From: amason@cs.uct.ac.za (Ashton Mason)
Subject: Re: Ranting and raving.
Date: 8 Oct 1995 13:38:46 GMT
Organization: University of Cape Town

syrinx@c2.org (Syrinx Anonymous Remailer) writes:
I'm probably going to get flamed for not being PLUR. I say fuck PLUR, it's a raver's version of politically correct and I say fuck that.

I've noticed that Rave (tm, etc) is faced with a small dilemna here: The ethos of rave is, as they say, PLUR. What this means is that descrimination and judgementalism are taboo in the rave scene, in much the same way that love and self-expression are taboo in normal society. This is good, and is what makes rave so much better than normal society.

The problem is that the ideals of PLUR exclude any opinions which have even a hint of elitism about them. The simple fact of the matter is that the scene, like any underground scene thrust rudely into the limelight, is being diluted and infiltrated by outside influences that are contrary to its basis. This always happens, and always will. The normal reaction of a subculture to this social pressure is to withdraw, or go underground again. This causes a split between those who head for the underground and those who prefer the more commercial side, which leads to friction.

What makes rave different from other subcultures is that the feelings of antipathy towards the outside influences and the very act of splitting are both contrary to the unwritten rules of raving, namely Peace, Love, Unity and Respect. So it seems to me that the future of rave has three possibilities:

1) Being assimilated into popular culture and diluted.
2) Rejecting outside influences, breaking the rules.
3) Withstanding outside pressures, and maintaining its ethics.

3 is the ideal, right? But is it possible?

Maybe I just think too much :-)
Ash
amason@cs.uct.ac.za
http://www.cs.uct.ac.za/~amason

From: durhey@aol.com (Durhey)
Subject: Re: Ranting and raving.
Date: 8 Oct 1995 15:07:40 -0400

Yes it would be possible if people would just practice what they preach!!!!!!!

Peace!!
Durhey@aol.com
Long Live Vinyl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!