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Girl Dies at after hours nightclub (pg. 4)
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| DigiNut |
Man, when will people learn... I'm thinking about sending a letter to the editor, what do people think? (the paragraphing sucks because I can't do indents here)
Dear editor:
I wanted to thank you for reminding me that we can always count on our media to exploit a single human tragedy by blowing it out of proportion with unsubstantiated claims, wild speculation, and fallacious logic.
Admittedly, the writers of “Beef up club security, dad pleads” didn’t express much of their own sentiments in that article. Nor was there much in the way of a police report, a toxicology report, or even any indication of where the subject of the article actually obtained the drugs that she took. There was, however, a heartbreaking teenage sob story and the ranting of a 45-year-old man who has obviously never been to one of these “rave bars”. I suppose this is what passes for “news” in this day and age?
With all due sympathy and respect to the late Ms. Mahoney and her family, and your writers, I think that people need to stop playing the blame game and look at the facts which we are actually given. All I can seriously deduce from this article is that:
1. There is no evidence yet that the drug she took was in fact MDMA (ecstasy). Other drugs which people often mistakenly assume is ecstasy, like MDA (speed) or DXM (a tranquilizer often found in cough medicine), are far more dangerous to the taker.
2. There is no evidence that she obtained this drug inside the club. There is also no factual, unbiased evidence that she had never taken drugs beforehand – just the testimony of her family members, and I think we all know how often kids talk to their parents about drugs.
3. Other factors were clearly present (i.e. alcohol, which has often resulted in tragic situations when mixed with drugs).
4. If she indeed took ecstasy, which is quite commonly known for raising one’s body temperature as a side effect, her “burning up” could easily have been caused by neglecting to drink enough water, which is freely available at clubs. Taking ecstasy without water is like running a marathon without water – very unhealthy, if not imminently dangerous.
5. If she indeed took ecstasy and was suffering from hyperthermia and dehydration, then putting her in the shower (unless it was a cold shower) and wrapping her in blankets was absolutely the worst possible strategy to take, as both those things would only raise her body temperature and cause her to perspire even more.
6. I don’t know about you, but if I saw someone who’d recently ingested an unknown drug moaning and about to pass out, I would probably call an ambulance even if they told me not to. Let’s face it, her friends simply did not act responsibly here.
Let me make something perfectly clear – I’ve never taken ecstasy or any other recreational drug. But I was considering it at one point, and because of that, I made sure to familiarize myself with all of the risks and with how to use it responsibly, as any person who is planning to do something potentially dangerous should do. And there are things you must do to in order to perform any recreational activity responsibly – you play hockey, you wear pads; you go rock climbing, you use a harness. When you take ecstasy, you drink water and keep yourself cool. All of these things can be fun if done responsibility and very dangerous otherwise.
And, to be completely responsible with any recreational activity, you also make sure there is someone around who knows what to do if you get yourself into trouble.
I’ve been going to what Ms. Mahoney’s father calls “rave bars” for over a year now. I wait in line in the cold outside for a half hour while everybody in front of me gets frisked from head to toe, knowing that it’s my turn soon. It annoys the hell out of all of us who go. Sometimes they make us take our shoes off. Sometimes they practically sexually assault us in what is apparently the hope that they’ll find drugs in our underwear.
How much more “secure” do you expect them to get? Should every patron be subjected to a full body cavity search before being allowed entrance? I suppose they should have million-dollar electrochemical scanners and highly-trained drug dogs at every entrance, as well as a sophisticated video monitoring system both inside and outside?
I’ve rarely if ever been offered a drug inside one of these clubs. I think the frequency of that event pales in comparison to the number of times I’ve been asked on the street by high school kids if I can sell them any weed. You only find drugs in these places if you are looking for them.
“Rave” clubs admit hundreds or even thousands of people per night just like the “regular” clubs do; they shouldn’t even have to check people at the door for drugs – what is the rationale for making them responsible for it? Well, the answer to that is simple – the clubs are afraid, because as we can clearly see from this recent article in the Star, the very second that there is any drug-related incident, people start pointing their fingers at the club and saying that it’s their fault and they’re the ones sponsoring this. How so? Is the club “serving” drugs like it serves alcohol?
Or how about this – if your son or daughter catches an STD from someone they willingly had unprotected sex with in the club bathroom, is it the club’s fault? Because obviously, the way to prevent this is to cut it off at the source, right? So shouldn’t every patron be rigorously tested to make sure they don’t have any STDs before they’re allowed to enter?
Ask yourself honestly who is to blame here. Is it the clubs, who are already doing far more than their fair share to keep their own patrons out of trouble? Or is it maybe, just maybe, the people who looked for the drugs, didn’t know what they were buying, didn’t take it responsibly, and didn’t call an ambulance when they weren’t feeling right?
I’m not trying to downplay this clear tragedy, but I just don’t see how we can lay responsibility on the club scene in general or even this particular club. It was an accident, pure and simple, and the only thing that could have prevented it was education and preparation. And I can certainly understand her family’s sadness and anger and I sympathize with them, but honestly, this article is not news, it is not factual, and the bandwagon that these writers are hopping onto has seriously damaged the entertainment industries in other areas. What we need to be supplying people with is a proper education on this subject, not careless verbal bashing of the drugs and the clubs.
It’s been shown countless times that educating people about responsible alcohol consumption has reduced death and tragedy, and that educating people about safe sex has reduced the spread of disease. The answer is not to shake our fingers at them and tell them that alcohol is evil and sex is evil because – I know this is shocking – they’re going to do it anyway. There is no reason not to apply the same logic to drug use, inside or outside of clubs. People will manage to get their hands on illegal drugs one way or another if they really want to, just as underage kids manage to get their hands on alcohol. It amazes me how the same people who bash George Bush for his “abstinence only” education policy for sex can support the “abstinence only” policy here for drugs.
I think there are tens of thousands of people in this city who would very much appreciate it if your staff tried to be a little more objective when it comes to clubs and drugs. I know that we’ve all been indoctrinated into the “drugs are evil” philosophy, but you’re journalists, you have a responsibility not to point fingers and to provide as unbiased a report as possible.
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| dEsidEL |
^^^
Holeee Essay batman! now that's effort..
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| DigiNut |
| quote: | Originally posted by dEsidEL
^^^
Holeee Essay batman! now that's effort..
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Well who knows, maybe someone on the staff would be convinced enough to publish it on one of the opinion pages (yeah right). Might as well give it some substance, that article really pissed me off. |
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| Skipper |
Awesome letter Aaron. I would just add PMA to the list of substances in point #1.
Following that 20 year old's death in 2000, I wrote a letter to the star and it was published. |
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| Tervel |
I was @ Film Lounge that night! I probably have seen the girl. The place is not that big. It is ironic now, reflecting back on the night. To see someone who will be dead in few hours and you never knowing that! Strange, very strange! Makes me reflect on my own mortality.
By the way, security would not help much if you want to take drugs. The people, who would like to get stoned, could easily gulp down the pill before they enter! What is the security to do! Drugs are your own responsibility, not the responsibility of others. |
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| starsearcher |
Huummm...someone mentioned Boa...does anyone know what ever happened to that girl that supposedly went missing after a night at Boa and it was all over the news?:conf:
| quote: | | Drugs are your own responsibility, not the responsibility of others. |
Very true...I totally agree |
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| samhouse |
techno addict brought up a good point....
but dont you think that the state of the MDMA "scene" nowdays is so corrupted that it is virtually impossible to get a "pure" pill of MDMA like what used to be subscribed for depression???? just a thought....
I am sorry for this young girls family and what they are going to go through for the rest of their lives. She "knew" what she was into or "Thought" she did.....her poor family however will pay most severely for her ignorance.......Rest in peace.......
i aint defending the drug....it IS dangerous just like any other mind altering substance. But I aint gonna sit here preaching bout how bad it is when i go out and do 1 - 2 pills almost every wknd.
dunno where im going with this paragraph....i guess i just wanna say im sorry for her family. |
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| samhouse |
just wanna add...that i have over heated before and it is NOT a pleasant experience....infact i can easily say that it was one of the worst experiences of my life.....happened at the 7 year anniversary in the main room with Armin last october....*shudder* everytime i think of those 20 mins of hell. Water and that patio saved my situation from getting more severe.
*i dunno why but im not sure what the policy is with posting on this board in regards to drugs. If any of the moderators feel i should change my post or remove them plz let me know..i will do so immediately.....i am simply sharing my experience.....
** reading that * paragraph i just realized how silly that was....im wayyy too nice for my own good....
*** love that post..well thought out and great points made. |
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| Form&Funktion |
| quote: | | Awesome letter Aaron. |
Agreed.....well thought out. Atleast this time, unlike in the past, they did not specifically vilify the club by printing the name. It cannot hurt to send it...the least it can do is rattle their cage a bit.
FF |
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| j_spot |
| quote: | Originally posted by starsearcher
Huummm...someone mentioned Boa...does anyone know what ever happened to that girl that supposedly went missing after a night at Boa and it was all over the news?:conf:
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She didnt know that anybody thought she was missing.
She turned up just fine. |
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| Durafei |
I don't want to start any flame wars here, but I think that after-hours clubs are still alive ONLY because of heavy drug use.
I honestly can't imagine Guv being packed every weekend if it wasn't for the drugs. And I'm sure club owners know it very well. All these heavy searches at the door - this is all a show.
Whenever somebody dies, and there is an article in the newspaper, everybody here immediately starts defending the scene.
Honestly, wtf are you guys talking about??? Have you been to after-hour clubs? Have you seen amount of drugs there?? With so many people consuming that stuff there will be consequences. People will die.
Like it or not, but drugs are an integral part of EDM scene. If you were to completely take away the drugs, the scene would dissapper. As simple as that. |
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| timmyboy |
| quote: | Originally posted by Durafei
I don't want to start any flame wars here, but I think that after-hours clubs are still alive ONLY because of heavy drug use.
I honestly can't imagine Guv being packed every weekend if it wasn't for the drugs. And I'm sure club owners know it very well. All these heavy searches at the door - this is all a show.
Whenever somebody dies, and there is an article in the newspaper, everybody here immediately starts defending the scene.
Honestly, wtf are you guys talking about??? Have you been to after-hour clubs? Have you seen amount of drugs there?? With so many people consuming that stuff there will be consequences. People will die.
Like it or not, but drugs are an integral part of EDM scene. If you were to completely take away the drugs, the scene would dissapper. As simple as that. |
ilya i agree with you completely, but i think reading such biased, one-sided and unresearched articles is where a lot of the beef is. everyone wouldnt go in defence mode if it had been such a bad article in such a prominent paper |
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