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Mini-THREAD on Rave Culture!
Rave culture felt, & arguably was, revolutionary!
It seemed to come from out of nowhere, took almost everyone by surprise, & at it's height in the early 1990s around 1 million young people were taking ecstasy most weekends.
Rave culture felt, & arguably was, revolutionary!
It seemed to come from out of nowhere, took almost everyone by surprise, & at it's height in the early 1990s around 1 million young people were taking ecstasy most weekends.
The Sun initially embraced it as 'the latest dance craze' (tee hee) & even marketed their own smiley 'Acid House T-shirts!'
Inevitably, journalists soon reframed it as just another drug panic, with innocent young people - YOUNG GIRLS! - being led-astray by evil drug dealers
Inevitably, journalists soon reframed it as just another drug panic, with innocent young people - YOUNG GIRLS! - being led-astray by evil drug dealers
But raves kept happening. A LOT! Mainly because disaffected young people were sick to death of the atomised, individualistic shithole Britain had become after a decade of Thatcherite free-market greed, the destruction of communities. & welfare "reforms".
Massive free parties were happening all over the place - during summertime often in some pretty nice places - much to the horror of the local Tory voters.
The authorities struggled to cope - how DO you arrest 1 million otherwise law-abiding young people?
The authorities struggled to cope - how DO you arrest 1 million otherwise law-abiding young people?
This didn't take place in an economic & political vacuum. The increasingly sadistic Tories introduced a draconian poll tax (a flat tax paid regardless of whether you lived in a Mayfair town house or a one bedroom flat) & for many, it was the final straw.
The poll tax followed the Miners' strike - during which the Tories got the Police to smash the fuck out of Unions & proud working-class communities - & the "massive threat" of a few hundred "New Age Travellers" - who they also smashed the fuck out of.
By the end of the 80s there was mass unemployment, mass contempt for the sadistic Tories & along came ecstasy. Young people especially had had enough of the neglectful ideologically obsessed authoritarian shitshow Tories, so they organised their own joy!
The Tories introduced increasingly draconian legislation to prevent raves (£20K fine & 6 months in prison for organising a rave) & started to liberalise the licensing laws in order to contain, commodify, exploit & reduce the appeal of alternatives to selfish free-market shittery.
Rave's radical potential was tamed by free-market capitalism & society gave way to New Labour, who tried to repair the damage with slightly better free-market capitalism, but finished up intensely relaxed about grotesque wealth accumulation, massive #NHS debt & mass Iraqi deaths.
