Fighting for Change: How Punk Rock Pushed for More
/
people standing on the street during protests at night. (Photo by Maurício Mascaro)
Drugs. Sex. Violence. These might be the first things that come to mind when you hear the words “Punk Rock,” but what if I told you there’s a compassionate side to this abrasive genre of music? Bands like The Sex Pistols may be known for their controversial relationships with recreational drugs, but what about the ones fed up with how a culture centred around freedom enslaved itself with substance abuse? It’s time to buckle up and learn about the straight edge movement, a group of rebels amongst rebels who decided that anarchy wasn’t enough.
The origins of the straight edge movement can be traced back to Ian Mackay, vocalist of the punk band Minor Threat. In 1981, Mackay and his band released a song titled “Straight Edge,” which expressed Mackay’s frustration with the drug abuse that was running wild in the punk community at the time.
Group of people at an event. (Photo by anna-m.w.)
Mackay’s anti-drug sentiment caught on with certain members of the punk community, and before long, the words “straight edge” were more than a song title. As members of a budding subculture, people who adopted straight edge values would show up to punk shows with large black “Xs” on their hands. Initially, this symbol had meant that someone at a punk show was underage and bartenders shouldn’t serve them alcohol, but it quickly transformed into an emblem for this fringe group of punks.
Imagine how surprised straight edgers must have been to learn that Mackay didn’t want anything to do with them. He even explicitly states in the track “Out of Step” that what he said in “Straight Edge” wasn’t meant to start a movement; it was just him talking about how much he didn’t like drinking, drugs and casual sex. To this day, Mackay and Minor Threat have never identified as straight edge at any point in their careers. Regardless, their song gave rise to a new type of punk, and those punks carried on without them.
By the end of the 1980s, some straight edge punks were condemning more than just drugs and alcohol. In 1988, the band Youth of Today released a song titled “No More.” The song advocates for a vegetarian lifestyle, claiming that society is selfish and hardened and we need to stop eating animals to be moral.
Coupling vegetarianism with punk might sound like a recipe for disaster when you consider the violent nature of punk rock, but Youth of Today wanted to be more than what people expected of them. They were a part of what’s known as the “positive mental attitude” or “P.M.A.” movement. Started by the reggae punk group Bad Brains in 1979, P.M.A. infiltrated punk's typically nihilistic and violent culture to spread a message more positive than the punk norm. Armed with this outlook, Youth of Today spent their free time pooling funds to help the homeless and working towards making the world a better place.
With their positive outlook and compassionate ideals, straight edge punk bands like Youth of Today could have done a lot of good for people in need and the animal rights movement. But there was just one small problem—their fans.
a Blazing car wreck. (Photo by Flavio)
Hardcore punk has always attracted young people willing to go to extremes, and straight edge is no exception. Over the years, the movement has become known for the violence carried out by some of its advocates just as much or even more than the compassionate acts of others. In their 2008 documentary Inside Straight Edge, National Geographic explores the subculture in three American cities: Boston, Salt Lake City, and Reno. They found that acts of violence carried out by the straight edge community were so common that local law enforcement in Boston and Salt Lake City had even classified the community as a gang.
So, is there more to punk rock than drugs, sex, and violence? Yes. But despite their good intentions, straight edge bands like Youth of Today were fighting an uphill battle to transform punk rock, and what good is fighting when violence is the problem?
I’m Owen, and you can think of me as the group’s roadie, just along for the ride. I’m the type of guy who hops in his car, turns the discovery playlist on and lets the algorithm choose his music. This has led to my commutes having backtracks that range from metal to pop and everything in between. Maybe I’ll be more decisive about my listening habits one day, but for now, I’m just going to ride the soundwave.
