The Raver's Manifesto

Our emotional state of choice is Ecstasy. Our nourishment of choice is Love. Our addiction of choice is technology. Our religion of choice is music. Our currancy of choice is knowledge. Our polotics of choice none. Our society of choice is utopian though we know it will never be.

You may hate us. You may dismiss us. You may misunderstand us. You may be unaware of our existance. We can only hope you do not care to judge us, because we would never judge you. We are not criminals. We are not disillusioned. We are not drug addicts. We are not naive children. We are one massive, global, tribal village that transcends man-made law, physical geography and time itself. We are The Massive. One Massive.

We were first drawn by the sound. From far away, thunderous, muffled, echoing beat was comparable to a mother's heart soothing a child in her womb of concrete, steel, and electric wiring. We were drawn back into this womb, and there, in the heat, dampness, and darkness of it, we came to accept that we are all equal. Not only to the darkness, and to ourselves, but to the very music slamming into us and passing through our souls; we are all equal. And somewhere around 35Hz we could feel the hand of God at our backs, pushing us forwards, pushing us to push ourselves to strengthen our minds, our bodies, and our spirits. Pushing us to turn to the person beside us to join hands and uplift them by sharing the uncontrollable joy we felt from creating this magical bubble that can, for one evening protect us from the horrors, atrocities, and pollution of the outside world. It is in that instant, with these initial realisations that each of us was truly born.

Gradually she begins to dance, slow, carefully measured movements to the music whilst around her the beams of light strike other shadowy figures painted onto the walls. With each figure illuminated, they step out from their paintings and make their way onto the dance floor, dancing in their own little world to the music as only they can hear it. The tall man looks around, gazing in silence at the dancing illusions, watching the way the individual characters dancers moved to the music. Standing there, alone with his thoughts, a single silvery teardrop rolls slowly down his face, blurring the makeup further. Gradually the painted female walks over to him, and gently brushes the teardrop away, then kisses him lightly on the cheek.

We continue to pack our bodies into clubs, warehouses, or buildings you've abandonded and left for naught, and we bring them to life for one night. Strong, throbbing, vibrant life in it's purest, most intense, most hedonistic form. In these makeshift spaces, we seek to shed ourselves of the burden of uncertainty for a future you have been unable to stabilise and secure for us. We seek to relinquish our inhibitions, and free ourselves from the shackles and restraints you've put on us for your own peace of mind. We seek to re-write the programming that you have tried to indoctrinate us since the moment we were born. Programming that tells us to hate, that tells us to judge, that tells us to stuff ourselves into the nearest and most convienent pigeon hole possible. Programming that even tells us to climb ladders for you, jump through hoops, and run through mazes and on hamster wheels. Programming that tells us to eat from the shiny silver spoon you are trying to feed us with, instead of nourish ourselves with our own capable hands. Programming that tells us to close our minds, instead of open them.

Until the sun rises burn our eyes by revealing the distopian reality of a world you have created for us, we dance fiercely with our brothers and sisters in celebration of our life, of our culture, and of the values we believe in: Peace, Love, Freedom, Tolerance, Unity, Harmony, Expression, Responsibility, and Respect. Our enemy of choice is ignorance. Our weapon of choice is information. Our crime of choice is breaking and challanging whatever laws you feel you need to put in place to stop is from celebrating our existance. But know that while you may shut down any given party, on any given night, in any given city, in any given country or continent on this beautiful planet, you can never shut down the entire party. You don't have access to that switch, no matter what you may think. The music will never stop. The heartbeat will never fade. The party will never end.

I am a raver, and this is my manifesto.