Why You'll Find Me in a Mosh Pit
When telling a coworker that I would be spending my Friday night at a deathcore/metal concert, he asked how crazy it was. "Pretty crazy," I responded. "The most pit can get pretty intense.""Do you go in the mosh pit?" he responded."Of course," I said without hesitation."But...why?"The question got me thinking. I know why I find myself in a mosh pit, but do other people understand? Probably not, so here is my attempt to explain it.A mosh pit is where people mosh, or "slamdance" as some news outlets call it, which is basically people running into each other incessantly during a heavy metal/punk/hardcore music concert. People don't punch or hit other people; they just slam their bodies into one another. Sure, there's pushing and shoving, but nothing ever too violent, unless there's a bad egg who is intent on hurting someone else.Here's why I do it; it's three reasons:
- Moshing gives me the ability to shoulder check and push around people I don't know and not be arrested for it. The music gives me a cover story. It's a way to get out all of the anger, aggression, frustration, etc that builds up inside me. Want to punch a coworker in the face? Better not...better yet, find a mosh pit. Your coworker will thank you.
- If you get knocked down, someone WILL pull you up. It's the rules of moshing. It's really unsafe for someone to be down on the ground. The instant somebody falls, people rush to pull him/her up and get the mosh pit going again.
- It's a safe environment to get some aggression out. People are generally not evil in these places. It's just good ol' fashioned fun.
I hope that explains it. You may not agree with the reasons, but that's what they are.