Raving while facism is on rise

#1

Very General open ended question for discussion:

Raving is not going to stop fascism. Nor are parties with a leftist tinge. What can we as DJs do beyond our normal area of work?

#2

First thing up must be to stop looking at “the club” or “the festival” as the ultimate venue.

We need to get out to people that want to enjoy a newISH / oldschool kind of party.
(blockparty yesNO?) Remember that djING came from sharing with your peers, not hyped clubs.
Where those attending are in focus, not the bleak reproduction of parties you heard of.

And then I think more people have to accept it’s not viable to combine djING / dj Culture with stardom or a career. It colours your choices . . .

#3

raving cant stop fascism by itself for sure, but it can be a good motivator for it if we do it right! dance music has always been an amazing historical refuge for working class populations (esp queer folks of color) to help foster a culture of solidarity and utopian aspirations, and we must not lose sight of this, and let this just devolve into the cynical corporate hedonism of american major label “edm”. here are some good stuff to do when organizing an event or a venue

  • make sure ur parties have explicit ties with local socialist and antifascist groups of ur area, make some fundraising parties for them now and then
  • make entrance fees low and raising just enough money for getting back production funds so that everyone of the proletariat can rave with u
  • insert and defend good policies against hate speech and sexual harrassment at ur club. i shouldnt even have to say this but so many are still fucking behind on this
  • get ur club to have local politics in the morning. ur message about equality of dancing at night becomes stronger when u let the local dsa or momentum chapter have a meeting there in the afternoon
  • and finally have some all ages events for fucks sake! the kiddos want to have fun too, and ubiquitous alcohol harms more people at dance music events then already criminalized and secluded psychedelics ever can

ill think of some more later but pls just make sure overall that, while antifascism is good and needed, u wont build any long term politics just being against something(s). u need to be FOR things as well, and dance music is way more + then - <3

#4

good topic! one of the first warehouse raves i hosted involved a bonfire after the music where we aired grievances and burned some stolen confederate flags :wink:

also old school hardcore and gabber labels like MOKUM were outspokenly anti-fascist in the early 90s so its always been a point of influence :3

#5

agreed. no one person or event or “movement” can save us from fascism, but the work you do can be a salve. don’t underestimate the power of providing refuge to those needing to escape. continuing to create and reinforce positivity in the face oppression is a success in itself.

#6

People should be careful about who they buy their party drugs from. On this market you never know what you’re actually consuming if you’re not the cook or his close friend. But this paranoid line of thought is harmful in itself, it can quickly extrapolate to everything and lead to extremely negative thinking. And I personally see there at least three options:

  • Do nothing
  • Challenge people to think about it on their own and get paranoid
  • Let people be naive and relaxed and offer them some protection, for example in the form of tester enthusiasts walking around and checking what unknown dealers are selling
#7

That’s a good question!

In my opinion, raving can’t stop the fascism, and it’s not really its role. It’s a way for minded ravers to escape from this sad reality. It’s not a barrer, I perceive it more like a bubble. A flimsy one, since it’s easy to break it with money, conflicts, hate…

This bubble tends (with the actual hype, media, etc…) to explode, because it gets popular and loose its soul and vibe… But the vibe, the true rave one, is in perpetual motion, and wherever it was, sometimes it’s not anymore, when the hype goes on… But you can find the spirit elsewhere, at a precise moment, the present one, in some new small hidden festivals, communities, etc…

I recon that true ravers are minded people, conscious, and dancing, enjoying deep electronic music, is not a fight against fascism, but this way of life is clearly at its antipode, so fascism can’t win… It can just kill people, destroy some parties, kill the vibe somewhere, but this one will come back elsewhere… A perpetual motion…
Fascism is on rise for strong reasons as well, unhealthy society about to collapse, driven by a dying capitalist system… Fascism is a way for non-minded people to keep the society functional whereas it’s getting to collapse… Ravers are beyond that :slight_smile:

Peace ! Big up !

#8

i think we’d all agree that the onus is no more on a dj than it is on another other person.
although the collective is key, individually we can make a difference, especially when interacting with close friends and family.
talk to people, educate (try to avoiding preaching lol), speak up and out - be brave enough to call out bullshit if it’s around you