Not a riot, a “moshing”

Several knowledgeable readers have written to explain the nature of what the media described as a riot at a punk-rock concert at Lincoln Center this week. They say that what was happening was something called “moshing,” which, while highly degenerate, is normally a semi-controlled form of mayhem and not a true riot of the type associated with black hip-hop concerts. However, one of the commenters indicates that the white moshing has become increasingly violent in recent years, and increasingly indistinct from black-style behavior.

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James M. writes:

I found a video from the Japanther event in question. Warning: there’s coarse language in the subtitles, mocking the venue and security people:

Honestly, this looks pretty tame to me. There is a modest jumble of moshers but it’s all quite run-of-the-mill as far as these things go. Unfortunately, the young girl and friend from the article were probably attending their first show of this nature and didn’t have a concert veteran to clue them in on where to stand.

Now, the In Flames video I linked to looks like something from Dante’s Inferno, and that’s no accident. I would venture that a majority of those kids live in the depths of self-loathing, nihilism, and despair (more so than the punkers). But as Charles notes, it’s a confined turmoil. They are there to pummel and be pummeled, and everyone knows the score. It’s a fitting visual for the death of white culture and society, a morass of white youth in a pit, destroying one another to the brutal throbbing of satanic metal.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at January 06, 2011 07:12 PM | Send