For those who don’t know, Kaskade is one of my favorite artists in the dance community. Today, to make him even more amazing in my eyes, he decided to speak up regarding posts by news venues (Cough, Cough) attacking festivals and the fact that the summer overdose-related deaths is going to hurt the Halloween rave community.
“the last straw” so to speak is because an article referred to this past summer as “the summer of deaths”. News venues have a field day when it comes to deaths at festivals. If someone dies from substance-related problems at a festival it is spoken about in the news, unlike if someone in the general population dies from a drug overdose. Kaskade wasn’t having this any longer. He stated, “part of the problem is people trying to simple-size it. Raves = drugs. So close them down.”
He also states, “As a lover of dance music, a friend, a brother, a son, a husband, and a father, even ONE death strikes me down.” And then points out all deaths are sadness inducing so stop just attacking festivals and attack substance abuse issues. Kaskade pointed out that in America alone 27 people die a day from drunk driving. Every day there are 27 substance abuse related deaths compared to the 21 substance-abuse related deaths during the past 10 years of dance events. Kaskade stated, “I suppose once you reach a certain point, the news doesn’t notice anymore.”
In this article, Kaskade is calling for the news to stop stigmatizing dance events and start actively combating substance abuse and encourage a movement away from using substances. He is not just calling out these venues; he is also making a pledge to do the same. He wants to help the dance community as a whole. “I’m happy to tackle substance abuse. I’m happy to use my influence to encourage people to be responsible, to stay alive. But this is a world-wide problem…”
I love Kaskade for this. I have stated in posts again and again that
(1) if you are going to do drugs be safe
(2) if you are not going to do drugs please do no mock others because they do them, and
(3) if you are at a festival, help others who might be in need of help.
To know that an artist I love wants to help the community and protect from stigmas, I cannot do anything but support him 100%. Who wouldn’t right? Please give the article a read, please remember we are a community and PLEASE REMEMBER: “education, harm reduction and legalization.” And of course, PLEASE BE SAFE, BE AWARE, AND LOVE THE COMMUNITY YOU ARE A PART OF.
You can read the whole post titled I CAN’T KEEP QUIET through the link or below.
I’m not a numbers guy. I live for music, I might even choose to die by music, were that possible. But sometimes numbers paint a picture so let’s get smart for one second.
Today an article surfaced in the LA Times, AGAIN, saying the sky is falling because of raves. Its headline screams a salacious “After a summer of deaths, popular Halloween rave won’t be held”.
Really. A summer of deaths. Really.
In a recent previous article, LA Times states, “There have now been at least 21 confirmed drug-related deaths among people who went to raves nationwide by Los Angeles-area companies since 2006.” As a lover of dance music, a friend, a brother, a son, a husband, and a father, even ONE death strikes me down.
But let’s not pretend this is an isolated problem, something unique to dance music culture. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, every day in America 27 (TWENTY-SEVEN!) people die as a result of drunk driving crashes.
That’s more than one person, per hour, every single day.
So, in the past 10 years there have been 21 substance-related deaths at dance events. And EVERY DAY there are 27 substance-related deaths, which are somehow less news and attention worthy.
I’m happy to tackle substance abuse. I’m happy to use my influence to encourage people to be responsible, to stay alive. But this is a world-wide problem, something that is not even close to being unique to dance music. Part of the problem is people trying to simple-size it. Raves = drugs. So close them down.
Not going to work, and we all know it. Time to devote your column inches to some real stories. The war on drugs is a farce. There are better answers than regurgitating the same alarmist solutions that have never worked, which will NEVER work. Try this on: education, harm reduction and legalization.
Start there. And back to the music for me.