well i’ve pulled out of london squatparties cos of a breakdown in organisation, and have limited participation in raves. its true that the people running raves now are a lot less caring and responsible than they were 5-10 years ago (and it wasnt like there were angels running things back then).

its the festie circuit and clubs for me. and yea, keeping head down when in no-mans land.

i dont have the time and effort to pull raves back from where theyve gone, even if it was possible. theres definitely new laws coming in, and they aint gonna be pretty.

the rave crews of yor have moved onto bigger and better things or dropped out. its just a shame that teenagers growing up now wont have that platform of free expression that we did. imean even if they put a youth centre in every village, that maybe a platform but theres very little real freedom, even if the service providers beleive there is. britain is going to be a much poorer place culturally because of all this.

forgive my youthful optimism but shit, this thread is so fucking defeatist.

“we’re definately gonna have new legislation” well, probably, it doesnt mean you stand aside. take a leaf out of col’s book, he’s trying something at least.

we keep blabberin on about a united front of like-minded ravers, yet half the ravers now just “accept” that we’ve got to shit, dickheads are everywhere, booze/ket are ruinin parties etc. etc. heard it all man

but to me thats so defeatist it’s unreal. i mean, it may be goin through rough times

but what are you gonna do about it? anyone who cares for the scene as much as i know people on here do, then standin aside and sayin “its inevitable” is like letting crews like BK fuck it up for us.

have a gander:

http://www.squatjuice.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=106821&highlight=

imo we need to act fast or it will all go to pot. but lets make a fucking effort to stop it doin so, right?

those stupid people that started chucking bottles at the 5.0 have ruined any possiblity of credible news coverage. As a result Essex police have now thought it was a good time to launch a Crimewatch episode (last Sunday) looking for 11 “ravers” wanted for the Great Chesterford rave last August Bank Hols! No coverge whatsoever on how many ravers were injured, just that apparently 64 officers were injured, even though the number was originally 19 last August. Im a writer and have probably written the only fair piece on the party for Time Out (London) who are just about the only media willing to relay the real story. Those kids who chucked bottles have only legitimised police heavy handedness. That said, whatever happened to all that You tube footage on the ob kicking at the “riot” in Essex, and how come they’ve got away with giving someone another ASBO..?
In general I think you guys are all pretty stupid. Get you cameras out and start taping the next time they kick in.
And yes, I agree, K is running and ruining parties.. get your headz together and get mobilised.
Anyway..

probably taken down by the people who put it there, as on previous occasions the cops have used the footage against the ravers, claiming it also shows violence against the police or they use it to identify people they wish to arrest

After a similar incident in Suffolk in 2006, cops even got a Court Order on youtube to obtain the personal details of the video subimitter (they handed over these details without a murmur) and managed to visit home addresses and seize peoples cameras and tape. The current practice of youth gangs putting up crime and anti-social behaviour on there hasn’t helped matters, as its easier for authorities to spin this “big brother” tactic against people.

Citizen journalism doesn’t actually hold up as well as many idealists thought it would when the “Web 2.0” portals are still run by corporates who act as “good corporate citizens” (i.e hand over whatever they are asked for) to preserve their investments and profits when the Governments play hardball.

TBH if people have such videos I expect they would be better off showing them to someone like a solicitor – or one of the few remaining trustworthy mainstream journalists who could help fight their case than putting stuff on Youtube

The wider problem IMO is ravers have lost so much public sympathy in recent years (even compared to people like climate change protestors)

because his crew left shitloads of rubbish behind at a party held in a nature reserve earlier in the season and was already known for parties in a different region. Actually they haven’t “got away” with the second ASBO as the matey is contesting it saying (rightly) it is unacceptable to scapegoat an individual when there are a lot of party crews around.

Unfortunately though its not the late 90s any more when ravers were overlooked by the rest of society in all the dot-com/cool Britannia euphoria, they are now being held up to scrutiny and judgment by wider society and not coping very well..

I think most older people are being realistic rather than defeatist. We have got away with what a lot of society consider to be crime for 20 years, whilst making little progress with efforts to make the rave scene more socially aware… a backlash of some form is inevitable.

OTOH even though the CJA became law in 1994 it took many years for cops to work out how to properly use it and raves continued for many years afterwards.

I’ve just had a long phone conversation with one of my friends from this local area about recent events, and if there’s any way of salvaging the East Anglian scene (once one of the best, just like SE England was)

One problem is lots of people are stubborn, they have an “all or nothing” attitude on both sides

This is why there are so many free parties in Norfolk anyway, its also because people particularly in Suffolk and Essex have tried the legal route but venues have been closed down and licenses refused due to societies paranoia over drugs

Also there are many (particularly those in their mid 20s) who would rather just give up on the unlicensed rave scene than put more effort into preserving the scene as they have “had their fun”. Bear in mind also that unlike 1989-1992 there are now a myriad of licensed all night events and festivals (albeit confined to certain areas of the country).

Its therefore going to take the younger lot (aged 16 upwards) to try and preserve what remains – but this will also mean more solidarity and better organisation, and perhaps a few compromises such as the use of TENS or smaller, more friendly events.

That said I’ve noticed the people here are a lot more clued up than they used when I was that age to be so its still possible.

just like to say..the voilence dont work!!!…from either side ..old bill / party people..yes theres a big problem that needs sortin and selective choicing..’if these are the right words’..of party people attending would help..problem is too many chutneys going not interested in the scene ..’just biggin it up’..i dont go anymore ..still do fessies where i can take my children to mix with like minded folk..not people on missions and ending up in bad states..although i suppose it can happen anywhere..

in the meantime fight for your right to party..’but forget the voilence’

if such a party / fessie happens oldschool stylleee pm me..im interested