Police have arrested raver Charlotte Boucher in the death of her boyfriend Donald Goudebon. She allegedly killed him, cooked him, and then served his remains at a family BBQ. “Our hearts go out to the Goudebon family,” says Sgt. Roche Salt of the Montreal Police Department. “Donald’s death is a tragic loss, a life cut short in a most horrific manner.”

Cultural anthropologist Keith Dickson claims that while Donald’s death may be gruesome to mainstream sensibilities, it fits perfectly within the moral and cultural architecture of the rave community. “It’s not uncommon for ravers to kill, cook, and then eat their lovers,” says Keith. “Ritualistic cannibalism has a long and storied history among ravers. The practice originated in the United Kingdom during the Thatcher era. This was a traumatic time when neoliberalism was tearing communities apart. Ravers coped with Thatcherism by sublimating their economic anxiety through erotic nihilism. British ravers developed a form of cannibalistic courtship that continues to this day, and this practice eventually spread to the international EDM community. It might seem barbaric to our eyes, but it’s not our place to criticize ravers.”

Keith may not believe that raver cannibalism is inherently evil, but he is surprised by at least one aspect of Donald’s death. “Raver cannibalism is traditionally a solemn affair between two lovers -- it’s the culmination of their courtship,” says Keith. “The fact that Ms. Boucher included others in her man eating ceremony is a sign that rave culture continues to evolve in new and unexpected ways. It’s only a matter of time before this new form of raver cannibalism spreads to the rest of the EDM community. I think in the next few years, you’ll see more and more ravers surreptitiously feeding their friends and families human meat. That’s something to keep in mind the next time a raver invites yo