The conversation revolved around the fact on how they thought straight edge was "dumb". Posing questions like,"why do they have to label themselves as something?" I can't remember exact quotes but it was roughly around that question/statement and a horrible example of a certain kid who claimed "straight edge" who used to go to my school.
After listening to this and other conversations similar, I am going to assume just as they did. And I am "assuming/know" that they know nothing about the straight edge other then the obvious facts like don't drink, don't smoke, don't do drugs, etc.
As for the "labeling" question, what the fuck isn't a label these days?! I used to wrestle and play soccer and people would label me as a jock. Look at that goofy kid you always see in the comic section at your local library that you have always seen as a geek. Your neighbor across the street who is always throwing parties may be seen as a dumb and drunk partier. Or maybe that "stoner" kid you labeled just because you knew him to hang out with a particular group of kids. These are all labels and they can get worse like through racial slurs and other degrading labels.
Either way my point is, the straight edge is just a label of something more. The straight edge is a state of mind, let me clarify.
The term straight edge is referring to "punk" movement which began the the early 80's. It wasn't always known as "straight edge", it was known as being X'd. The term was coined by Ian Mackaye in the song "Straight Edge" by Minor Threat. For a more in depth history lesson look it up yourself.
But straight edge was a rebellion against the drugs, sex and violence mentality of the punk rock scene at that time. And it's definitely evolved a lot since those days, I can't tell first hand from those days but I can tell you how it is now.Of coarse there are trends for most "everything" and straight edge is no exception. I see people come and go throughout the hardcore and punk scene all the time, straight edge or not. But don't look at those people because they chose their path and that's fine by me, people change and that's okay. I'd be a liar if I said this didn't piss me off because it does, but I just have to deal with these things.
I have been straight edge for about 5 years now and used to drink and smoke. I never was a big drunk and I wasn't a chain smoker, it was just always there. So, I don't have any amazing story why I have chosen to become straight edge. But I will tell you straight up... At first, straight edge was a trend for me. I can't help it, I started going more and more frequently to local hardcore and punk shows and I fell into a crowd which at the time was predominately straight edge. But I can tell you one thing, I played a lot of sports and had a lot of friends, I guess you could say I was your common normal everyday high school kid. But I have never truly felt apart of anything until I started going to hardcore and punk shows. It's hard for me to truly explain the unity between people in the hardcore and punk scene; but I can tell you that there is no place like it. With places like Cave9 our local venue(d.i.y. all ages) started to become a second home for me. Cave9 was always a great place to go and get away from my problems, especially if I was having problems in school with my family, etc. But Cave9 was an all ages d.i.y. venue where drinking drugs and alcohol were not permitted. This was a place for all ages to have fun and enjoy independent music of all sorts.
Either way I am kind of going off topic. Since choosing the path of the straight edge, I am content with my choices. I would not be the person I am today if it weren't for straight edge. I have seen and experienced many things throughout my time of going to shows. If you want to know more on that subject just ask me.
Other then my life, straight edge keeps a positive influence on scenes all around the U.S. and even the world. I was lucky enough to grow up in such a fun and unifying scene. I've seen shows in many cities and things aren't all the same, Birmingham was lucky enough to have an all ages d.i.y. venue and many cities don't have this. From my experience and in my opinion many scenes are separated when there are "barriers" within the scene. With cities who host 18/21 and up shows create a barrier for younger generations to come, for example Columbus shows. Every now and then I see new kids coming out to shows but they get driven out by older crowds. I even remember first coming to shows here in Columbus, even though there were alot of nice welcoming people but the hardcore scene was mainly made up of a bunch of elitist assholes. But I have been going to shows here for about 4 years now and guess what those elitist assholes are hardly ever seen anymore. I understand many of those people have been going to shows since I was in kindergarten but you can't preach about creating a unified scene without changing your outlook. But where are they now?
Even though I went a little off topic, I just wanted to say that the straight edge still has a postive influence on people. And there will always be trends and labels but it's all up to the indivdual to figure out who they truly are. I got the straight edge, I claim it but I don't go around announcing it to people and I especially don't shove it in anyones faces. I like to say I grew up in hardcore,punk and straight edge even though it has only effected a quarter of my life. But that small portion of my life I feel has truly sculpted who I am today. I have been straight edge for roughly 5 years and I still am today but who knows tomorrow is another day and people change, I know I have.
We got that attitude
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