Ecstacy: Another Brand of Moral Panic

A moral panic is a mass movement based on the false or exaggerated perception that some cultural behavior or group of people, frequently a minority group or a subculture, is dangerously deviant and poses a menace to society. It has also been more broadly defined as an “episode, condition, person or group of persons” that has in recent times been “defined as a threat to societal values and interests.”

The oppressive family values attitude of the 80s clashed with the explosive emphasis of acceptance for all people and more liberal ideas of the 90s, leaving its youth with the need to find their own niche. The pressures of school, the unoptimistic job market in many areas, the boredom with life, and the reaction towards their controlled environment sent many teens, myself included, out to find a haven of their own, notably the rave scene.

With its air of exclusiveness, its loud music and family-like atmosphere, the rave scene seemed an optimal meeting place to hang out away from authority, untainted by government rules or parental input. It began to evolve from the late eighties and into the nineties as more than just a place to listen to techno music, but as a subculture in itself. Unique styles, attitudes, beliefs, and traditions emerged. Many ravers saw themselves as “modern day hippies” with a motto of “peace, love, unity, and respect.”

Although, outside of this underground society, members of the adult community were conspiring against these hapless teens. This hysteria began at a time where parents, police officers, and the government were losing their absolute, Regan Era authority over young people. Eventually a major crackdown on the illegal nature of raves pushed many parties into clubs and “legal, safe” venues, loaded down with local police officials or venue security to check all the incoming partiers. Commercial America found its way into the scene as well, charging $5 for bottled water or offering pizza, candy, coffee, any kind of commodity it could serve for an unreasonable price. The kids became aware that this was the beginning of the end.

Needless to say, the media found its own niche in the rave scene with the introduction of new designer drugs and the few isolated deaths. At a rave of 300,000, two overdose-related deaths become headline news, warning parents to “check their teens for signs of ecstacy abuse,” “watch where your children are going,” and calling out governments to react against this “dangerous environment.” Kids with stuffy noses and tubs of Vixx on hand were subject to interrogation by concerned parents. Bracelets, candy, pacifiers, water bottles, and various light or massage toys became icons of the “ecstacy culture” as well. Shows like 20/20, Dateline, MTV Specials, and even the local news programs targeted parents and highlighted the extreme dangers and ecstacy horror stories of compressed adulterants, heat strokes, and brain damage that their children were being exposed to.

Local governments picked up their mission to fight the war on drugs, by in many places, fighting the scene, making it more and more impossible for kids to throw a party, in a legal venue or not. In places like Detroit, cops in full riot gear busted into parties and arrested the hundreds of innocent kids there, just for being AT a rave!

My parents looked down on me going to raves, where I just danced and met new people; they saw it as a place where drug dealers would constantly tempt me, insane drug addicts would be all around me, and liquid ecstacy/ghb would be slipped into my drink. The mass hysteria perpetuated by the media and government officials scared a lot of parents that they hadn’t previously even heard of ecstacy, which has been around since Freud’s days and came into popular use nearly a decade ago.

Now ravers are uniting in places like Toronto to save their scene and are still suffering with the negative stereotypes placed on them, and the hysteria circulating amongst the ignorant. Messages are being placed in the most yuppy television series to warn against ecstacy use, like Dawsons Creek, in an episode where their “wild rebellious” friend takes them to a party and overdoses, winding up near death in the hospital.

So why doesn’t anyone talk about the social forces that send kids out to places like raves? – the frustration they feel, the need for an escape, the sense of repression by authoritative powers. Or is it possible that… *gasp*… people just have a passion for music?? a desire to meet other cool kids? and the need for a chill place where they’re not told what to do or watched all the time? Well, that just doesn’t make an exciting newsworthy story now does it? And it tests the authority of our governments and parents to actually do something about the world in which we live.