A Truly Care-Oriented Community has foundational members who serve as leaders, guides and watchdogs for concerning behaviors and abusive individuals.
ANYONE can become a leader in ways that feel comfortable TO THEM: by being a sympathetic ear, walking a friend to their car, watching out for targeted predatory behavior, befriending venue staff, monitoring bands, venues, etc., as well as creating and maintaining social networks. In our community, Leading also refers to technical dance technique, safety and skill on the dancefloor, social leading by setting the tone of asking/guiding, and more.
Leadership, just like community, is a nuanced concept which we all relate to individually. There is no right definition of Leadership, Community, or Safety, for that matter. Interlacing the personal truth with the community experience is a lived experience, just like dance! No one has all the right answers.
The Austin 2-Step Community is an International draw. That comes with a responsibility, for those who choose to answer that call. It isn’t necessary for every person in our community to become Captain Safety, and it wouldn’t be any fun, either.
All it takes is a handful of people watching out and communicating with one another with openness and integrity in a spirit of caretaking self and the individuals within our community.
True Leadership Always Begins with Self-Care and Self-Respect. When I love myself and others with equality, I become the Enemy of Abuse and Harm.
Benefits of Caring About Community Safety (safebars.org):
- Returning dancers (strong community)
- Positive publicity, including working opportunities
- Retention of venue staff, bands and dancers
- Improved reputation, increased exposure, new dancers
- Leaders set the tone for the communication and community we WANT.
Many people can look at a situation and observe gaps and failures. FEW people will take a stand and the initiative to actively CREATE positive force in their circumstances.
This is the nature of a True Leader.
Leaders don’t wait for someone else to step in, do the right thing, or say the hard thing. Leading on the dance floor is about observation, safety, control, grace, technique, communication and adaptability. These skills are easily transferable to interrelational awareness and personal safety. Sometimes all it takes is one or two people watching out for behaviors that may pop up, tracking known bad actors as they move through our spaces and our peers, and speaking up at any relevant point. Warning BEFORE as well as informing AFTER are clear ways to communication your attention and commitment to safety in our community.
For Opportunisitc predators, simply knowing that resources like this exist, and that others in the community may have silently volnteered to become Leaders and Observers of Behavior, is enough to drive them out of our communities, or surpress their more base insiticts when they’re in our settings.
As with Violence, it is more often than not the THREAT or PERCEIVED RISK (of violence or exposure) that will cause an individual to modify their behavior, or cross their personal boundaries.