FMFA 2014: Did They Deserve To Die Because They Took A Drug?
The cancellation of day 3 of Future Music Festival Asia 2014 received mostly outrage by festival goers, many who travelled from neighbouring countries with the sole purpose of attending the event. Your EDM writer Diane Tamaluvage explores finding common sense in tragedy, urging angry ravers to rethink the obvious.
By Melody Oei — 18 Mar 2014, 05:32 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
Many party goers were enraged at the sudden cancellation of day 3 of Future Music Festival Asia 2014 following reports of multiple drug overdoses the night before
Many who travelled from neighbouring countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and more expressed frustration over the cancelled event
Malaysia's image was also tainted in the eyes of some foreign travellers
"Never coming back to this godforsaken country. Bunch of hypocrites. Promotes tourism and frustrates the tourists. Extremely disappointed." - Facebook User
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"What the hell, we all travel from other country for this event, we paid the tickets hotel and flight tickets, who give me back the money? Malaysia sucks" - Facebook User, 394 Likes
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Many argued that drug takers were "mature adults" that made their own decisions while others stated that "people die all the time at events"
Many complained of the "irresponsible party people" and how it was not fair for others that the event was cancelled
"One person died which is not good, but to punish 20,000 people cause of one stupid person, it's a joke. You will never get this event back here again if one single person can shut it down" - Facebook User
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Raver and Your EDM staff Diane Tamulavage, whose "dream of attending Electric Zoo in NYC was shattered" after the final day was cancelled due to 2 deaths, urged fellow ravers to find common sense in tragedy
Electric Zoo, a music festival that was supposed to run through the weekend, has been cancelled after two people died presumably from overdoses and another four were hospitalized.
Image via Exqlusiv"On Sunday, 1 Sept 2013, my dream of attending Electric Zoo festival in NYC this year was shattered when the final day, the one and only day I had a ticket for, was canceled due to two untimely deaths, and other ‘health hazards’ in relation to ‘drug usage’, so the media says."
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"Victim blaming is not the answer here, saying someone ‘deserved to die because they took a drug’ is not the answer."
"Do not call yourself PLUR and then claim that a person deserved to die for a YOLO-influenced mistake that they made."
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"It’s hard not to blame those who died for the cancelation, saying they don’t know their limits, or made a poor decision...but keep in mind that was a person, a spirit, a human being."
"The young man that passed away at Ezoo was a son, the girl was a daughter. They had best friends, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, just like you and I. They made a mistake that could have easily been avoided, and they suffered the ultimate consequence."
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"If someone looks like they are in true danger, get them help; do not assume their friends will take care of them - BE their friend, be their saviour"
"Get back to the love. One of the reasons I fell in love with the rave culture was because of the love that engulfed me at every show."
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"People should still be looking out for one another, making sure they are alright, have enough water, are eating or using the bathroom or sitting down if need be. Even if you think this person 'is there for the wrong reasons'."
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"The 'drugs are bad, mmmk' tactic is clearly not working"
"If someone wants to experiment with drugs, they are going to do it. Abstinence is not key- protection is key."
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"Instead of preaching that drugs are always dangerous and addictive and cause deaths, how about we educate ourselves, our peers, and our children on drug usage in order to allow for ‘safer’ consumption"
"I am not advocating that illicit drugs are safe - I am arguing that there are ‘safer’ approaches to engage with these drugs."
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"And equally important, testing kits need to be made readily available. Why people would ever buy drugs from a stranger is beyond me. You wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) take a drink from a stranger if you didn’t see the bartender pour it would you? That is the first thing we learn in college- how to avoid the roofie-colada."
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In a November 2013 interview with InTheMix, Armin van Buuren said that "the most annoying misconception about EDM right now is the whole drug misuse [topic]"
“I think the focus is on that way too much. EDM (electric dance music) has this stigma of ‘rave scene’ or whatever and I want to stress that it happens at rock concerts, too. - Armin van Buuren
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"I don't think it's fair, I've never used drugs in my life" - Armin van Buuren
"I don’t think that’s fair. I’ve never used drugs in my life. You don’t need drugs to have an amazing time, you really don’t. And we need to look out after each other – that’s the most important thing. There’s always going to be a few idiots out there who want to ruin it for the rest.” - Armin van Buuren
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Paul Van Dyk, who played after Armin van Buuren at #ASOT650MY, FMFA 2014, said, "I believe we have to educate people still" in a 2012 interview
"I’ve never taken drugs, it really is all about the music. I believe we have to educate people still. It is unfair it is tagged to DJ and clubbing culture — it’s a bigger problem in society than that. We need to look at why people want to escape reality first.” - Paul Van Dyk