Forums › Rave › Free Parties & Teknivals › Are Raves Still Allowed to Happen?
OK its got harsher in the last few years, but I’ve been thinking that if the cops really wanted to finish off the (unlicensed) rave scene they could but they aren’t using all their powers.
IMO there’s only about 5000-7000 people UK-wide now who are dedicated to the rave scene and only a fraction of them (200-500)? have the resources to pull off a party or are willing to do so.
if authorities used the same tactics already in use to monitor and control the extremist youth or criminal gangs it wouldn’t be that difficult to “neutralise the threat”.
They can use ASBOs, weekend jail, more confiscations; if authorities keep up the pressure eventually a lot of people would just think “fuck it, I’ll go to a legal event instead” or even just settle down and live “normal” lives.
so – given all the opposition from middle England to raves, I’ve wondered why the cops don’t use all the tactics they could?
I suspect its because they know it wouldn’t stop the desire for drugs and there would be a backlash of anger – it would result in more angry people taking crack and H and result in more anti-social behaviour including maybe proper 80s style riots in town and city centres….
I wonder if this is the rave scene’s “stay out of jail” card?
Maybe provided its kept a bit “fluffy” and friendly (this doesn’t even mean being full on hippies, just causing minimal hassle to others and clearing up well) cops and even locals might realise that raves are the lesser of many evils? They will probably never like it, but will at least endure these events, particularly if ravers lead decent lives during the week as well..
but if people start playing into their hands by doign stuff like vandalism, petty crime or theft to fund their lifestyles or getting into class A from the rave scene the worse clampdown could still happen..
what do you all think, especially the younger ones on here?
is it that long until it will be ridiculously easy to authorites to monitor and control pretty much everythin?
anyone with any logical sense can see why raves arent as bad as riots and fights and serious hard drug use. but middle england whines like fuck, and most of them (from personal experience) think we dont have the right to party :you_crazy
80’s style riots might not be a bad thing…
we passed that stage just after 9/11 IMO
this is what I am getting at, its as if at least some of the authorities realise that people need some form of freedom and expression and turn a blind eye on occasions
true – and I am increasingly seeing the Mr Angry types in newspapers or on forums making the cops sound liberal – they are constantly saying there should be more arrests/control of people..
they did bring it home to the country how bad things had got – but from personal experience (I’m originally from South London) there was a backlash whereby those with power and authoritiy pulled out their money and support from these “rebellious” areas and left them to rot and be taken over by the criminal gangs….
For instance south London might be an area that “stood up for itself back in the day” but you don’t want to walk through there late at night on your own unless you know the area well..
summat to keep us all happy basically? we need a release, and they can let us party… thinkin it will keep us from tryin to start some kinda revolution or major riots?
its ridiculously like 1984. we’ve got the “enemy” that we have to fight by takin away our freedoms, so we are united against them, we have the little things to keep people happy and not rebelling, we have the big brother watching… to a tiny extent we even have the thought police through the media and education…
its ridiculously like 1984. we’ve got the “enemy” that we have to fight by takin away our freedoms, so we are united against them, we have the little things to keep people happy and not rebelling, we have the big brother watching… to a tiny extent we even have the thought police through the media and education…
Just control the rush all massives – hold it down :weee:
In part the free festivals scene has been hijacked and ‘dumbed down’ by licensed festivals. When we were going to free festivals late 80’s/90’s there was fuck all else going on in the summer apart from Glasto and Reading. Now there are so many licensed weekenders that there is’nt that hunger anymore. The travellers scene was really well organised at the time and there was something on every weekend culminating in the big solstice event type parties. They also had reasonably good relations with the police and locals apart the occasional flare up. Now, unless you live near a large collective of people organising things it’s bloody hard to find out what’s happening where etc so they don’t build up enough numbers, so it’s easier for police to stop it. This is ironic when you think that modes of communication have never been so advanced. We used to wait around phoneboxes to get the info. I remember statements like ‘1 million ecstasy tablets are being consumed every Saturday night’. If it was like that now the filth would have no chance. Where I live now, it;s all coke fueled binge drinking, and music is almost an irrelevance. We get the odd one off club night, which is full of townies. A few years back there was loads of different crews doing stuff, massive convoys and about all the police could do was direct the traffic. Gradually they were whittled down, mainly by hostile local press and sent into exile or sent down. But don’t forget culture moves in cycles and I don’t doubt those times will come around again. Can’t wait…
true, but didn’t many crews and collectives self-destruct due to bingeing on various drugs (mostly heroin and crack?)
I agree the cops/locals put on the pressure, but at the same time people still had the free choice as to what drugs to take (or not to take), they can’t blame babylon for their own lack of self-control..
IMO what seems to have happened (especially looking around here) is that “new age” travellers got squeezed from both sides; cops from one side and ruthless competition from the “traditional” travellers (Irish travellers/gypsies) helped along by Govt manipulation.
There seem to be still plenty of travellers around but the bulk of them are the ones being used as cheap labour working long hours in the construction industry, and understandably have little time for putting on raves (especially when it can get a site evicted in a weekend)
I think it was actually the “weekend warriors” who “saved” the free party scene post millenium; mostly using spare cash from “easy IT jobs” which were once plentiful during the dot-com era to set up rigs and host parties (this iMO is also why the Internet now plays such a large part in the scene). But many didn’t have the local knowledge nor the dedication to freedom that travellers once had – once things started getting heavy many have gone back to legal stuff or just given up altogether.
I think there are still as many pills being consumed (or MDMA in total if you count the powder as well) – but its the townies doing them along with their coke in the clubs you mention. the harsh truth is stuff like “PLUR” and being “loved up” is seen as uncool today and although people do bare drugs a lot of them still want to act “hard”.
That said East Anglia’s party scene has survived virtually unscathed but I think its a lot to do with geography and terrain, Norfolk is so large that raves don’t really cause a major problem to the rest of society (provided the county isn’t invaded by all the displaced crews from other nearby areas)
its now up to the younger crews and ravers not to make some of the same mistakes, and they cannot afford to dumb themselves down as cops and antis are getting a lot smarter these days.
Websites like this help, but its up to the people to listen and learn (and maybe doing less ketamine might help this process..)
I dont think ANY tolerance is coming from higher political authorities – its clear from all the silly bans and regulations brought in against howls of protest from professionals that this gvt only cares about getting their own way…If the gvt could watch everyone, they would – we can see they are already spending millions in order to do so…
Even senior police officers are saying they feel disquiet about the amount of CCTV, keeping of innocent people’s DNA etc….
This is where the tolerance comes from – not from GVT, who are even restricting legal (soon to be illegal!) live music in pubs now – but from the police on the ground who use their discretion. I agree with you – where parties do not cause disturbance/violence/complaints etc, the police tend not to act, so its up to party people to make sure they stay that way..I guess the perfect party is the one police never turn up to, cos they don’t hear any complaints!
But it wouldnt surprise me if some time soon the GVT give harsher directives to police, taking away that discretion…Even Gordons allies desribe him as a “control freak”, and anyone can see, just looking at him he is a dour, soulless, humourless character….I cant imagine we’ll see any expansion of freedoms in the near future…
IMO there’s only about 5000-7000 people UK-wide now who are dedicated to the rave scene and only a fraction of them (200-500)? have the resources to pull off a party or are willing to do so.
if authorities used the same tactics already in use to monitor and control the extremist youth or criminal gangs it wouldn’t be that difficult to “neutralise the threat”.
They can use ASBOs, weekend jail, more confiscations; if authorities keep up the pressure eventually a lot of people would just think “fuck it, I’ll go to a legal event instead” or even just settle down and live “normal” lives.
so – given all the opposition from middle England to raves, I’ve wondered why the cops don’t use all the tactics they could?
I suspect its because they know it wouldn’t stop the desire for drugs and there would be a backlash of anger – it would result in more angry people taking crack and H and result in more anti-social behaviour including maybe proper 80s style riots in town and city centres….
I wonder if this is the rave scene’s “stay out of jail” card?
Maybe provided its kept a bit “fluffy” and friendly (this doesn’t even mean being full on hippies, just causing minimal hassle to others and clearing up well) cops and even locals might realise that raves are the lesser of many evils? They will probably never like it, but will at least endure these events, particularly if ravers lead decent lives during the week as well..
but if people start playing into their hands by doign stuff like vandalism, petty crime or theft to fund their lifestyles or getting into class A from the rave scene the worse clampdown could still happen..
what do you all think, especially the younger ones on here?
I’ll be there if I have to put my zimmer on wheels :bounce_fl
Probably be a hover-chair by then ace !
I think that sadly this would apply to any government of any political persuasion worldwide..
This is where the tolerance comes from – not from GVT, who are even restricting legal (soon to be illegal!) live music in pubs now – but from the police on the ground who use their discretion.
true, but what I find more worrying is that when the Police do this there are howls of protest from locals who say “the cops are impotent and should do more to stop these events”
I’m very proud to be 1 of the 7000. Imo Police will never stop illegals too many people have the same love for the scene for it to stop. Its more of u can take our system but u will never dampen our spirits so all in all we are just saying a big fuck U to the pigs they can either love it or hate it but we dont give a fuck!
😉
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Forums › Rave › Free Parties & Teknivals › Are Raves Still Allowed to Happen?
