How Many People Do You Tell You're a Raver?

[General Lighting]

TBH I think its virtually impossible for the younger lot here to "hide" the fact they are ravers, as most people who are now parents/bosses/teachers are in their mid 30s to 40s and would have remembered rave culture first time round (including when it nearly went mainstream in the early to mid 90s)...

Some of the older people are supportive or at least tolerant, but others less so because of the legacy left behind by the old skool ravers - too many couldn't self-regulate their drug intake and caused problems to themselves and others because of it..

That said if you are a raver who is doing well at education/work and can self-regulate their use (thats not just "not getting ill/addicted/nicked", but also not lunching out mondays and calling in multiple sickies and/or being irritable towards family/work colleagues on comedowns) you can create a positive image and its easier to justify what you get up to at weekends

[uiffi]

That's true...I always say who I really am and what I like doing, even at work..Sometimes we have to find a compromise (?!?),renouncing to superficial things like clothes,piercings..but without loosing our personality!I used to work in a shop of underwear and it was clear that I had spent the saturday dancing in a rave, because sometimes I fall asleep while i was putting in order penties and bras!moreover, if we go on hiding our nature,other people won't never understand that ravers aren't drug addicted, vegetals only thinking to destroy, make noise and take drugs...we should try to make people overcome their prejudices..through the awareness that we all can study, work and being introduced in the society!we are not a world apart!

pleease, don't take care of the mistakes...

[~DiRtYrAvEr~]

yh i totally agree wit ya on tht one we shud b who we really r and shudnt hide the fact that were ravers we should be proud.... nd most people think we r all bout destroyin and drugs but thts not true we live normal lives jst with brilliant weekends !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! keep on ravin people xxxxxxxxx

[badmouse]

im open about being a raver, its part of who i am! do have to be careful tho cos not everyone is open minded about it.

[reargurner]

Originally posted by General Lighting

OK most of us ravers have a good network of friends; but how many other people do you/are you prepared to admit to that you are involved in the rave scene?

Parents/Work Colleagues/Teachers/Lecturers etc?

What sort of reactions have you had from them, and are there any people you are less happy about discussing your lifestyles with?

I'm proud of what I do and who I am, there's no way I could live a lie.

[Digital-A]

its pretty mental actually my mum supports me playing/attending raves etc and will only tell me to keep safe and txt her when i get there


other people i do tell, but not in a proud ''im a f***ing raver, i hate the police" and all that crap i just say the scene is part of me, from the party goers to the sound systems and fellow djs etc just tell them what they want to know really

[danelectro]

Hmm...i wouldnt call my self a raver...haha an aspiring raver maybe howeverhaha .

wouldnt say ive been to enough parties etc to say i am one tho i do agree with the politics about th whole thing!

my mum know about the parties ive been to, doesnt mind...at all, its a good place to be, sort of scene to be amongst.

haha... she didnt mind the time when i told her i was going camping in durham and there was a barn dance and shit ( im fom newcastle )but secretly drove up to fife in scotland for a Froot Soundsystem event haha then she was speeking to on of me mates mums and she was like did dan enjoy going to fife blabla but yeah, since then shes been totally cool with it, i thin parents have more trust in us then we expect!

[tarifa]

Originally posted by General Lighting

OK most of us ravers have a good network of friends; but how many other people do you/are you prepared to admit to that you are involved in the rave scene?

What sort of reactions have you had from them, and are there any people you are less happy about discussing your lifestyles with?

In my past life i was totally open, but my past life was the bloody scene - work and play so . . .

In my present incarnation my past/private life are totally for my eyes only.

I'm open about my politics and my general position in this world (am known for being a bit militant) but certain areas ie drugs and anything illegal is a no no. It would be professional suicide.

An i know some of u will say OMG ur living a lie but i'm just very selective is all. I love my job, its great for the world and me - fantastic karmically speaking, i'll never get bored, keeps me nice an slim and i love going in everyday, its brilliant (fucking hard tho sometimes).

So i have to be diplomatic bout certain things and not get caned like i used to but what the hey, i'm still me whether i is silent as a mouse or shouting from the rooftops

[General Lighting]

Originally posted by tarifa

An i know some of u will say OMG ur living a lie but i'm just very selective is all. I love my job, its great for the world and me - fantastic karmically speaking, i'll never get bored, keeps me nice an slim and i love going in everyday, its brilliant (fucking hard tho sometimes).

So i have to be diplomatic bout certain things and not get caned like i used to but what the hey, i'm still me whether i is silent as a mouse or shouting from the rooftops

I wholly understand what you mean as I had to do this for 4 years from 2002-2006 when I was a Civil Servant (working on data processing for various public sector IT projects for environmental protection).

I worked in the TV industry for a few years before that - "almost" a dream job but not quite (although I learned loads of good technical skills there) but the company I worked for fucked up on a dot-com venture and laid loads of people off..

I partied for a whole year after redundancy and a lot of private sector IT places didn't want to know (they see the career break as a lack of committment to the work ethic)

It was ironic, after years of being a thorn in the side of the Establishment they were the only people who would give me a chance and make reasonable use of my skills - what was supposed to be a 2 month casual job became 4 years and if it hadn't been for the war sucking the public sector budgets dry they would have taken me on as permanent...

But they were (understandably) strict about the image you put across to society, so I had to lead a sort "double life" for all these 4 years - thats why I would never admit to pics of me being on line (nor put them on here) or even divulge my real date of birth until 2006 - there aren't that many Asians on the free party scene in SE/Eastern UK (about 5-10 at the most I think) so I'm very easy to identify..

it was fair enough I suppose (for instance you can't really have someone who was dealing with confidential data and millions of pounds of govt money being openly involved in "dishonesty" such as breaking and entering buildings and holding raves in them!) - it was stressful sometimes but at the same time I did my work well and honestly so what I did outside didn't cause a problem (until 2006 raves weren't seen as a source of major environmental damage anyway).

Actually there were three people at work I'd talk about raves to.

One worked downstairs and occasionally uses this site, another was an original acid house raver about a couple of years older than me who had only stopped because he became a dad, and the third was a bloke who was actually a very devout Muslim!

This might seem odd but we got on really well - he respected my lifestyle choices and I respected his (he was once into music/partying as well but gave up due to family/work commitments rather than religion) and perhaps because he was also often mistrusted and marginalised he knew what it was like to be in that situation.

[tarifa]

Originally posted by General Lighting

I wholly understand what you mean as I had to do this for 4 years from 2002-2006 when I was a Civil Servant (working on data processing for various public sector IT projects for environmental protection).
.

Exactly GD, life twists and turns in some very strange ways sometimes, so wierd that sometimes it can be difficult to remember who you are.

I think that's one of the reasons music is so important to me, it keeps me grounded, is my centre ( i can't remember the word?!). No matter where I am, what I'm doing or who i'm with the music is always real/concrete.

I've just re-read that an it sounds kinda spiritual. I dunno . . . music is the pivotal bit an the spring from which everything else i believe stems from. Or is it the manifestation of all these things? freedom, individuality, power, independance, originality, fun, union, creativity, communication . . .

Blow me I might start a thread on this, it'll be the first one i've started! Cant think of a better subject an i am really interested to hear what u guys will have to say

[3kilos]

truthfully i am a raver and proud of it and any body who knows me or work with me tends know it with in a couple of days. tho i preffer to listen to my own music on site rather than the radio which may give the game away a little. still be proud of it

[Kensaken]

Im not a week in-week out raver, but i go to them when i can. Most people i know know about it now.
My dad is fairly disapproving (i go with my bro generally) because hes worried about the safety etc, which i find completely understandable, i dont think hes against the idea of them though.
My mum approves of them!! She said if they didnt go on all night and day, she'd go to them! She doesnt approve of the drug culture though, but when i told her about running past the police to get in warehouses etc, she complained about the police trying to ruin our fun! Im quite proud of her!!

[GetOnOne]

I work in public sector as well, (and in IT)and am pretty comfortable telling most people about it. For one thing, most of the senior managers dont really understand, they think raves are same as clubs, and secondly, in my organisation, its pretty heavily unionised, into employee rights and stuff.
To actually get sacked, they would have to prove it was seriously threatening your ability to do the job, which it doesnt.
However, they are talking about introducing random drug tests. Before doing so, they'd write up a policy about acceptable use (not sure how they'd get that together, it would have to stand up court/disiplinary hearings). If you broke the policy, you'd be out, evenually, I guess
This is worying me a bit!

[globalloon]

Originally posted by GetOnOne

However, they are talking about introducing random drug tests.


This is worying me a bit!

i'll sell you a bag of piss if you like...

[GetOnOne]

lol!
And get sacked for someone elses piss?

[globalloon]

Originally posted by GetOnOne

lol!
And get sacked for someone elses piss?

money back garantee... no need to return the product if it's faulty

[GetOnOne]

you know what, I think Ill pass. But thanks for the offer. Theres a lot of water to pass under the bridge before I have to act....

[MisterDuck]

drug tests

oh fuck

[globalloon]

Originally posted by GetOnOne

you know what, I think Ill pass. But thanks for the offer. Theres a lot of water to pass under the bridge before I have to act....

[General Lighting]

Originally posted by GetOnOne

However, they are talking about introducing random drug tests. Before doing so, they'd write up a policy about acceptable use (not sure how they'd get that together, it would have to stand up court/disiplinary hearings). If you broke the policy, you'd be out, evenually, I guess
This is worying me a bit!

might be worth talking to your union rep - if there isn't a history in you organisation of people causing problems to the business through excessive drug use, there is no valid reason for public money to be spent on this (drug testing isn't cheap).

[Digital-A]

Originally posted by globalloon

i'm pretty open.

not like "hello I'm fatty B and i went raving last night"

that made me laugh for a good minute

[starlaugh]

I think seeing me and my mate the next day gives it away. If we visit our local they always ask if we were in a club or some random field

But then again a lot of the people in our local used to be ravers, usually asking what its like now. Also its funny to listen to some of thier stories....

[Digital-A]

Originally posted by starlaugh

I think seeing me and my mate the next day gives it away. If we visit our local they always ask if we were in a club or some random field

But then again a lot of the people in our local used to be ravers, usually asking what its like now. Also its funny to listen to some of thier stories....

i do like stories

[starlaugh]

"H" usually has the best ones.... maybe as he still has not stopped with his Hedonistic days dispite getting on a bit! Should try and take him out ot an old skool night and get him wasted

[General Lighting]

I think things are getting better as there are lots of people in their 30s/40s who were the original ravers - some may have calmed down due to having kids or more demanding careers but are still happy to hear about events happening...