What is PLUR?

For somebody who is not involved in the booming scene of Electronic Dance Music, PLUR, seems like a random arrangement of letters that has no meaning. PLUR stands for peace, love, unity, and respect. To a raver, PLUR is much more than an acronym; PLUR is a guideline that engulfs our lives. It is not like other ridiculous acronyms such as YOLO (You Only Live Once), its a lifestyle. In order to grasp the meaning of PLUR, one has to understand the scene from which it arose. The electronic music scene has always been a controversial subject ever since it was born in the late 80s, being labeled drug-fueled dance parties reaching to an extent where raves were almost made illegal in the late 90s and early 2000s. To a newcomer a rave might seem like a bunch of lunatics dancing to repetitive beats or noises that cant be comprehended as music. It takes a fine-tuned ear to appreciate the music but behind the music there is a whole philosophy that all ravers live by. At a rave you are not surrounded by strangers, you are surrounded by a bunch of people you are not yet friends with. When thousands of people are crammed into a dark room its hard to believe that things do not go horribly wrong, since there is rarely a bad seed in the crowd. The majority of the time, security does not need to intervene if something goes astray, we take care of the situation ourselves. Strangely, ravers are much like Quakers, pacifism is one of the strongest beliefs held. Peace is turning the other cheek if that rare bad seed is trying to pick fights or cause a ruckus. Peace is saying excuse me when trying to navigate through the crowd. Peace is the calmness from a certain beautiful track. Peace is getting shivers and goose bumps from a song, despite the room being over 90 degrees.

Peace not only stands for keeping peace with the people around you, but for inner-peace as well. Theres a reason why the most recent tour of the group Above & Beyond was called the Group Therapy Tour. Raves restore inner-peace. All stress seems to disappear into thin air. As the Dutch DJ, Tiesto beautifully stated, For a couple hours, you forget everything, you dont think about your life at home you dont think about family or whatever, you think about where you are and you hear the music and see the music and thats it. For many, a long vacation is not necessary to calm down and regroup. Paying extravagant prices to go see a therapist can also be sidestepped, innerpeace can be found at a rave and the DJ is your therapist. Love is as important as peace when it comes to PLUR. It was 1 in the morning after a rave; my friends and I were on our way to the train station with the mass of ravers exiting the concert hall. Many of us were tired and sore from all of the dancing and the rain was not helping. We happened to stumble upon an aggravated looking middle-aged man with his beaten-up car on the side of the road. Hey man, do you need any help? the group seemed to ask in unison. Yeah, my car ran out of gas the man responded grumpily. Despite being very tired after a long day of school and raving, my friends, ravers, and I all got behind his car and pushed it five blocks to the nearest gas station. Love not only those who you rave with, but love all. Ravers are not evildoers whose main purpose is to corrupt the youth; ravers are benevolent humans that want to see everybody be happy. PLUR has taught me to not be scared to go up and talk to complete strangers. If you do not take the chance to meet people, you wont be able to make any new friends. Last year in February I had the pleasure to meet one of my closest friends at a rave. I was

a newcomer to the scene, in the midst of the stress of being at a new school as well as having to deal with a difficult relationship. I went to that rave for the music, but deep down I went to seek solace. Almost a year after randomly meeting my new friend, she is always there to comfort me. Many people you meet at raves may only be there for that one conversation you have with them, but some will be with there for life. A crowd at a rave works like on big well-oiled machine when the drop happens the thousands of ravers in presence all jump and fist bump at the same time. Everybody has that drip of sweat rolling down their forehead, everybodys knees are sore once the rave is over, and everybody there lives for the next rave. Even if sometimes a raver isnt enjoying the music, its impossible to not dance from the energy of everybody around you. In the end, some of the people around you may be different but all come for the same reason, to enjoy the music. What especially separates the rave scene from all other scenes is the respect that is demonstrated by all ravers. All religions, ethnicities, nationalities, sexual preferences, and sizes are accepted in the rave scene, PLUR prides itself on the respect all ravers share. American DJ, Kaskade, recently wrote a response to the Los Angeles Times beautifully saying EDM (Electronic Dance Music) is the one who will accept the kids on the outliers, the ones who get bullied, the ones who feel like they may not quite fit in. This community is exceptional in its ability to bond all types together, and I am not exaggerating when I say it saves lives. The reason I decided to join the rave scene was for the music, but I stayed for the people I met. PLUR and raves are the reason I survived my transition into my new school, through raves I met what would be my friends. I was one of the outliers. But through music and the love for raving, I met the other people

from my school that had the same interests as me. Without PLUR I do not know where I would be. Electronic Dance Music is one of the few genres of music that is genuinely international and diverse; tracks in the USA can be as big as that same track halfway around the world. When it comes down to music, there are no borders, political conflicts and grudges do not hinder the movement of music from one country to the next. Along with this international audience to Electronic Dance Music, brings an international audience to the rave scene right in Philadelphia. People from all over come here allowing us to learn about new cultures and countries. One of the major factors to PLUR that makes it so appealing is the community that forms and the acceptance it exemplifies. PLUR is the happiness felt when everything is going your way. PLUR is the feeling of knowing that you made that persons day better. PLUR is that concerned mother checking up on you. PLUR is that hug after a long days work. PLUR is not just peace, love, unity, and respect its a break from the difficult, dog eat dog world. It gives you the opportunity to pause and find inner peace. PLUR cannot be defined, but rather, felt.