In a note forwarded by radman, Errico
Malatesta writes:
"The truth is that busting raves is not about
saving people from themselves, or noise complaints,
or 'disorderly conduct' or any of that. "
Interestingly, "Malatesta" literally means
"headache" in Italian.
I have to question Malatesta's statement. As one
who has suffered thousands of hours of sleep
deprivation over the years from various sources
of noise pollution, including outdoor rock bands,
which can now be heard for distances as great as
a mile, I am adament on the subject of right to
quiet.
I have no problem with people "raving" all
night long, as long as the electronic audio
stimulus they require to exercise their "right
of free assembly" is not imposed on others
who don't want to hear it. From what I read
from participants on a noise pollution
discussion list, this is not always the case
with "ravers."
The other issue is hearing impairment, which
is America's most prevalent chronic illness.
According to NIH, there were 28 million cases
in the early 90s, and 10 million cases were
caused by excessive noise. Loud audio enter-
tainment stimulus (I hesitate to call it
"music") is a big contributor.
People have the right to ruin their hearing
if they want, but those who organize and plan
"rave" events are being irresponsible if they
don't educate their crowds about the risks,
and under NO circumstances should ANY enter-
tainment noise be allowed to inflict others
who DON'T want to hear it.
The working class deserves a full night's
worth of undisturbed sleep ! And those who
inflict us with sleep deprivation with their
recreational noise-making are reactionary
and oppressive, regardless of whatever sophistry
they use to justify their nuisance behavior
as being somehow "progressive" civil disobedience.
~~ Michael Wright
Norman, Oklahoma
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