music, embrace of diversity and celebration of good times, raves are dynamic expressions of youth culture that run counter to commercial pressure for conformity.
Crackdowns by authorities will not stamp out rave culture. The rave scene's roots are in the abandoned warehouses of Detroit and British cities such as Manchester, where DJs and dancers spawned a new wave of music in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This is an innovative, entrepreneurial culture that knows how to operate underground or in broad daylight, and young people will always be far safer when raves are held in relatively regulated settings such as the Alliant Energy Center or the Barrymore.
By and large, the Madison rave scene has regulated itself well. Incidents of violence or injury are rare. Indeed, ravers are less likely to end up hospitalized than bar-goers.
That does not mean that additional precautions are unwarranted. Promoters should be expected to discourage illegal actions of all kinds -- including drug abuse. Parents should be expected to know and control the whereabouts of their under-18 children. And young people who attend raves -- or do anything else for that matter -- should recognize their own vulnerabilities.
But those provisos ought to apply to every activity from high school dances to post-prom parties to lakeside beer bashes.
To single out raves for a higher level of policing or restriction would be unwise -- and potentially dangerous.
Following the tragic death early this week of Brett Zweifel, a 16-year-old West High School student who had reportedly attended a Saturday night rave at the Barrymore Theatre, there is already pressure for regulation of these all-night dance parties.
The desire to crack down on raves is understandable, but misguided.
Yes, Zweifel's death may have resulted from drug use. And yes, drugs such as Ecstasy are used by some young people who attend raves.
But that does not justify stirring up the 1960s-style scare stories and drug war rhetoric in order to restrict or actually ban raves. Nor would such an initiative succeed.
Rave culture is far more prevalent than most media reports suggest. With their mix of innovative dance music, embrace of diversity and celebration of good times, raves are dynamic expressions of youth culture that run counter to commercial pressure for conformity.
Crackdowns by authorities will not stamp out rave culture. The rave scene's roots are in the abandoned warehouses of Detroit and British cities such as Manchester, where DJs and dancers spawned a new wave of music in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This is an innovative, entrepreneurial culture that knows how to operate underground or in broad daylight, and young people will always be far safer when raves are held in relatively regulated settings such as the Alliant Energy Center or the Barrymore.
By and large, the Madison rave scene has regulated itself well. Incidents of violence or injury are rare. Indeed, ravers are less likely to end up hospitalized than bar-goers.
That does not mean that additional precautions are unwarranted. Promoters should be expected to discourage illegal actions of all kinds -- including drug abuse. Parents should be expected to know and control the whereabouts of their under-18 children. And young people who attend raves -- or do anything else for that matter -- should recognize their own vulnerabilities.
But those provisos ought to apply to every activity from high school dances to post-prom parties to lakeside beer bashes.
To single out raves for a higher level of policing or restriction would be unwise -- and potentially dangerous.
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