The rave culture and recreational drugs revisited

 The frequencies that music emits seem to correlate with the frequencies at which we live our lives. Similar people are gravitated to similar sounds, thereby allowing for distinct cultures to form around various genres of music.  In the article "Rave Culture and Recreational Drugs" featured in last week's edition of The Vista, Brent Tuttle dehumanizes individuals who immerse themselves in the rave culture.  He wastes little time creating for himself a straw man by critiquing a stereotypical raver.  

Throughout the article he proceeds to beat up his straw-man-raver beyond recognition.  By the end, the straw man is reduced to a fly, devoid of a brain, without any purpose in life, buzzing around a trash can.  While the article's basis of argument is a legitimate topic of concern, the manner in which his argument was conveyed was altogether poor and offensive.   Ironically, the electronic culture is one that promotes peace, love, unity and respect (P.L.U.R.) as he was so kind to mention briefly.  

It is understandable that Mr. Tuttle should be disgusted by the drug usage at such a venue.  I was present at HARD Haunted Mansion, and can attest to the fact that there was an astounding amount of drug usage within the proximity of The Shrine.  The excess use of drugs at raves has escalated in recent years, producing more and more "E-ed out" kids. But to equate all of those present with the more avid drug users and outright criticize this group of people using harsh, demeaning and slanderous words does not, in effect, do anything to support his claims, nor does it promote any reasonable or intellectual way to expose the matter at hand.  His verbal attack on ravers overshadowed what could have been a more meaningful message that there is an apparent need to curb volatile drug usage in our society.

I agree with this hidden element of his article.  As students at a university we ought to value education above all else as it supposedly will enable us to become fully functioning members of society.  Each and every student at this school has an intellectual capacity that enabled them to become a student here, and hopefully they are improving upon this capacity.  It is terribly tragic when promising students become reliant upon drugs that jeopardize the mechanisms of their brain. Such a tremendous amount of resources is poured into us. When you stop to consider how many things we each consume on a daily basis it is a little disconcerting when compared to the rest of the world.  

College students are also notoriously known for leading a rather destructive lifestyle in terms of the substances that they consume.  Why should ravers be singled out amidst all of the other destructive behavior and substance dependency in college?  In any musical genre, negative aspects can be raised concerning those whom the music appeals to and their behavioral patterns.  At least the substances of choice at rave scenes conjure up peaceful emotions.  

The same can't always be said of the abuse of alcohol at sporting events, Stagecoach or even bars and house parties. All the stereotypes aside, the root of the problem seems to reside in our instinctual desire to overindulge in substances that make us numb to our own existence.  With 60 percent of the American population suffering from obesity, it's clear that we have a problem with overindulgence in everything.

The truth of the matter is that many of us are fortunate enough to be able to ask ourselves, "What should I do with my life?"  The greater half of the world population does not have the financial freedom to ask themselves that question.  Rave scenes can be a euphoric environment to inhabit temporarily, but to overindulge in them is clearly selfish.  As human beings we each have potential to become someone truly great.  By allowing drugs to hinder our ability to realize that potential, we are not only harming ourselves, but those around us that might have benefitted from the person we might have become.  

Eventually all of our bodies will become an appealing commodity for Tuttle's flies.  We each are given the option to live our lives as we see fit before then.  Maybe the belief that we can make the world a better place is a delusion, but it is one that I intend to maintain in my frame of thought.  This is why I can fully empathize with the raver. 

 I have immersed myself in this culture and although I don't intend to remain immersed in it, I endeavor to hold onto the emotions that were felt in that time and space so that I might be able to continue to spread the P.L.U.R. to those around me in my life in other ways.  The thought that Mr. Tuttle allowed this experience to slip past him like one of his metaphorical leeches fills me with sorrow.