i need some major persuasive help here

so, in light of some apparent "recent gang shootouts" happening around the 9:30 neighborhood (that i haven't heard about at all, but are supposedly taking place); my parents have essentially banned me from the 9:30 club.

as many of you know, i'm not even ALLOWED to go to shows on school nights (though my parents have in the past let me go to one or two shows if i've been getting straight A's, and it's apparent that i'm working my tail off). so i went to ask my mom if i could go to the Rooney show today, and she explained that they didn't want me going to the club anymore. the worst part of this all, is that her reasoning sort of makes sense. she kept saying that she'd "be a terrible mother if her daughter got shot," and asking me "is it worth it to get shot and never be able to go to another concert again? do you want me to just let you go get shot?" my parents are obviously concerned, which makes some sort of sense, and i can't really argue (though i do think whatever idea they have in their heads about me getting shot EVERY time i am at a show in DC is proposterous).

i wanted to know if any of you crafty little bastards could think of any points i can argue with here, because when they bring safety into the picture i don't have much i can deal with. while i can reassure my parents that my friends and i are literally walking into the club and out of the club, that the skeevy drunks hangin' out at ben's chili bowl don't have the kind of money to pay to get into these shows every night to pray on little girls like moi, and that they are, themselves, being complete hypocrites (1. they once let my friend and i to nation and we waited outside for them for like four hours at 2am… 2.when my dad was a kid he was going down there all the time and it was worse…RI-DI-CU-LOUS; and i could find so many more flaws in their reasoning but i will spare anybody reading this)…i just…i don't know. going to shows in the DC area has been a struggle with my parents ever since i, um…started going to shows. they never wanted me going down to those areas; but i had been working my ass off so much recently and being such a good kid that they couldn't even say no to me without being complete morons. now they've said no, and i need massive help turning this around.

my mother also brought up something about possibly making me sell my Rufus Wainwright ticket. it's really not a good situation. so please, brainstorm, brainstorm for the children…

Mother knows best. However looking back to when I was your age, I managed to convince them otherwise. So, if your a bright young girl, you can pull it off. However, pick your battles, is it worth the hassle for Rooney? Maybe let it slide til something you enjoy more makes you brainstorm even harder and the shootings die down.Yep, that's my 2 cents. Getting struck by lightning and getting shot going to a show at the 9:30 are closer odds than you'd probably think.Especially if you don't get youself in a stupid and potentially dangerous situation.On a final note, go with as many friends as possible.There's truly safety in numbers

a couple ideas…

one suggestion would be to have you parents contact the club's management either via phone or email to discuss thier concerns. this of course could backfire as your parents might not feel reassured by the club's response and be even less inclined to allow you to go to shows.

parents in the past have asked such questions in the FAQ forum and eddie has responded to them.

another option would be to have your parents or a responsible guardian bring you to the show, where they can hang in the backbar during the concert.

i'm guessin' trying to find a private car service with bulletproof glass wont fly either :)

i'll give you props for not posting the standard "I hate my parents" statement so often seen on other forums.

I have not heard of concert goers getting shot. If anyone gets hurt in that area it is often on Georgia Avenue and not to concert goers.


Once you have gone to shows pandoras box has been opened. It would be a punishment to have that privelege removed.

Try and get your parents to take you and pick you up from the show.

Originally posted by MTB-Markie:
I have not heard of concert goers getting shot. If anyone gets hurt in that area it is often on Georgia Avenue and not to concert goers.


Once you have gone to shows pandoras box has been opened. It would be a punishment to have that privelege removed.

Try and get your parents to take you and pick you up from the show.

see, that's what i've said. my dad is convinced though, that i'll get shot while walking in or out of the club. i truly have some jewish parents on my case here.

my parents are very inconsistant with their reasoning on what i can and can't do. i went to my first "rock concert" when i was about ten years old. and since then, we'd always had to have a "parent or responsible adult"–at least at club shows (wolf trap and fort reno and whatever we're fine alone) with us at shows (many a time in the past as well, i have even paid for my brothers ticket to shows he had no interest or motivation in going to–just so a friend and i could go see the band). what happened though, is we all start turning 15…we can almost drive ourselves…and the parents that are staying with us at the shows (NOT MINE, EITHER!) don't want to take us anymore, and have realized that we're safe on our own. so we started getting dropped and picked up around may-ish.
all summer long, a debate was raging in this household about whether this was OK or not…my mom thought we were fine, a group of us, getting dropped and picked up at the club; whereas my dad who is often very stubborn about things, just said flat out no. i told him that if he disagrees so much, he needs to just come to a show with me and see for himself that there is no fuss. he gave me a "we'll see."


so basically, in september when i wanted to go to a show at 9:30 my mom and i just kind of overruled my dad and i went with a friend anyway. we got dropped and picked up, and were fine. and i'd been good to go until about LAST WEEK, when my mom started talking about hearing all this stuff about people getting shot in the neighborhood. and then today, she basically told me that she didn't want me at The Black Cat or 9:30 ever again. i'm not sure how much truth that will hold, we'll have to see.

it just sucks, because i'm such a good kid. i'm straightedge for the most part, i am in all honors classes at school AND am even taking a college-level government class right now and i've got straight A's. my high school is one of the best and most-competitive in the whole state, and i also do a ton of extracurriculers, sing and guitar in various bands, and am working on a collection for a fashion show at the end of this year. i hate Bethesda; but it just sucks so much when the only thing i want to do is go stand in a room full of people and see some music, and it's not allowed. i mean, i feel like i could be out prostituting myself for crack and failing out of school and getting twelve abortions and i STILL wouldn't be able to do this. curses, i tell you!

what if you took a cab that let you out right in front of the club

Your folks obviously don't want you to end up like Taylor Behl.
<img src="http://www.misfitting.com/taylor3.jpg" alt=" - " />

Originally posted by clouds R²:
Your folks obviously don't want you to end up like Taylor Behl.
&lt;img src="http://www.misfitting.com/taylor3.jpg" alt=" - " /&gt;

poor, poor girl. and that has nothing to do with it, because they let me out practically everywhere else…there's just some thing in their heads that tells them "9:30 club = get shot"

the part about getting dropped is irrelevant too, because that's not the problem. we had that solved. the problem now is, how do they get it through their heads that going into that neighborhood does NOT always mean you are going to die??

First off, how do you get to and from the club and, secondly, with about how many people? Are any of them guys? As long as your parents trust the particular guys sexually, having some males with you should help your appeal.

Finally, do you realize that in this day and age, you probably face more danger at school than a direct commute to and from the front door of the club with no dallying around or other shenanigans? For what it's worth, that's coming from an ex-teacher. Granted, you're in a drastically different school system than I taught in but you told us some stories very recently that top anything that has ever gone on in the entire history of the 9:30 Club, be it the old club or the current one.

I think you are more likely to get shot at school.

I agree with what everyone else says. ^ And yes, in my opinion, you are probably more likely to shot in school.

Work on getting your Dad or adult to go with you. Once they're at the club I can bet they'll see how much you love being there and think more about letting you go with friends only.

Are you thinking about going to college in D.C.? Because if you do, I'm sure you can go every night :p

i think you are going t ohave to runaway from home. its the only possible way. you can then live by the 930club in a box, then you could go to anyshow you want.

or you ca njust tell them that no one has ever been shot there and that you will be safe. just get someone to go with you and all will be well.

i'd like to point out a few things for reference:

1) it's not an issue anymore of having someone there with us. it's an issue of the time i'm waiting outside (which i started to offer to maybe have an adult wait with us outside while in line), or walking INTO the club and OUT of the club to meet whoever is picking us up directly there.

2) every time i have said that nobody has gotten shot going to a show, my mom goes "YOU DON'T KNOW THAT! YOU CAN'T MAKE THAT KIND OF AN ASSUMPTION!"

Sounds to me like if you want to go to 930/black cat you'll just have to lie about it. Or just lay low for a while and pick the fight up again when you're 15 and a half.

Originally posted by Chaz, Lover of all Forum Members:
Sounds to me like if you want to go to 930/black cat you'll just have to lie about it. Or just lay low for a while and pick the fight up again when you're 15 and a half.

yeah. it's quite hard to lie when it involves coming back at 2 am smelling like cigarettes…

:(

Betty, just a few things to use to help you out.

The 9:30 Club area in front of the club and all along the side up to the parking lot is heavily secured by the 9:30 staph even in the crappiest of weather. Any potential criminal element knows that and stays away. Or, at least, they don't try any of their crap around there. In fact, as I said, they tend to just stay well away.

It's also very well lit.

If you have to spend any time outside waiting in line, you are with plenty of other patrons who inadvertantly provide you with the major safety precaution of safety in numbers. Again, any criminal element is going to stay well away from that. You will have no problems at all with any of the club goers and if you by the odd chance do, believe me, the staph will kick their asses over to the other side of the street faster than you could call home on your cell phone and tell Mommy and Daddy that they were right. It just won't be an issue.

As an added bonus, at the end of the evening, there is always a police officer sitting in a car, or there in some manner, just outside the club in full view. I don't know their real purpose of being there other than being pro-active by being there if needed but as long as you aren't an ass, you have no problems whatsoever. I've never seen them harass anyone at all. If anything, they add that extra level of security over and above what is already there provided by the club. Also, I always see plenty of them riding around that section just doing their job and securing the area. And it's not because there is all kinds of crime going on. It's because there are lots and lots of people congregating because of all of the night life which means that they have to have a certain degree of presence there to do their part and help protect the citizens.

If you and your friends are taking the Metro, there are plenty of others doing the same. While DC people can be very anti-social to those they don't know, they generally are very cool about letting you walk along in a group with them for the purpose of safety. They understand the clustering up for the sake of protection and will generally be very cool and even very protective of you if you ask if you can stick near them for the walk if you feel you need a little extra security. You'll just have to resign to leaving right after the show and not hang around hoping to meet the band or whatever. Even then, you would probably be fine. You won't have to rush like a bat out of Hell but instead, follow the flow.

Originally posted by you be betty:

Originally posted by Chaz, Lover of all Forum Members:
Sounds to me like if you want to go to 930/black cat you'll just have to lie about it. Or just lay low for a while and pick the fight up again when you're 15 and a half.

yeah. it's quite hard to lie when it involves coming back at 2 am smelling like cigarettes…

:(

Well then you could limit yourself to non-smoking shows or just spend the night at a friends house.

<img src="http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9511/rabin/reaction/major.jpg" alt=" - " />
He's VERY persuasive &amp; helpful

"Let Betty go to the club. She won't get shot."

we have genuine DC police hired for every show out front

it is not an ssumption…it is a fact…nobody has ever been shot in front of the 930 Club…although we have thought about it a few times with some of our more annoying patrons

it sounds like they don't want you to go for some other reasons

I'd be happy to call them if it truly is a concern about something on our end

Originally posted by Seth Hurwitz:

I'd be happy to call them if it truly is a concern about something on our end

Wow…Seth must really want your money!!! But for real….that is way cool of you to offer Seth. You should definately have Seth call your mom. How could they refuse you then, Betty?