The Banyan--Derrick Potter

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	The Rave Scene by Derrick Potter
1	I've got five bucks that says you probably don't know anything about what actually goes on at a rave. No, anything that you may have seen on "20/20" doesn't count. The rave scene is completely different from the drug binges that the media tries to portray it as being; the scene is, in fact, a subculture all its own.
2	When I went to my first rave (or "party," as they are more commonly referred to by members of the community—this is to try to escape the stigma associated with the word "rave"), I had no expectations. This was good because it allowed me to keep an open mind, but at the same time I didn't know what to expect from the people there. However, after going to a couple of parties, I began to realize how "laid-back" and friendly just about everyone was. For example, I recently attended a party at a place called "The Temple of Sound." "The Temple" is just a big house, and the young people who live there decided to call it "The Temple" because they wanted it to be a kind of sanctuary from all the big, over-promoted parties that became so common; it is a place dedicated to preserving the "vibe." Because of the small size and the fact that they don't advertise much outside of word of mouth, the crowd is usually small, and the "vibe" is very strong and personal because basically everyone that goes is there for the music. The "vibe" is the main connecting force.
3	As a whole, the vibe is the overall mood of the party; if there is a lot of sketchy (suspicious- or shady-looking) people, the vibe suffers. If the crowd is small and the majority of the people there are all hard-core "party kids," then the vibe is very warm and personal. In any event, I was upstairs dancing and getting fairly hot, so I took off my pullover, set it on the floor by the wall, and set my gum and my keys on top of it. After dancing for a while, I went back to grab some gum, only to find that it was gone. I didn't think too much of it; I actually kind of expected something to be missing. When I picked up my coat, however, there it was, and it dawned on me: Someone saw them in the open and put them under my coat so that no one would take them! From that moment on, I knew that if I wasn't already hooked on the scene, I was then. That night I met a lot of people, some of whom had come from as far away as Bellingham, Washington, and everyone I met was friendly and cool. From now on, I will always go to parties at "The Temple" because the entire atmosphere is so inviting.
4	There are lots of people who think that teens just go to parties to get high. Nothing could be further from the truth; this is not only the biggest misconception that the general public has, it's also the most damaging to the scene's image. No, I won't deny it; there are a percentage of people who use drugs or alcohol at parties. However, the way that the media portrays the scene makes it look like 90% or more of the people use drugs, but the fact is that this number is really much smaller. It is nearly impossible to tell how many people are high just by looking, but it seems that 30-40% is a high estimate. Even then, the number of people who go to do the drug "ecstasy" is closer to 20-30%. Because of this misconception, many people who are new to the scene do "E" to fit in or they want to try it because they think that if that many people use it, then it must be pretty good. At "massives" (parties involving several thousands of people), large numbers of people who don't normally party attend, and try ecstasy or other drugs because it seems like the "in" thing to do. Ideally, the less high-people, the better.
5	Actually, under "ideal" circumstances, people would go to parties sober and stay that way, but the sad truth is that many do use drugs as they come into the scene. After a few parties, however, most start to realize that the point is the music, not the drugs. In fact, there is a term used to describe people who go to party after party for the purpose of doing E: we call them "E-tards," as opposed to retards. This is for a number of reasons: 1) The huge, stupid grin that doesn't seem to go away; 2) The vacant look in their half-closed, rolled back eyes; and 3) Their habit of occasionally (or in some cases, often) doing/saying stupid things like lying down in the middle of the dance floor or walking up to you, touching your arm, and asking, "Are you rolling?" (To roll: to take/to be under the influence of ecstasy; ex: "Are you having a good roll?"—reference to the quality of the high) This is obviously a derogatory term. E-tards are easily distinguished by several things, one of which is having a "binky" on a necklace. Supposedly it feels good to chew on a binky, as ecstasy can make users want to grind their teeth or chew on your lips/cheeks otherwise.
6	Another dead giveaway is when someone is wearing a dust mask. Ecstasy heightens the senses, and, for some reason, Vick's Vapo-Rub smells really, really good, so some people smear it on the inside of the dust masks so they can smell it constantly. E-tards are also known for forming "cuddle-puddles," which are big piles of E-tards who cuddle and/or give each other back rubs. (This is somewhat uncommon, but if it happens, it's easy to figure out why.) Once again, this is due to the whole altered- sense-of-touch thing. Most "party kids" (a term used by "ravers" to describe themselves and other "ravers") look down on this sort of behavior, mostly because this kind of activity is the equivalent of wearing a bright-yellow T-shirt with "Look at me! I'm High!" written on it in bold letters. Again, this adds fuel to the fires of those against the scene because of drug use. The point is that when I go to a party and look around, I see that it is not the majority of people who do these things. In fact, on a Fox News "Special Report," they even said that "…Although [they] did see some drug use, there was no more than can be found at any club." Binkies are fairly common, but this is because a lot of people who make kandy (see next section) incorporate them into necklaces that they make to give to people.
7	An interesting aspect of the rave scene is all of the different social groups represented at basically any given party. There are the "skater" ravers, "prep" ravers, "Goth" ravers, frat boys, "kandy" ravers, and hippie ravers, but there are also those who defy classification based on style of dress alone. Skaters are just that: skaters. They can be seen around town on blades or boards, and the style of dress can vary. Some one is considered gothic if he/she appears very pale from wearing lots of make-up and from avoidance of the sun, dresses in mostly black, etc. Preppies are just the usual valley-girl type. Hippies are the basic sandal-wearing, long-haired, pot-smoking, "flower children," just like in the sixties. One can always spot frat boys because they don't usually dance; they usually have an expression that says, "How did I get roped into this?" or "I'm not really sure what's going on," or just general confusion on their faces. They are also usually dressed like frat boys or jocks always dress, which includes clothing made by "Structure" and "Abercrombie and Fitch." These people were usually invited or dragged in by their girlfriends, and they almost never wear more than one piece of "kandy" unless the said party is not their first. If it is their first party and if they have any "kandy" when they show up, chances are that whoever brought them gave it to them so they wouldn't look so out of place. The sight of these people is somewhat humorous just because they usually look as if they are completely out of their element. "Kandy ravers," or "kandy kids," earn their name from the brightly-colored necklaces and bracelets they wear. People make kandy in advance of parties that they will attend, then when they are at the party, they give kandy to or trade with people whom they meet and think are "cool." If a "kandy kid" is talking to someone and finds out that said party is the someone's first, then he or she will usually give them a piece as a "welcome to the scene" type of gesture. I like this practice because it contributes to the overall friendliness and adds to the comfort level of the experience.
8	There is also a group of people who might appear to fit in with any or none of the above groups as far as appearance goes, but they fall into a category known as "junglists." (Jungle is a sub-genre of techno music.) Unfortunately, junglists have a bad reputation of being angry and jaded, and are unfriendly towards non-junglists, especially E-tards and kandy kids, sometimes to the point where they refuse to associate with them. People like this are very uncommon, but are very elitist, and can be somewhat unpleasant to be around. It seems like they have a problem with kandy kids because of the E-tards. This isn't because most E-tards are kandy kids (or vice-versa), but because E-tards that are also kandy kids just stand out more under a black light than those who aren't. There are also those that defy categorization, like this guy I always see at Portland parties: he's in his mid-40's, and always is dressed in black, but wears kandy and spins glow-sticks. I asked him once what his story was, and he laughed and said that, "I guess I'm just a kid at heart, and plus I love the music." Sounds good enough for me. I've also heard of a 68-year old man who can ". . . dance twice as good as most of the kids on the dance floor." It goes to show that it's not just kids who enjoy the experience.
9	After reading this essay, has your outlook on the rave scene changed? There are lots of reasons why people attend raves. I go for the music, the people, and the vibe, and I know many others do too. Within a party, there are many different social groups coming together to form one big group, which then splits up again in accordance with the music, depending on individual taste. Every aspect of the scene, even the E-tards and "angry junglists," contribute to some part of the whole, and as the old saying goes, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Hopefully by now you've seen that a rave is not just an excuse to get high; it is, indeed, a subculture in itself based on the common love of electric music.
	Nominated by Ellen Franklin, Writing Instructor