Basslines and Bible Belts

I went to a club last Saturday. I don't normally go clubbing, but I'm not one of those people who thinks that clubbing is inherently evil. Sure, there are lots of things you could do at a club that would come back to haunt you, but mostly it's just a bunch of people dancing around and trying to look cool. I don't really get what the big deal is, but I went anyway.

Clubs are dark. The people who go to clubs are cool. They look cool, at least. Maybe they look cool because of how dark it is. When it's dark, you can kind of be whatever you want. You could say that you are everything you ever wished you were. Who would know that you're not? No one. You're unbelievably cool, until the light comes on. My friend saw someone she knew outside of the club. He tried to hit on her. He didn't realize yet that we were outside of the club and we could see him. He wasn't cool anymore. It's weird. there's these bright flashes of light that come from strobes and these video screens they had up. When they go off, you can see everything as it is, for just a second. Everyone trying so hard. Trying hard to be seen, but not fully. To be only seen as a shadow, because the light ruins the illusion of their existence. Of what their existence has been fabricated to be. It struck me last night that people want to hide, but they need to be seen. They need to be known for who they are, not the dressed up, sexualized, super slick, slightly drunk version of themselves that they have grown to prefer. People need brief flashes of light to remind them of who they truly are. It's not good enough just to be known, though. You have to be loved, with the lights on, wearing your messy clothes, putting your hair into a sloppy bun. Just as you are. I realized last night that no one ever told the girls in that club any of those things. They know that they have to hide, or be alone, and the flashes of light only hurt their eyes.

It's a sad thing that I've seen. People who would choose the darkest corners of the room over breif flashes of light, because they do not know. They are not known.