Politics Backlash?
From this morning’s Seattle Times’ lead editorial:
teen dance rules in our city must be thoroughly reviewed to see if they go far enough to protect young people. One of the six victims was apparently a 15-year-old Bellevue girl. What precautions or rules could have helped her?
On Saturday night, I posted here on Slog that, “Once the editorials start piling up (‘all-ages dances lead to shootings, outlaw all-ages dances!’), Mayor Nickels is going to seize the law-and-order moment and send an ordinance to council cracking down on teen dance culture…Don’t take the bait, Greg. The fact is, if teen dances were prohibited, there’d be more opportunities for bad things to happen to teens, not fewer.”
Some readers commented that it was ill-advised for me to even broach the subject. But I think it’s important to get out in front of the reacationary backlash that looks to be brewing at the Seattle Times.
Thankfully, smart city leaders like Council President Nick Licata, are already trying to head off a short-sighted political reaction. In this morning’s PI, he’s quoted at length.
“I want the Police Department and the chief to clarify what apparently is not a connection,” he said. “This was a private party. You can call it a rave or whatever, but in the old days, it would have just been considered a house party.” Licata noted there did not appear to be any history of trouble with the venue or the promoter.“The actual rave was at a legitimate place that has been operating for a long time, that had a particular kind of music,” Licata said. “When a tragic situation like this happens, we all begin searching for answers and try to connect the dots,” he said. “I don’t see any evidence that connects the dots to an individual who apparently, for lack of a better word, just snapped.”
I've said this before, but I have to say it again ...
The only way in which raving is relevant to this nightmare is that ravers are known for their hyper-inclusivity. Hell, when I was a raver, I'd meet someone nice at a party and think nothing of spending the the rest of the weekend with them. It's a community known for being accepting and loving and extremely friendly. Many of us these days are taught not to talk to strangers — ravers spit on that concept. Talking to strangers is the whole point! It may be the the only mistake these ravers made was inviting the wrong party-goer to their home.
I think many aging ravers remember the moment when they realized it wasn't actually smart to be nice to everyone ... you learn to avoid certain sketchies, and it's a bitter pill to swallow. So much of the rave community is built around being accepting and tolerant. It's a hard step to take when you have to say "I'm accepting and tolerant — but not of the tweakers who've been up for three days." (Not that speed had anything to do with this tragedy -- that's just an example.) It breaks my heart to think that these slain kids learned that lesson the hardest possible way. The only crime these ravers committed, as far as I can tell, was being too open and kind to someone who ultimately didn't deserve it. It's tragic on so many levels.