WHAT IS PLUR?

PLUR (PEACE, LOVE, UNITY & RESPECT) IS:

Peace: Letting go of fear and living at peace with yourself and another on the planet for a greater good.

Love: As one learns to love themselves, they are then able to forgive and love everyone unconditionally.

Unity: A mutual, collective bond is formed resulting in the love and peace experienced from one another. Cohabitating and not trying to put your beliefs on others but living in unity instead.

Respect: Because of peace, love and unity, one can accept others regardless of their beliefs or backgrounds.

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF PLUR?

PLUR is a term that was first mentioned by DJ Frankie Bones back in the 1990s when the underground rave parties were taking the world by storm. The term was originally PLUM (Peace, Love, Unity Movement) and Respect was added later on after a fight broke out at a Storm Rave party.

Frankie noticed that when people came together for underground parties there were often fights. He wanted to bring people together for music without all the trouble. He warned people that if they didn’t bring the PLUR, they weren’t invited. He then later released a record called Peace, Love, Unity and Respect. PLUR still lives on today in the rave culture and is endorsed especially by Insomniac’s creator, Pasquelle Rotella.

WHY PEACE, LOVE, UNITY & RESPECT?

Peace, Love, Unity and Respect is an instrumental part of the rave community. PLUR has been an instrumental part of who I am as a person. With having a hard upbringing, the rave scene truly was an escape from reality for me, just like Frankie Bones wanted these parties to be. I found myself sneaking off to warehouse parties at a very young age; back in the day where you didn’t even know where they were until you got the flyer. They were usually in the middle of nowhere. They were always named something like “Pink” or “Energy”. It wasn’t until I turned 18 that I went to my first music festival. The sense of community and love was something I will always cherish. Many of the beautiful moments I have shared with people at festivals, I take back with me in real life. As a young teen who grew up in a home of violence, house music helped me to not fall into a depression. Festivals were something I looked forward to in order to really keep me going and have a positive outlook on life. The foundations of PLUR are not only concepts, but a lifestyle. I decided to get PLUR tattooed on my back as a symbol from that day forward that I would be a positive light in the world. I would inspire others to truly live in an empathic civilization.

At a rave, bracelets are often traded called Kandi. I don’t know if you have ever made one of those bracelets but it sure does take a lot of time and patience, especially if all the beads drop midway. People often put meaningful words on them or associate them with experiences in their life. Many of the Kandi’s I have received at festivals, I have kept in a keepsake box. One of my favorite stories was at a rave where there was this old OG rave woman. She was probably in her late 60’s. She was sitting in some sort of neon psychedelic tent. I struck up a conversation with her and she shared with me how her husband recently passed. We talked for a bit and then we found ourselves hugging and crying from our emotional conversation about how life is so precious and short. She then motioned to me the PLUR symbol to give me Kandi. She said her husband had made it for her. I immediately burst in tears. Something as small as a Kandi bracelet could hold so much value, I could not believe she wanted to give it to me. I never saw her again but I still to this day have the bracelet and I wish her well.

Often times when people see my back tattoo in the grocery store or wherever they automatically assume they are chakras. I find it to be a conversation starter, to get the ball rolling and to put “bugs” in people’s ears. Often times when I attend a festival or especially Burning Man, I find myself looking around and questioning why we cannot all just live together on this planet in a peaceful manner. Although I do believe you cannot truly appreciate light if you have never seen dark, I still can’t help but wonder what if we could live with a PLUR mentality. Why do we act as if we do not have a choice? I saw this incredible meme once that says:

STOP. You are not a machine. Your natural genetic design does not tolerate 2-4 hours of travel per day, 8-12 hours of slave labor. 5-6 days a week for whatever monetary compensation on 5-6 hours of sleep in a system built on penalistic principle and a life under judgmental surveillance. Like it or not, you are human. Stress, harassment, constant financial worries, fear and sense of inadequacy destroys the health of humans. This is a scientific fact. So why do we accept and tolerate a system that in actual reality demands that you erase your needs and in effect a slow joyless suicide for someone else’s profit? You have a choice. Stop pretending you don’t.

Another one of my favorite memes are of two aliens looking down at the planet says:

Long story short…they forgot that they are all brothers and sisters, cohabiting the same planet, so they kinda became delusional and imagined these invisible borders, beliefs, and structures that separate them and destroy each other and they Earth they live on instead of living, sharing, creating and evolving together.

HOW CAN YOU LEAD A PLUR LIFESTYLE?

It really is the little things that spread kindness to others. All of these small moments can have a huge impact on other people.

• Offer water bottles to someone in need.

• Pass out little gifts, Kandi or earplugs.

• Offer your fan to others.

• Stand up for others who are being harassed.

• Look out for one another on the dance floor.

There really is no reason why we cannot live a PLUR lifestyle. I challenge you to be kind because you never know what that person is going through. Be empathetic. At festivals, if you see someone by themselves, ask if they are ok. Be a light in the world and you will receive the same light back. Music festivals and the house music scene have really evolved and I couldn’t be happier to see how many people it is affecting for the better. I hope the PLUR mentality goes above and beyond the festival. I have high hopes.