DRUG REPORT CRITICIZED

The portrayal in last Saturday's article, "Drug busts target clubs,"
about an event that took place at GG's Club the previous Thursday
describing a "planned rave" is an indirect attack on my character as
well as G.G. Shinn's. I was the promoter of the event and he was the
host. The word rave has been stigmatized by our society, and the
negative connotations we have come to associate with it were in no
short supply within the article. Dateline NBC has certainly taught us
of the rampant drug use one would expect from a rave, and while I
won't deny the fact that drug use remains prevalent throughout clubs
in our country, I vehemently deny any such associations with my event.

It is true that there was one arrest for possession of marijuana at
the event; otherwise I would not need to write this. However, it
disgusts me that such an unfortunately routine occurrence was seen as
an opportunity to brush up on skills in yellow journalism. The article
made sure to list the arrestee as having a VIP pass, clearly
indicating some inner-circle drug smuggling taking place among those
who orchestrated the concert. Sadly, however, the individual detained
was only in possession of said pass because he had signed up for a
competition taking place later that night, not because he had anything
to do with the event itself.

Also, the very same article made mention of an arrest for possession
of the club drug ecstasy at the Bayview Club later that night. I find
it terribly ironic that the very drug that has contributed so much to
the negative connotations of the word rave was not even present at the
actual planned rave, but it was across town in a seemingly harmless
bar.

I can see no positive effects from this type of "journalism," and I
put that word in quotation marks because of the blatant lack thereof.
Had the reporter whose byline was on the article actually contacted
Shinn or me she would have known that this was not a rave, merely a
small conglomeration of disc jockeys exhibiting their talents or, more
simply, a concert. This type of reporting can only damage the
reputations of those involved and is not appreciated. Sensationalism
is better left to the tabloids, and I hope in the future the facts can
be brought to light by those whose duty it is to do so.

Chris Pierce

Alexandria