On Scene Safety and Forward Progress
There are many, many instances of sexual harassment or misconduct amongst bands these days. One instance is too many already, but it seems that for a while, especially this summer, there were problems with at least one band a week. This year alone we’ve seen headlines about bands like Front Porch Step, No Good News, Neck Deep, Youth In Revolt, Slaves, and plenty more, and each report told the same basic story: band members taking advantage of/behaving inappropriately with young girls, more often than not girls that were under the age of consent. Let’s be clear on one thing: having sex with, trading pictures with, or behaving inappropriately towards a minor is never, I repeat never acceptable or justifiable in any way. Anybody with a clear head would say the very same thing. I said it in an article I wrote earlier this year, but I think it bears constant repeating: we need to change. We need to rise up and take action against the people that are guilty of the misconduct mentioned above, along with whatever else they are doing to put young girls at risk. Shows are meant to be a safe space, free from homophobia, rascism, sexual assault and a number of other things. Shows are not an opportunity for you to grab a girl’s chest or butt when she’s crowd surfing. When someone crowd surfs or stagedives, they are trusting you, as a member of the audience, to keep them safe and off the ground. When you violate that trust, you negate the safety of the space you are in, and that’s unacceptable. If you are behaving inappropriately with a girl that is below the age of 18, stop. Stop immediately. Stop for your own sake, of course, but more importantly stop for her sake. Stop manipulating her in whatever way you might be. Even if you say you’re not, or even think you’re not, you probably are. Don’t mess around with girls that are much younger than you. It will only end poorly for both of you.
Thankfully, we have people with voices that are willing to use them for the common good. I direct your attention to two very important articles of recent publication, one featuring an interview with Senses Fail’s Buddy Nielsen and one featuring an interview with The Swellers’ Jono Diener, both conducted by an incredible organization called Safer Scene. Both of these men, in addition to numerous other people in the music scene, are taking the time and energy to push for progress, advocating the need and desire for a safer space in music that seems to have escaped us in recent years. In short, I do see progress. I see change happening, slowly but surely, and I do not doubt that we will continue to see a gradual push for scene safety and awareness. However, in order to assure this progress, it is time for all of us to stand up, and use our voices collectively, in favor of the common good, and in favor of scene safety.
