PEACE AND LOVE END WHEN YOU LEAVE PARTY

from Young People's Press

Raves can be a lot of fun and the people you meet there are great. But if
you stop to think about it, there are elements of the whole scene that are
really sad.

When I went to my first and only rave, it was like entering another
universe. The swirling lights and colours, swarms of dirty, sweaty people
and the overpowering electronic soundtrack was intoxicating. It was a
surreal, bizarre experience - and it was fantastic. I couldn't wait to go
to another one.

But I never did.

At raves, peace, love, unity and respect become a reality for a night, but
as soon as you leave, they vanish, giving way to the cliques and violence
of teen life.

And it dawned on me that the strangers who spontaneously hugged me that
night are the same ones who walk right by me at school.

It's unfortunate that most youth seem unable to apply the basic message of
peace and love to their daily lives without doing drugs and going to a
rave. That's is especially troubling because the values associated with the
rave scene - self-expression, acceptance of others, total freedom, an
absence of authority, friendliness and lack of inhibition - are what many
teens crave.

I also find it pathetic that I had to buy a $20 ticket in order to
experience unity for one night. If this is something teens yearn for, why
can't we apply these ideals elsewhere in our lives?

I don't condemn drug use, but we shouldn't need expensive, trendy drugs
just to create the desired atmosphere. And the recent spate of overdoses
prove they are not being handled with the care they deserve. Drugs like
Crystal, Special K and especially GHB, the date rape drug, are messing a
lot of people up.

Many people rave as an excuse to get high and some very young ravers
display a horrifying appetite for drugs.

They are missing something in their lives and look to raves for the answer.

The rampant commercialism in the rave scene is also disgusting. Designer
drugs are replacing designer labels on teen shopping lists. The right rave
clothes and accessories can be bought at trendy Queen St. W. stores - and
they're not cheap.

>From hearing old-school ravers wax eloquently about the past, it seems
that what started out as a way for young people to dance the night away has
turned into capitalistic opportunity to make oodles of money.

What troubles me the most is the escapism that raves represent. Why do
mostly white, mostly well-off teens want so badly to run off into a
drug-induced haze of movement and music? It is the need for raves, and
their addictive nature, I find quite sinister.

I cannot say for certain why I went to a rave last May. Sure, I was
curious. But then why, after I'd satisfied that curiosity, did I want so
badly to go back? What is it in my suburban world that I needed to escape?

For most people (myself included), raves are a lot of fun. But I hate the
idea of packaging things like peace, love and an awesome time and buying
and selling them all wrapped up in a $20-plus ticket.

The writer is a 17-year-old student.