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

[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?

[globalloon]

i'm pretty open.

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

but when music, politics, housing, civil liberties or any related conversations come up, I talk about these things from my own point of view

i think that if you hide who you are, you might a) miss an opportunity to meet someone similar and b) you are giving acceptance to the bigotted points of view that (in my mind) are so damaging to society and go against liberty

if you feel the need to self-edit just to 'fit in' then the dark forces are winning. 'we' are many; squatters, ravers, protesters, activists, socialists.

being silent goes against democracy

i guess i'm lucky to work in the field that i do, but i'm good at my job and the people i work with / meet with (including senior officers / councillors in county and city council) value my input, because it's real

iadmit though that i am an idealist, to someextent, and working in other sectors, my level of honesty could cause problems... but shit... employers need to wake up to the fact that as long as you are performing well at work, there's nothing they can say about your free time. who knows, those negotiating skills you learnt by the dancefloor could reap a complany some serious profits

[Acidfairy]

My mum knows and recently i was quite surprised by her reaction..

I had been at a party where the police turned up and took my details coz none of the organisers admitted to running the party and I was playing live at the time. The police officer told me that if they had to come back again for another complaint about the noise that they would charge me with breach of the peace. Grrrr so i decided to cut my loses and went home.. i was being sensible for once.. plus having short bright red hair them knowing that i was the acidfairy etc made it easy for them to find me again as most ppl only know me as Acidfairy..

Anyway i was out shopping with my Mum and i think i was going to a party that weekend.. she asked me a bit about them and i basically said to her that we ran parties (usually have permission to use the land), we're lettin our hair down from the jobs we do as a lot of us work in high pressure environments, that we look after everyone if someone isn't fit to drive you take their car keys from them, for girls you don't have to run the gauntlet to get to the bar with guys tryin to chat u up.. you don't have to pay a fortune to go somewhere only to be evicted at 3am to then try and find a taxi and dodge the fights on the way home..

My mum turned and said to me, I totally don't see the problem with you guys running parties, if you aren't bothering anyone then why don't the police deal with the real problems, not a group of people having a party in a field. I told her about the incident with the police and she laughed and reiteratted her comments about the fact that they should be catching real criminals.. had to explain the CJA to her a bit as well though but she still doesn't see any harm in what we do.. and that really surprised me..

Most of the time people are sensible about the locations of the parties and we're not bothering anyone.. but then again there are times where sites closer to residential areas get rinsed and that has caused hassle here...

Where i currently work, so do most of the Edinburgh Techno/free party heads.. so the party scene and drugs are discussed widely even with the supervisors.. one of them is actually part of one of the main rigs through here in Edinburgh.

However, when i worked at Scottishpower it was a different matter, they had random drugs and alcohol tests and it was hard to keep my "other life" a secret from all those i worked with. I had to in order to keep my job, I used to go into work on a monday after partying at the weekend and keep my head down and work hard, as i did everyday. But if one of the managers had found out about my out of work activities i think things would have changed..

[globalloon]

Originally posted by Acidfairy

However, when i worked at Scottishpower it was a different matter, they had random drugs and alcohol tests and it was hard to keep my "other life" a secret from all those i worked with. I had to in order to keep my job, I used to go into work on a monday after partying at the weekend and keep my head down and work hard, as i did everyday. But if one of the managers had found out about my out of work activities i think things would have changed..

and that isn't right

if you do you job well, they have no right to say jack about you

check out the number of MPs having affairs, taking drugs, starting wars and yet sometimes judgement comes down on people who like to choose for themselves what they put in the body, what they listen to, where they dance

it's an upsidedown morality that needs to be challenged

[Chemical needs]

I'd be pretty cool talking to anyone about it - as long as I had known them long enough. I have a pretty open relationship with my folks - Dad knows that I go to 'raves' in his car

[General Lighting]

I now work in a family business so everyone there knows what I get up to...that said I think the family connection helped because its a healthcare place and that industry is a wary about employing people who don't have a clean CRB retur.,

OTOH provided you can self-regulate your use and it doesn't affect your work there isn't too much a problem apart from if you get arrested and miss work or your name is in the papers due to court etc..

Originally posted by Acidfairy

My mum knows and recently i was quite surprised by her reaction..

my mum is only worried about my health and/or if I get in trouble with the criminal justice system (fair enough really)

However, when i worked at Scottishpower it was a different matter, they had random drugs and alcohol tests and it was hard to keep my "other life" a secret from all those i worked with. I had to in order to keep my job

what were you doing there?

could understand why they were doing it maybe if you were working on 132/400kV supergrid switching equipment (even the admin side is safety-critical here as if you accidentally supply the wrong part to a field enginer its "kaboom!") - but otherwise seems a bit harsh for office staff ...

[Acidfairy]

Originally posted by General Lighting

what were you doing there?

could understand why they were doing it maybe if you were working on 132/400kV supergrid switching equipment (even the admin side is safety-critical here as if you accidentally supply the wrong part to a field enginer its "kaboom!") - but otherwise seems a bit harsh for office staff ...

I was the deputy team manager of the complaints team for internet accounts.. they used to have to have due cause to test someone then it became random..

They decided that they couldn't discriminate against one sector of the business so decided that everyone no matter what dept they worked in would be tested.. sucked

[quietRIOT]

hehee ...i tell no one ...what. that i go rave til dawn ...my close freinds know ..but my work coleagues no way ..best not to ..an my mum ...no wayz ..she d just go on an on an on ...i have 2 kids so i have to be careful ...i have a nite off to blowout an let go now an then! ..my kids are well looked after so ....there you go .... friday i go fatmoon ..not been out since nye ..im ready ...shhh! lol

[Tank Girl]

Parents know, as they had all 3 of us at it at one time and would often see the results of a weekend 'avin it large',

friends know and most of my collegues - however I have to be very careful who and to what extent they know - due to certain responsibilities I have in the specific field I work in

[Dan Ooops!]

Ha

Great thread GL!!

I used to be a bit para about my activities, as this was early nineties, and the image of rave was still un underground thing (there was no drum and bass for specsavers ads on tele, put it that way!)

During my first job, I had to be a little careful, as I'd often use a company vehicle to go raving - was real lucky one time, I'd been at a Spiral party in London and got home about two pm on a sunday. Half an hour later I went to pop down the shops and the truck clutch cable had snapped - so luckily I was at home, not a party.

Once we got a rig together, I did used to ask if we could use the van for club dos, but never free parties (although we did go up to London one Sunday morning having finished a club night in Henley at about half three -once we'd packed up). I do believe you were there GL...we was downstairs in a basement and I spent most of the time there lying under a massive pile of backdrops which we could not be bothered to put up.

For my next job, I put the rig on my CV, and got the job "for having entreprenurial skills" - the job was still construction related, but I felt that I could tell bosses and colleagues a little bit a about it.

Around this time, me and the crew (along with other Advance Party peeps) did a BBC2 documentary called Lets face the music and dance. From that, my mum's comment was "well now I understand why you do what you do". so that helped too.

From then on, I have consistently had the sound system on my CV - the skills involved carry over to nearly any profession, not least Project Management, which is currently what I do. Try telling someone that you can get twenty volunteers and a full rig out to the Czech Republica, nad eany employer will be fairly impressed. I also believe that the skills needed to keep a bunch of volunteers happy, and they know that you can manage people. Everyone knows at work that I am semi retired, but they always ask if there has been a rave on the news whether it was me, or my mates.

Having come out of full time employment to run the rig for two years, I believe that it has to be explained on the CV, but it often creates a real buzz at interviews, and I'm sure has helped me get at least two of my jobs.

Be real, be proud - if you're involved in running the scene - use the skills in your other life - but do be careful discussing your intake, could get you in a spot of bother, even with the most leniant employers

Peace
Love
Free Parties, and
Chickens

[unglued]

erm, my old friends no, as im neva with them anymore, but i dont tell any1 really, i like to get to know them really well first and let them make there mind up about me and then i tell um, most people find it hard to believe.used to be a school girl goodie to shoes.

parents dont know, they would kill me, my mums is the sort o person who would try and put me in rehab and my dad would dis-own me. they were mad enough wen i dropped out of uni, and blame it all on my boyfriend, which is bullshit.

[titch]

Been lucky, not had a job where ive had to keep it quiet yet, my last boss was a raver... My parents have always known what free partys are about and been totally kool with it.

[BioTech]

Originally posted by globalloon

i'm pretty open.

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

but when music, politics, housing, civil liberties or any related conversations come up, I talk about these things from my own point of view

Same here. The only time I wouldn't be open is with a copper. I'd only ever start talking about it if the conversation came around though. I wouldn't just start telling people, unless I thought they were of a similar mindset.

[the1log]

Everyone knows what i'm like, got nothing to hide has the old the1log

[FreeSpirit101]

Hmm quite odd that you should mention this after my weekend...


I went out at the weekend for a free party, had a wikkid time.... my mum knows what i do, i took my first pill with her lol!! so she dont give 2 hoots, all my family knows and still loves me anyway..

But i went out as i said this weekend, now, i work with my b/f's family... his mum, his snotty sister and his dad sometimes at a nursery....

Now his sister is a snotty cow and i have no idea what her fucking problem is but she went running ti mummy when she found out i was at a free party.... Unfortunaly it was the biggleswade one.... so drew even more attention to where i was..

Now i dont give two flying fucks what anyone thinks about me... so when my b/f said that his mum and dad know, i was all ready to tell them to shove there job where the sun dont shine, if they were going to bring my personal life into the picture... as it has nothing to do with them..

But.... all that happened was my b/f mum came in, asked how i was and if i was ok, because she saw what happened.. and afterwards asked how it was.. and if i had fun!! Ha ha ha which is cool.....

But ovb, without giving away to many details, if im chatting away to sumone and they ask about my intrests i do say i love to get wasted and dance the day away.... :D why the hell not haha!!

i am me, and me is who i am

Great fun

[General Lighting]

Originally posted by FreeSpirit101

But.... all that happened was my b/f mum came in, asked how i was and if i was ok, because she saw what happened.. and afterwards asked how it was.. and if i had fun!! Ha ha ha which is cool.....

glad to hear that.

TBH in a small company, provided if you do your job well and don't cause problems such as excessive absenteeism or being grouchy on comedowns (and are lucky enough not to get arrested and brought before Court for anything!) it shouldn't cause a big problem.

Most smaller companies can't afford the expensive kit or resources required for drug testing, nor to alienate their staff in such a manner. There is no business gain in them doing so.

Even if the managers don't agree with their staffs drug use its very costly to recruit a new staff member compared to keeping one until / unless their use becomes problematic to the company...

If a small company has a harsh stance its probably because they've lost a formerly good employee or suffered other losses (such as a customer service problems leading to lost business) because people working for them couldn't self-regulate their lifestyles.

Big organisations can be harsher as they can afford to lose people, even good staff in order to "preserve brand image" or due to investor / shareholder / customer demands, or just due to the personal views of the directors...

[timid rabbit]

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 keep it to myself now due to my invovlement in parties, i use to tell quite a few people to get word around to plan parties but when i got arrested a few years ago for planing parties i now keep it to myself

[BigAndy]

No shame, ill tell anyone who asks. But cause of my position at work i never admit to being a caner (although work aint stupid but ive never plainly admitted it).
My mum thinks im some sort of junkie and my brother is a "good boy", huh hes just full of shit cause he saw the crap i got as i wont lie.
My dad thinks im on some sort of road to hell as "its all a gateway to smack son, pull yourself together". Nuts, before we banned smoking in my house i used to skin up in front of him just to piss him off, my house my rules.

[!sinner69!]

I talk of whatever I want and whenever I want as long I dont put other people in missery;

Family- they have been told, part of it dont care, others dont wanna know, my (biological) father is an old hippey and amuse himself a lot of my stories

Work- as I work in showbiz there is no problem

People in general- I dont hide what I am...hooligan, raver and a natural born troublemaker with a soft spot for solidarity! Some times I surprise friends of being totaly non-violent! And seeker for peace!

Looking back I can say I have allways been an open person and let all know what I have going on or done....I think it is important to look back with the head held high an be able to say this is what I have done , Take it or leave it....If have broken the law then so be it I dont care, at time I did it, it was right! Then I dont care if an old fart earlier have invented a law that say this is illegal!

[MisterDuck]

anyone who is a decent person, and open-minded!

i like to spread the word to those who would benefit the scene, but never to those who would destroy it!

[weeman]

tell everyone and dont give a fuck i love it

[kaylee]

I don't care who i tell...Obviously i aint gona go into detail about my drug antics..My parents know everything though, drugs n all. So do work mates and my boss..
Who else needs to know? No one.

[m45k1]

When i was first gettin into free parties i naivly told anyone that would listen in the hope of "spreading the word" but over time you realise its not always a good thing.
I took people id known for years and re-gretted it, other people just automatically assumed that i would deal all sorts of drugs (which i didnt) and still bug me about it to this day if i see them at a pub etc.
Also if you become more involved you do have to be careful, i know people who have been done for parties they had nothing to do with because their name came up a few times in statements?
However you can still meet quality people by keeping your ears to the ground and going to the right events.

[~DiRtYrAvEr~]

well im a very open person my friends and family no im a raver and most teachers at my skool do but they all fine about it people shudnt judge neone for doin something they love and enjoy !!!! so yh if they do tell them were to go shove it lol and carry on doing wat u do best and rember they can take the raver from the rave but the cant take the rave out of the raver xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

["Sound-Guy"]

I quite happily tell every1! Anyway as soon i get home after a rave my mum asks where it was, good time? ETC! People from work know im a raver aswell but they dont judge me any differently because of that.