Pushed Out Feed Up

The typical excitement filled the air. My Facebook news feed filled with Rave Day memes, quotes, and posts. It was going to be an amazing night. How could it not be with such a lineup?

I entered the rave scene a little over a year ago and I instantly fell in love with the PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect) movement. I decided to make my life about this scene and this movement. This would guide me in all my decisions over the next year. I started communities, companies, and groups. I spread the world glorifying the rave scene defending the people within the culture. Often to explain the kindness and thoughtfulness of the rave culture I would tell people when you move through a crowd at a show simply say "excuse me" and lightly tap them on the shoulder. You will find them accommodating. This is unusual for most large concerts and gatherings. It's difficult to move through a crowd. People fight for position and often conflicts arise from this. I witnessed the most brutal beating of a man at a rap show here in Salt Lake that started with a group running through a crowd.

Here I am excited to finally feel my heart again amongst the culture I love and cherish. As the night progresses I get a few bumps of people moving through the crowd, but this quickly became the norm and these groups became more and more aggressive as the night continued. My blood began to boil as I witnessed the destruction of something I felt dear and near to me. I've been to show from Orlando to Pheonix and have never experienced this amount a rude and thoughtless behavior.

What was causing this? Where did the sudden shift come from? Where the hell did they find all these damn fucked up fuck boys? Was this happening in all the scenes around the nation or just here in Utah? You see I noticed this a bit more at DAS the big festival before Get Freaky and I prayed and hoped it was just a fluke. Get Freaky proved that this was not circumstance and the posts on Facebook the next day solidified my experience.

We could point blame all we want, but that does not solve anything. What is a solution to solve this emerging problem facing our culture.? You see this is the beginning of the end of a beautiful community that many have spent years building. I could just walk away, but I will struggle to find a space that brings me such joy. I hope we can solve this and allow many more to come and experience the euphoria and inclusion I felt from the Salt Lake Rave Community.

I suggest we keep calm and continue to lead by example. We could accomplish this by attending smaller shows and teaching newcomers there. You see the large crowd as become toxic already and there is not a way to change a large group. Let's invite our non-rave friends to small events and help them understand the PLUR movement and what is expected of everyone attending shows. Then add them to the large festival groups. We need to outnumber these inconsiderate unPLUR newcomers.

Good Luck PLUR Fam and let's take back our community.

I love you all