...hard to "X" -plain, hard to understand, but still an essential part of my life. THE X IN ME IS STILL ALIVE!
Finally I followed some of my roots, including the most influencing thing in my life: Straight Edge.
...
After 12 years i can say that, next to skateboarding, straight edge has saved my youth. Throughout my own interpretation of the way of living, self responsible for all of my actions, I followed the philosophy of SE. Never seeing it in a religious way, neither forcing myself into rules of it.
Furthermore, I can say that the most important thing in this time was, and still is, not to eat meat; which would make me direcly responisble for animals beeing killed.
To not do drugs, including smoking and drinking was important as well, but secondary.
Today I see things in a different light; things have changed. I grew up and people have changed too. It has never been a big SE-community over here and there was always a lack of understanding. This is probably the only thing that hasn't changed through the years...
People had good, but also a few bad influences on me. What made me turn away from some parts of the scene was, surprisingly, people from the SE-community here. Strange, but these people were supposed to call themselves the most tolerant people on earth, indeed they have been the most intolerant, always focusing on their own business. At some point it turned out to be more a religion rather than your own philosophy in seeing things in life. Always try to convince people from SE and tell them the "do"'s and "don't"'s. That was surely one of the cornerstones experiencing straight edge. It made me turn away from the people i once shared the same philosophy with.
Nowadays, straight edge isn't guiding me in the way it used a few years ago. Now it is more in the background, reminding me to take care of myself and follow my own intuition, rather than following some "athority" or people who think they might know what's good for me and what I have to be in our society.
I still don't believe in god, nor in religion of any kind. I never did and I surely never will. I believe in myself, the way I interact, the way I can change things and influence the way things turn out for me in life. I try to keep focusing what is happening around me and the environment I live in. Always respecting life and treating others with respect.
Some people still think that makes me a pessimist, seeing things in a rational view. I say that I see things realistic...I am a realist, focusing on keeping a clear mind.
But it wasn't always like that. I tried out many things like beeing active. I supported "animal-rights" activities and organisations, tried to be vegan, but also soon realised that next to the good thing with helping others, I started to lose hand on what I did and others began to try to control my action. All this made me think about me, and the sense behind my way of thinking. I finally found my own way, never following all rules and regulations of SE.
Straight edge still means a lot to me. A philosophy, a lifestyle a reminder to stay clean and think positive. But i also remember where it came from and how it reached me-the music!
"Try to cut me down
try to break the spirit
but you will not
break me down!"
Undertow
"...
Straight Edge - A Wikipedia encyclopedia
Straight Edge (sXe, or "Edge") refers to a lifestyle, a personal commitment, a philosophy, and a subculture that is closely associated with hardcore punk music. Straight edgers abstain from recreational drugs, including tobacco and alcohol. Some followers of the straight-edge philosophy also abstain from promiscuous sex, abstain from the use of painkillers, abstain from the intake of caffiene, and/or practice vegetarianism or veganism.
Originally inspired by the hardcore punk band Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, straight edge has spread around the world, but is most popular in more economically developed nations. Although straight edgers do not necessarily identify with a particular world view on social or political issues, straight edge is sometimes associated with the precepts of anarchism, socialism, and atheism.
Overview
There are various reasons why people may choose to be straight edge, and there are various interpretations of the practice and various applications of the precepts.
Some use the lifestyle as a 'stepping stone' because they believe it will allow them to be more involved with their own mental and physical health. For many, straight edge involves refraining from promiscuous sexual activity. Rather than promoting strict abstinence, many straight edge persons believe in sex within caring relationships rather than one-night stands.
The appeal of straight edge has broadened beyond the initial scope of punk and indie culture and has appealed to youth of many cultures who eschew recreational drug use. Many people who are straight edge became attracted to it as a Counterculture option to what they see as a widespread drug culture.
Straight edge is considered to be a choice by many of its followers. In this sense, no one is born straight edge or has been straight edge their entire lives. Labeling oneself straight edge is a conscious decision that someone makes for themselves and is generally not seen as a label that is obtained by default. One is not straight edge simply because they don't drink, smoke, or do drugs; it requires an active decision and participation in the subculture.
Attitudes towards spirituality
Straight edge is not a religion, it is a philosophy. Some straight edgers feel that having a clear mind is a better way to approach life and/or spirituality. Many are atheist, such as Good Clean Fun, or agnostic, often believing in personal-responsibility and rejecting the idea of a deity or any divine moral law. In many circles, the lifestyle has associations with spirituality—there were at one time significant Hare Krishna straight edge movements.
Christians involved in the punk/hardcore subculture sometimes consider themselves straight edge; indeed, the rejection of illicit substances, alcohol consumption (particularly underage), and premarital sex, is commonly encouraged by many mainstream churches and their youth groups. It should not be assumed, however, that the self-identification as straight edge is a casual replacement of one label with another. Prominent self-identified Christian straight edgers include the ex-bassist of Throwdown, at least one member of Comeback Kid, and at least one member of Stretch Arm Strong. There has also been criticism of Christians being involved within the straight edge community—reflected in songs such as "This Ain't No Cross On My Hand" by Limp Wrist, "Real Edgemen Hate Jesus" by XfilesX, and "Straight Edge Punks Not Christian Fucks" by Crucial Attack.
The 'X'
At punk rock shows, it became common practice to mark an X on the hands of under-aged concert goers to ensure that the bouncers would recognize a minor attempting to drink alcohol. This association with not drinking has led an "X" on the hand to become a symbol for straight-edge philosophies. Some people interpret this as a symbol of Ian MacKaye's "don't smoke, don't drink, don't fuck" ethos.
Many adopters of the "straight edge" lifestyle voluntarily marked their hands in the same way to show their commitment to alcohol abstinence. Also widespread is the tattooing of the X symbol on other parts of the body or wearing it on clothing, pins, et cetera. Three Xs (XXX) have their origin in artwork created by Minor Threat's drummer Jeff Nelson in which he replaced the three stars in the band's hometown Washington D.C. flag with Xs.
The X is considered both a mark of negation and a mark of identity. Attaching the X to one's name or band name is common practice for straight edgers. For example, 'John Doe' would become 'johnXdoe', or 'xjohnx'. "Straight edge" is sometimes abbreviated sXe(es-ex-ee) following much the same logic by which hardcore is sometimes abbreviated "hXc".
Backlash and criticisms
A subset of straight edge—often called hardline—had been involved in physical assaults in the United States during the 1980s and up to the mid 1990s.
Police in some communities—such as Salt Lake City and Reno—have classified straight edge as a gang due to violence associated with militant straight edge groups in these cities.
..."
...
After 12 years i can say that, next to skateboarding, straight edge has saved my youth. Throughout my own interpretation of the way of living, self responsible for all of my actions, I followed the philosophy of SE. Never seeing it in a religious way, neither forcing myself into rules of it.
Furthermore, I can say that the most important thing in this time was, and still is, not to eat meat; which would make me direcly responisble for animals beeing killed.
To not do drugs, including smoking and drinking was important as well, but secondary.
Today I see things in a different light; things have changed. I grew up and people have changed too. It has never been a big SE-community over here and there was always a lack of understanding. This is probably the only thing that hasn't changed through the years...
People had good, but also a few bad influences on me. What made me turn away from some parts of the scene was, surprisingly, people from the SE-community here. Strange, but these people were supposed to call themselves the most tolerant people on earth, indeed they have been the most intolerant, always focusing on their own business. At some point it turned out to be more a religion rather than your own philosophy in seeing things in life. Always try to convince people from SE and tell them the "do"'s and "don't"'s. That was surely one of the cornerstones experiencing straight edge. It made me turn away from the people i once shared the same philosophy with.
Nowadays, straight edge isn't guiding me in the way it used a few years ago. Now it is more in the background, reminding me to take care of myself and follow my own intuition, rather than following some "athority" or people who think they might know what's good for me and what I have to be in our society.
I still don't believe in god, nor in religion of any kind. I never did and I surely never will. I believe in myself, the way I interact, the way I can change things and influence the way things turn out for me in life. I try to keep focusing what is happening around me and the environment I live in. Always respecting life and treating others with respect.
Some people still think that makes me a pessimist, seeing things in a rational view. I say that I see things realistic...I am a realist, focusing on keeping a clear mind.
But it wasn't always like that. I tried out many things like beeing active. I supported "animal-rights" activities and organisations, tried to be vegan, but also soon realised that next to the good thing with helping others, I started to lose hand on what I did and others began to try to control my action. All this made me think about me, and the sense behind my way of thinking. I finally found my own way, never following all rules and regulations of SE.
Straight edge still means a lot to me. A philosophy, a lifestyle a reminder to stay clean and think positive. But i also remember where it came from and how it reached me-the music!
"Try to cut me down
try to break the spirit
but you will not
break me down!"
Undertow
"...
Straight Edge - A Wikipedia encyclopedia
Straight Edge (sXe, or "Edge") refers to a lifestyle, a personal commitment, a philosophy, and a subculture that is closely associated with hardcore punk music. Straight edgers abstain from recreational drugs, including tobacco and alcohol. Some followers of the straight-edge philosophy also abstain from promiscuous sex, abstain from the use of painkillers, abstain from the intake of caffiene, and/or practice vegetarianism or veganism.
Originally inspired by the hardcore punk band Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, straight edge has spread around the world, but is most popular in more economically developed nations. Although straight edgers do not necessarily identify with a particular world view on social or political issues, straight edge is sometimes associated with the precepts of anarchism, socialism, and atheism.
Overview
There are various reasons why people may choose to be straight edge, and there are various interpretations of the practice and various applications of the precepts.
Some use the lifestyle as a 'stepping stone' because they believe it will allow them to be more involved with their own mental and physical health. For many, straight edge involves refraining from promiscuous sexual activity. Rather than promoting strict abstinence, many straight edge persons believe in sex within caring relationships rather than one-night stands.
The appeal of straight edge has broadened beyond the initial scope of punk and indie culture and has appealed to youth of many cultures who eschew recreational drug use. Many people who are straight edge became attracted to it as a Counterculture option to what they see as a widespread drug culture.
Straight edge is considered to be a choice by many of its followers. In this sense, no one is born straight edge or has been straight edge their entire lives. Labeling oneself straight edge is a conscious decision that someone makes for themselves and is generally not seen as a label that is obtained by default. One is not straight edge simply because they don't drink, smoke, or do drugs; it requires an active decision and participation in the subculture.
Attitudes towards spirituality
Straight edge is not a religion, it is a philosophy. Some straight edgers feel that having a clear mind is a better way to approach life and/or spirituality. Many are atheist, such as Good Clean Fun, or agnostic, often believing in personal-responsibility and rejecting the idea of a deity or any divine moral law. In many circles, the lifestyle has associations with spirituality—there were at one time significant Hare Krishna straight edge movements.
Christians involved in the punk/hardcore subculture sometimes consider themselves straight edge; indeed, the rejection of illicit substances, alcohol consumption (particularly underage), and premarital sex, is commonly encouraged by many mainstream churches and their youth groups. It should not be assumed, however, that the self-identification as straight edge is a casual replacement of one label with another. Prominent self-identified Christian straight edgers include the ex-bassist of Throwdown, at least one member of Comeback Kid, and at least one member of Stretch Arm Strong. There has also been criticism of Christians being involved within the straight edge community—reflected in songs such as "This Ain't No Cross On My Hand" by Limp Wrist, "Real Edgemen Hate Jesus" by XfilesX, and "Straight Edge Punks Not Christian Fucks" by Crucial Attack.
The 'X'
At punk rock shows, it became common practice to mark an X on the hands of under-aged concert goers to ensure that the bouncers would recognize a minor attempting to drink alcohol. This association with not drinking has led an "X" on the hand to become a symbol for straight-edge philosophies. Some people interpret this as a symbol of Ian MacKaye's "don't smoke, don't drink, don't fuck" ethos.
Many adopters of the "straight edge" lifestyle voluntarily marked their hands in the same way to show their commitment to alcohol abstinence. Also widespread is the tattooing of the X symbol on other parts of the body or wearing it on clothing, pins, et cetera. Three Xs (XXX) have their origin in artwork created by Minor Threat's drummer Jeff Nelson in which he replaced the three stars in the band's hometown Washington D.C. flag with Xs.
The X is considered both a mark of negation and a mark of identity. Attaching the X to one's name or band name is common practice for straight edgers. For example, 'John Doe' would become 'johnXdoe', or 'xjohnx'. "Straight edge" is sometimes abbreviated sXe(es-ex-ee) following much the same logic by which hardcore is sometimes abbreviated "hXc".
Backlash and criticisms
A subset of straight edge—often called hardline—had been involved in physical assaults in the United States during the 1980s and up to the mid 1990s.
Police in some communities—such as Salt Lake City and Reno—have classified straight edge as a gang due to violence associated with militant straight edge groups in these cities.
..."
posted by knipser at 10:08 AM
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