Seriously. Shut the fuck up. You're no different than televangelists or the military. Your dogmatic clashes with the boozers is not individualism, its a set of rules and an X on your hand. It just looks like another costume you need to get into another elitist club. Its like "no girls allowed," and the fortune 500. Theres nothing special about an angry mob armed with quotable Minor Threat lyrics and mowhawks. I'm sure Ian Mackaye is embarassed. Seriously, they only had two songs that talked about not drinking and whos to say the whole band felt that way? Ian wrote most of the lyrics anyway. The whole X on you hand actually started out as a way for kids under 21 to express their discontent over a lack of all-ages shows. That also means that they couldn't drink at shows, which quickly transformed into "fuck it, we don't need booze." But now its gotten out of hand. Straight-edge is PERSONAL POLITICS. Its something you do for yourself, because they're YOUR principles, not everybody else's. Waving Xs in everyone's faces and yelling "at least I have the guts to be straight-edge," doesn't make you rebellious. Its just another trendy way to fit in without thinking for yourself. Have you even tried beer or a martini? Don't knock it until you try it. Besides, life is about moderation. Most people who do drink alchohol aren't complete fuckups, who don't take care of their kids. Thats just another carefully crafted image created by conservative politicians to justify why people in poverty are responsible for their own demise. Yes, there are people like that, but the point is that you can't judge someone just because they want beer once in a while.
Its like one kid who was really affable and had the best record collection in town claimed he or she was edge and then all of a sudden everybody else followed like a flock of sheep, so they could share the "fun." But once it becomes about shoving your ideology down everybody else's throat its self-defeating. The insignia on your leather jacket is just another way to separate the followers from the thinkers. If you truly want to be straight-edge, than live up to it. Just don't make everybody feel bad because they made a decision not to be. Because if you do that, you're just another fascist. SORRY IF I HAVE THE GUTS TO ADMIT I LIKE TO GET FUCKED UP. Exactly. Is it any different? Not at all. Practice what you preach, but don't preach it. I choose not to eat meat, but I don't get pissed off at people who do eat meat. If they want to know why I don't, I'll explain my position, but I'm not going to espouse to a doctrine of hate and attack you with cabbage or nuts.
