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When I was going to concerts in the 70’s and 80’s, we either stood up by the stage, or at our seats. I was able to experience moshing seven years ago when one of my kids wanted to go to OzzFest. It was ten hours long, and I decided I’d do something nice for them and take them to it. I was totally and immediately upset when I saw what I learned to be, a mosh pit. Pushing kids into the middle, and pounding them with force with their bodies. Some kids who were not moshing were pushed out of the way. It all seemed very violent to me, and unfortunately, a sign of our times. I went to see if this was allowed, and was promptly dismissed with a "Yes, it’s called dancing."
 
When kids were getting out of hand, I again went to security to see if this was necessary, and he told me it was their venue, and the police had no control over the campus. As I was talking to him, we were surrounded by about fifty cots, all with blood soaked kids lying there, after enjoying their "dance." One of my kids told me about crowd surfing, and how they had seen one girl fall on her head, and she was knocked out. So what does my child do? They try crowd surfing too, and they love it, even knowing the potential hazards.
People hit you as you are lifted through the air by stranger’s hands, getting poked and prodded. Moshing is like legalized fighting. Kids get in these pits and go wild, not caring who they hit or hurt in their quest to go crazy. Of course the screaming and heavy metal add to the charm of such concerts. I can’t understand one word these screamers shout on the top of the lungs, but one of my kids aspires to be one. And it appears that the kids know what these groups are saying.
Violent dancing. Friction in the air. A camaraderie that only these kids can understand. All their anger at bed times and school work and girlfriends and boyfriends seem to resound from the inaudible sounds of pain and anger. And because they are allowed to bash into someone as hard as they can, they do.
Or ride on the wind from one side of the theater to the next, and back again. Oh, and, they won’t stop amidst begging from the one who bore them. They might say they’ll be careful, but I’ve they’ve told me some stories I wish they hadn’t.
Why can’t we just go back to sitting in our assigned seats, or creeping close to the stage? That used to be our recklessness and abandon, if we could just stand in front of the stage and not be ushered out. But Elton John didn’t seem to mind, or Stevie Knicks. They quite welcomed the lighters lit up through the night. My kids know they are my favorites, but they want to keep that as a family secret.
It’s pretty nerve-wracking when you have to worry about your kids when they go to a concert. You don’t have to join in, of course, but I believe most do. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until someone gets hurt before moshing and crowd surfing are stopped in the clubs. Allowing it to happen brings in a lot more money. And we know what money will do. It will allow these dangerous trends to continue. They own the clubs, they make the rules, however, they also will be the ones sued. Although, they probably have writings saying they aren’t responsible.
It will still be their police and ambulance squad that will have to respond. And I’m sure they wouldn’t be too pleased, knowing someone’s neck could have avoided being snapping had they not been dropped on their head while crowd surfing.
I wonder what their kids will be doing in another twenty years.
 
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Susan Thom is the mother of three children, two sons, 17 and 21, and a daughter 22. Writing calms her, and gives her a place to go. By herself! Clears the head and gets it out. She lives in a rural area, with a lake and mountains, her son and her partner, and has loved writing since she was a child.
She certainly hopes you enjoy her take on life, and her style of communicating that in stories.
She has been on a journey of self discovery for twenty years, and has learned many things about the human mind, and how to maintain some semblance of calm and peace within.
If someone reads one of her stories, and relates to her feelings, and maybe gets a suggestion on how she dealt with them in a positive way, that would be the ultimate gift of her writing.
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