RAVER FEELS PARTIES GETTING A BIT OF A BAD RAP

About a year ago, something I have come to love came under fire in
Toronto. I go to raves. I have grown to love everything about them,
from the environment, to the friends I've made, to a much greater
appreciation for the music.

There are some legitimate arguments for the side against them. I will
not be one to deny that there is drug use at these parties. But there
is a growing number of people growing sick of the abuse of them, who
will not party any way but sober. I will also mention that drug use is
always heavy wherever a group of high school and college age people
gather. Despite media depictions of designer drugs like ecstasy, they
are not exclusive to the rave scene. They have been found in house
parties and clubs for years.

The side that people don't often hear is the side for why raves should
be allowed to continued. Particularly after the incident at Hullabaloo
17 at the Docks Nightclub, people have confused that isolated incident
of violence with the violence that happens in many night clubs.

Raves are usually incredibly passive environments. The mantra of PLUR
(Peace, Love, Unity and Respect) is respected by everyone, including
those who don't particularly believe in it.

Of all the parties I've ever been to, there has only been one where a
fight has broken out. It was a party with an age of majority room and
two guys had gone in there and gotten drunk. They came out into the
dance floor and one flirted with the other's girlfriend. A fight
began. Almost as soon as it started though, everyone around the two
broke them apart.

I once heard a security guard say he'd rather work a rave than any
other event. The kids at them are more friendly, less violent and a
lot less trouble in general.

The entire atmosphere of a party is unlike anything you find anywhere
else. You can find the music at a bar or a club, but people there are
more concerned with how they look and if they are picking up, then
dancing and enjoying the music playing. There is something very
asexual about ravers. Looking at the clothing at a rave, you see a
group of people whose concerns are more about being comfortable than
if they can bring someone home for the night.

The closest thing I can think of to the atmosphere at a rave is the
one at a child's birthday party. Nobody thinks to care who they are
impressing with the way they look. If you want to dance, you can. You
don't need someone to dance with. People are there to have a good time.

This is where the drugs come into play. The reputation ravers have for
being chronic drug users seems well founded at first. Kids stay up all
night dancing. Everywhere you look there are kids drinking water and
chewing on pacifiers, and giving back rubs. These things are always
portrayed as a side effect to the drug use in the media.

In my experiences, as with many of my friends, there is an innocent
side to each of these. When the music is good, you feel like dancing.
Water is often looked at a sign of drug use at them because ecstasy is
a dehydrating drug. Constant dancing is dehydrating too, even for
those of us who are straight. Several people I know grind their teeth
when excited, and rather than grind them right down wear pacifiers to
chew on. Others bring gum. But they don't do E. As for the back rubs,
it's not just drug use that causes stiff muscles either. Dancing hard
for several hours straight will do that too.

Like anywhere, there are those who feel they cannot have fun without
drugs. As I said before, though, there are also many who want to prove
to the world that raves are about the music and the atmosphere and
that we don't need drugs to have a good time. We're happy with good
music and good friends. And enough room on the floor to dance.