Early on during Mouse’s Ear Memoirs, I made myself a Google Alert with the term “strip club shooting” and related terms. I was thinking I’d get a few alerts during Mouse’s Ear Memoirs, save them, and do some kind of post about their specifics. I used to save each article that came up, about the different shootings at different clubs. However, the alerts became so overwhelming in numbers that I stopped saving them. I didn’t realize that strip club shootings happen almost every night around the country, until the alerts brought them to my attention. Normally they occur in the parking lot areas, involve male-on-male confrontations, and occur at clubs that are more open to inviting in rap culture. But, shootings can happen anywhere. I’m hesitant to continue attacking the Second Amendment without first attacking Big Pharma and SSRIs. I’m hesitant to attack The Constitution, without first examining the cultures which romanticize gun violence. But, it’s definitely still disgusting how often shootings occur at strip clubs, and how little the strip club owners care about such issues.

In November of 2022, during Mouse’s Ear Memoirs, I worked at a club that had a parking lot duel. A man was shot dead in the parking lot, while staff and dancers locked themselves inside the club. The woman owner of this club didn’t care about the safety of her staff or dancers. The only security she usually had working was her daughter’s boyfriend, who stood around stoned, texting most of the time. Another time at this same club, a drug dealer pulled out a gun, looking for a dancer he disliked. Another time, all of the dancers, myself included, had to hide in a makeshift safe room, as a large fight broke out in the parking lot and club. Fortunately, this woman’s club was closed down a couple of months ago now. I’m definitely planning to do a series about her.

In my experience, there are some key things that clubs can do to prevent shootings. Here’s a short list:

#1: Hire professional security

#2: Scan guests with a metal detector wand

#3: Pat guests down to check for weapons

#4: Prevent rap culture from proliferating within the club. This can be done by inviting in bikers who display Celtic and Norse tattoos, playing music that does not sound like rap and hip hop, making hipsters and other high-income tech nerds interested in patronizing the establishment.

In my almost eighteen years of experience at around two-hundred clubs in seventeen states, those simple actions can save lives, and prevent a whole lot of unwanted workplace violence. I’d love it if data scientists did some kind of study on strip club shootings. If anyone is interested in brainstorming with me, don’t hesitate to reach out. It’s a fascinating topic that deserves more attention and solutions.