It was just this past June, when we got word that the terrible shooting happened at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. Some less sensitive people might have just chalked it up to another violent act peppered in the news in America — where an estimated 476 mass shootings* took place in 2016. Some people joined together, some were much less sympathetic, with ranges everywhere from true bigotry to stale, insincere sympathy.
However, friends in the gay community quickly pointed out that this incident truly shook them to their core. To them, the club was always a safe space — somewhere they could truly be themselves. It was their church, shelter, sanctuary, and their place to learn about themselves and come of age. As closely as 10 years ago, anyone on the LGBTQ spectrum was not nearly as widely accepted, and perhaps we have forgotten that. Pulse Nightclub, unlike Stonewall, was an out in the open incident, with people not fearing for their lives or reputation to enter.
To many, 2016 signaled the death of the club as a safe space. Going beyond Pulse, the tragedy at The Ghost Ship was another horrible loss. The “safe in the underground” mentality went beyond people just fearing a raid by police for an unlicensed event, but rather translated to a true fear of the safety of each venue. There was always a known risk with underground events, but never one of losing a life.
Growing up in the rave and club scene nearly 20 years ago, the story was the same. Clubs, warehouse parties, raves, festivals/massives were a place to be yourself, unhindered by social norms, without fear. It was a place to truly express the inner you that was stifled by our everyday lives, the “you” that was not your day job, college major, or family history. It was an era that, although we still feared a raid due to lack of permits or suspected drug use from patrons, was something that we would never dream we would lose our life as a part. It is a blow to everyone that has been a part of this community of love for whatever period of time that foundation was shaken.
Orlando was sadly not the only incident to shake our faith. Other stateside shootings included an incident that left two dead at Club Blu in Fort Meyers, Florida; Club Rayne in Florida; and a Christmas day club shooting in Mt. Vernon, New York. Even across the pond, Istanbul’s Club Reina massacre came to light as we were about to ring out the old year, and Paris was still buzzing from the attacks in November the year before.
2016 may have signaled the death of the safe space, but 2017 has since tossed the flowers on its grave. Before this first month of the new year has even ended, we have already had a mass shooting at the BPM Festival in Playa del Carmen, and even an incident in Austin where a DJ was stabbed with a katana by a club owner hours before his gig was about to start.**
The stigma following dance music is more delicate than ever. With constant fights of big budget festivals over safety and drugs, with fundamental issues regarding dance music events (such as TomorrowWorld), along with a stigma at other events of being headed by “shady promoters,” it’s easy to see how it becomes easy to blame the music. Still, western society becomes more and more desensitized to violence in our every day lives, as the hundreds of shootings get drowned in a sea of Kardashian updates. We live our lives in a perpetual half mast flag.
So, how do we fight this? Do we let our fears prevent us from enjoying the music we love in the atmosphere we crave? Is shutting down EDM events in a city (as Playa Del Carmen did recently) an answer? This didn’t work during the early days of the Rave Act, and with dance music bigger than ever, this would not translate well today. As dance music grows or changes as a movement, we must be strong supporters, and make every effort we can to keep that sanctuary alive. We must fight the stigma with love.
*Mass shootings are defined as an incident where 4 or more people were shot by massshootingtracker.org. This may or may not include a death as a result. Information is self reported by members of the community.
**http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/texas/article/Austin-DJ-says-bar-owner-stabbed-him-with-Katana-10860759.php
Journalist/blogger since 2009 and music lover since 1980. Bex now travels the world and writes and takes photos of dance events, creates art in various media, sings quietly to her cat in the shower, and occasionally builds something that tends to involve a blowtorch. She can usually be seen hiding behind some sort of camera rig.
