“I knew everyone there cared for me even as they shoved me,” I said. “That’s crazy,” she said.
chaos more readily than other bodies. Thrill-seeking seems most desirable to those with fewer bodily concerns to contend with on a daily basis. Men (white men in particular) are not socialized to fear the hands +++ of the public. I don’t believe it is wrong for people to seek spaces Another concert showed me what it means to mosh in which they may enjoy safe expressions of near-viwithout love. The band: Lightning Bolt. The crowd: olence, but I take issue with the exclusivity of these untrustworthy. I saw five crowd surfers crash to the spaces. It saddens me that I enter every mosh pit with floor from a lack of supporting hands. Shovers did not fear that I might be pushed a little harder because account for the shoved. I didn’t realize what I had at of my brown skin or eyeshadow. I take issue with the the IDLES show until I was flung into an elbow and many power dynamics which prevent women and received no apology. femmes, people of color, queer people, and more from Since the IDLES show, I’ve moshed at dive bars surrendering to the pit. Mosh pits have provided me with tiny crowds huddled around unknown bands. I’ve with near-perfect experiences of bodily intimacy. I moshed with art school kids who strained to shove me want these experiences to be available for all who across the room. I’ve moshed with assholes who shoved seek them. I want my body, each body, to melt into the anyone around them, whether they wanted it or not. crowd without trepidation. The Lightning Bolt mosh pit was the most dangerous. At its worst, a mosh pit is a too-masculine, too-vio+++ lent space for people who want to shove. At the Lightning Bolt concert, shirtless punks At the ice cream shop, my other coworker Charlie claimed the territory short kids needed to see anything rushed in and said, “Be careful around Boston on the stage. Anyone who did not want to mosh was Common. My partner and I were just queer-bashed by forced away from the front of the crowd. I saw many some assholes.” men and few people of other genders. My hands grazed “Are you OK?” We, the chorus, sang. the shoulder or chest or butt of a stranger who did not “Oh I’m fine. But my partner got a nasty bruise.” want to be touched there, but couldn’t fend off the writhing crowd. I rolled my ankle and limped away +++ from the center. As I limped, I was still pushed. To mosh, a body must surrender to the crowd. Despite its shortcomings, I have faith in the mosh It is a privilege to donate your body to the masses pit. Compassionate mosh pits could be oases of care for fun. for those who want it. In a world which promises no It is a privilege to seek the fringes of violence for safety for many bodies, mosh pits could grant curated fun. bodily experiences. People can consent to pushing and I have known these privileges. I am a gender- nothing else, then experience pushing and nothing queer person who grew up as a man for most of my life. else. I believe the pit can grow to include those who are This privilege feels distinctly male and white. A body not included yet. With more bands like IDLES, more without a societal history of harm may give itself to disciples of compassion in the punk scene, we can
THE COLLEGE HILL INDEPENDENT
redesign moshing around love. Let the mosh pit expand to accept everyone who needs it. Let each body, whether in the pit or not, achieve ecstasy. Let the pit in all its nonviolent violence and care decry all forms of bodily harm. Let the pit pour into itself until each water molecule has loved its journey. Let it undulate. Like a body. Like a promise. Let it redouble its effort to stop violence from travelling anywhere else. Let the pit’s edges be the walls of a wave pool, where water can crash without splattering the world. Let this be the upper limit of our violence, the lower limit of our joy. Let us all dance until we bike home safe. JAIME SERRATO MARKS B'20 likes to collide with others.
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