These protests could reimagine the way all of us experience a night out, but we just get more of the same
Watching Sydney live music punters have their Stonewall moment has been bizarre. While live music, festivals and parties have an important role to play in society, the framing of these protests and who is placed at the centre of this “struggle” has been overwhelmingly white.
Thousands marched last week after leaked proposed policies relating to festivals from the New South Wales government emerged. The proposals would make it cost-prohibitive for festival organisers. This follows years of regressive, reactive and overzealous laws, policing and politics after one-punch kills and overdoses at festivals. Research suggests hospital presentations as a result of injuries sustained from alcohol do not decrease with tighter regulations, it just changes where alcohol is purchased. Rather than changing the culture that normalises the violent masculinity that plays a role in one-punch deaths or listening to the countless studies and research that tell us harm reduction is smarter drug policy, the NSW government has doubled down its efforts.
Continue reading...from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2NzO32h
via
0 Comments