North Texas Daily

I had never heard of house shows until I moved to Denton. Granted, I’m from a tiny, “Trump’s America” town in central Texas.

Discovering this creative, interesting, dynamic subculture of people that make memories together by gathering on the weekends to perform and listen to music of all kinds was akin to Aladdin showing Jasmine “A Whole New World:” shining, shimmering, splendid. For me and many others, Jagoe was our first taste of this new world.

The magic carpet was ripped from under our collective feet when the assault allegations came to light.

The recently surfaced reports of sexual assault at Jagoe are heartbreaking. The mothership venue that was once a hub for celebration, art and togetherness now serves as an ugly reminder to victims who were let down by the owners’ failure to act proactively.

No one associated with the venue was personally involved in the assaults. Of course crimes are committed by individuals, but that doesn’t make the house or the culture faultless. House shows aren’t filled with cartoonishly obvious criminals in all black holding crowbars. They’re filled with regular college students, friends, acquaintances and people you’ve seen before on Twitter. The fact that so many people have come forward about their experiences is proof enough that there’s a problem.

Nothing can undo what these victims went through, but the former house owners’ transparent statement on Facebook regarding the issue is a perfect example of what a public entity should do when it messes up. They acknowledged their negligence and the role it played in the situation. They didn’t place blame on anyone else. They condemned those disrespectfully defending them. They showed tangible evidence of growth by permanently closing Jagoe and using the situation to bring sexual assault into focus as a community-wide issue.

Denton PD didn’t contact any Jagoe owners after the first victim was reported, and, when speaking with the victim, they actually implied it was her fault and that there was nothing that could be done, according to the Dentonite’s article. Sexual assault is never the fault of the victim, and it is sickening to hear otherwise from law enforcement.

Although the criminal justice system fails victims constantly, we as a community can stand with them and take actual steps to address issues like this. They might not take you seriously, but we do.

Jagoe had a big presence and influence in the house show community. Hopefully, the way they responded will impact the way the environment handles sexual violence in the future. And hopefully, next time it’ll be more prompt.

Featured Image: Illustration by Ari Solorio