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What is "straight edge"?


IamScrooge

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Straight Edge refers to a lifestyle that started within the hardcore punk subculture whose adherents make a lifetime commitment to refrain from drinking alcohol, using tobacco products, and using recreational drugs. Straight Edge has never had a set of 'rules' as such, and after these three agreed commitments there is considerable debate over what constitutes the lifestyle. For example whether or not the use of caffeine and prescription drugs is acceptable is a frequent discussion amongst Straight Edge followers. Some followers also choose to refrain from promiscuous sex and some choose to be vegan. It is agreed the main objective of Straight Edge is to not 'poison' the body in any way. The term was coined by the 1980s hardcore punk band Minor Threat in the song "Straight Edge"

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It should also be noted that Ian Mackaye, that coined the term, thinks that most militant straight edge folk completely missed the point and are complete wankers.

IMO, this is why musicians should just not get involved in politics. Whatever statements you make or stances you take just get twisted into some freaky fashion statement and give a bunch of tools justification for being tools.

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Two of my best friends are straight edge.

They refrain from all alcohol and tobacco products. I mean they're underage so, they can't legally buy or consume alchol or tobacco anyway, but why should that matter?

I hate straight edge

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Is it something to do with joinery? ?(

That's the first thing that springs to mind for me too.

Now that I'm aware of what it actually means it appears to be a lifestyle choice rather than anything specifically to do with music (other than the derivation of the term), or am I missing something here?

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Guest Jake Wifebeater

Somewhere along the way S/E mutated into Hardline, which is basically the S/E version of anarcho-punk i.e. intolerant authoritarians trying to control you. See bands such as Earth Crisis and Vegan Reich.

:up:

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Guest Tam o' Shantie

basically it's for emo/fashion hardcore tossers who want to make a bold statement about how they're really unique and shit. funnily enough my dad who doesn't smoke or drink doesn't go about telling folk he's straight edge!

i don't disagree with the idea, i disagree with using it as an attention seeking device. many people have positive morals about all sorts of things, so why does this one have to be branded up and given a cool name and tied in with a scene? the answer is for these types to make themselves seem cool and credible.

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You can't be straight edge at 15/16. How can you be straight edge if you're not even actually legally allowed to do the stuff that you're not doing?

Pretty sure that's just called "not breaking the law". I've always laughed at kids that claim to be straight edge, and then the second they turn 18 go out and start drinking. Fucking joke.

I used to be Straight-Edge for a while, in fact i have been twice in my life. There are a lot of idiots involved with it though so i got fed up of the whole thing.

In a nice way Phil, I have to slightly disagree with the reasoning behind this... Whether Straight edge is full of bell-ends or not, I've always thought it should be something that you do for YOURSELF, regardless of what other people think of you, or act like. e.g. for self-improvement, self-respect etc.

Without overly trying to compare straight edge to a religion, I can't imagine catholics or muslims abandoning their beliefs on the basis that a minority of those who also share their beliefs go out fucking kids in the ass, or bombing buildings.

I also don't think you can really switch on and off straight egde... that's simply just not drinking, and smoking for a while. By that logic I'm straight edge right now - I don't smoke anyway, I'm married so I don't sleep around, and I only have the odd beer at the weekends.

I've probably been straight edge for a month or so at a time over the course of the year.

Furthermore, like Teabags highlighted through Ian Mackaye's dislike of militant Straight-edgers... I thought (and I may be wrong) that the ideas behind it were originally meant to promote general self-preservation and taking care of your body etc, rather than NEVER do this, NEVER do that.

If that's the case, then I'd say getting a little bit of exercise, not stuffing your fat ass with McDonalds every day, and trying to be a nicer all round person are far more worthy attributes to consider yourself "straight edge", than simply never drinking booze. Of course, you can't measure the above factors using strict parameters which means that it would be impossible for them to contribute towards straight-edgedness-ness.

i don't disagree with the idea, i disagree with using it as an attention seeking device. many people have positive morals about all sorts of things, so why does this one have to be branded up and given a cool name and tied in with a scene? the answer is for these types to make themselves seem cool and credible.

100% agree with this.

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basically it's for emo/fashion hardcore tossers who want to make a bold statement about how they're really unique and shit. funnily enough my dad who doesn't smoke or drink doesn't go about telling folk he's straight edge!

i don't disagree with the idea, i disagree with using it as an attention seeking device. many people have positive morals about all sorts of things, so why does this one have to be branded up and given a cool name and tied in with a scene? the answer is for these types to make themselves seem cool and credible.

Isn't that a bit hypocritical complaining about it being part of a scene and people trying to be unique when you're probably the biggest elitist on this site?

...just saying.

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Isn't that a bit hypocritical complaining about it being part of a scene and people trying to be unique when you're probably the biggest elitist on this site?

...just saying.

I wouldn't say he was being hypocritical.

As much as Tom can be overly opinionated, unnecessarily cunty and perhaps elitist in some respects - his opinions at least come across as honest and his own, rather than simply doing or saying something to fit in or get respect from other people.

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There's alot of nutters involved in Straight Edge. Especially in the once-prominent hardcore scene in Manchester. Alot of jacked up youngsters advertising that they are "drug free youths" which I really fail to see the point of. It's strange that they object so much to "poisoning" their own body, yet they are still willing to punch lumps out of folk who cross paths with them. It's also a little bemusing how the odd drink here and there is completely out of the question, but injecting ink into their skin, in quite high proportions, is all well and good.

It's a bit of a mindless subcutlure in its militant form with no real gain other than a title. I don't smoke or do drugs either, and I seldom drink alcohol. Branding myself with a title for it would seem completely ridiculous. As ridiculous as me starting my own subculture because I strongly oppose to cereal that has dried fruit in it. No fucking way!

Straight Veg.

Fruit Free Youth.

Et cetera.

I always think it's quite strange what alchol can do to someones behavior - fighting in the streets, getting mouthy and violent etc... but it's even more baffling what NO alcohol can do to some people. I went to see Shook Ones in Manc a few years ago, expecting a line up of similar posi Kid Dynamite type hardcore punk, but the line up was filled with all the local XdrugXfreeX, XtrueXtilXdeathX "edge" hardcore botters, with their nike dunks, umbro shorts and brass knuckles (no kidding!). One band's singer, who was clearly unhappy at the lack of people punching the floor and grabbing their junk to their jams, started thrusting himself hands and feet first into the first few rows of people. Me being right near the front, I got a fist (with a brass knuckle wrapped around it) right in the chest and a number of broken ribs as a result of this testosterone infested waste of carbon. I wasn't the only one who walked away from the front clutching for breath either, and this was completely overlooked by, well... everyone.

So, I don't get it. I've never witnessed this kind of behavior at any other kind of show except for a straight edge show. The regular DIY HC shows are nothing like this, so what is it that makes these edge kids so fucking obnoxiously violent?

Straight edge can get to fuck.

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I wouldn't say he was being hypocritical.

As much as Tom can be overly opinionated, unnecessarily cunty and perhaps elitist in some respects - his opinions at least come across as honest and his own, rather than simply doing or saying something to fit in or get respect from other people.

I have had two points on two different threads dismissed by him on account of being a

"n00b".

That was it. because I hadn't been on here for as long as him.

That is elitist, no matter what way you look at it, and he's complaining about straightedge kids being part of a scene. Thats seems pretty hypocritical in my book.

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You can't be straight edge at 15/16. How can you be straight edge if you're not even actually legally allowed to do the stuff that you're not doing?

Pretty sure that's just called "not breaking the law". I've always laughed at kids that claim to be straight edge, and then the second they turn 18 go out and start drinking. Fucking joke.

In a nice way Phil, I have to slightly disagree with the reasoning behind this... Whether Straight edge is full of bell-ends or not, I've always thought it should be something that you do for YOURSELF, regardless of what other people think of you, or act like. e.g. for self-improvement, self-respect etc.

Without overly trying to compare straight edge to a religion, I can't imagine catholics or muslims abandoning their beliefs on the basis that a minority of those who also share their beliefs go out fucking kids in the ass, or bombing buildings.

I also don't think you can really switch on and off straight egde... that's simply just not drinking, and smoking for a while. By that logic I'm straight edge right now - I don't smoke anyway, I'm married so I don't sleep around, and I only have the odd beer at the weekends.

I've probably been straight edge for a month or so at a time over the course of the year.

Furthermore, like Teabags highlighted through Ian Mackaye's dislike of militant Straight-edgers... I thought (and I may be wrong) that the ideas behind it were originally meant to promote general self-preservation and taking care of your body etc, rather than NEVER do this, NEVER do that.

If that's the case, then I'd say getting a little bit of exercise, not stuffing your fat ass with McDonalds every day, and trying to be a nicer all round person are far more worthy attributes to consider yourself "straight edge", than simply never drinking booze. Of course, you can't measure the above factors using strict parameters which means that it would be impossible for them to contribute towards straight-edgedness-ness.

100% agree with this.

It was more not wanting to be associated with that sort of person. That's a personal choice too.

And we were talking several years, then getting disillusioned with it, giving it another chance to inspire me into bettering myself and then getting fed up of the people who were associating themselves with it. We're not talking chopping and changing every five minutes here.

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There was a guy in one of uni classes last year that wore a hat (one of ones the fallout boy guy wears all the time, I don't know what they're called) that had straight edge written across the back at the start of the year. As the year went on he seemed to accumulate more and more straight edge clothes and bags. He had nike ID shoes (the ones you can get your name on the side of) with xedgex on them.

The urge to punch him in the back of the head nearly got me a few times. All the straight edgers I knew just used to have the X on the back of the hand at most.

This guy was a billboard, no one cares that you don't drink/smoke/whatever. You are not unique.

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Haha yeah. It's weird how they advertise freely what they don't do. How about telling people what you do do. They need to stop all this "I don't drink" printed on their mousepads or whatever, and start wearing "I plant trees" or "I grow my own veg" t shirts.

But it'd be lies. They spend all their time letting the world and his wife know exactly what they aren't doing, they've got fuck all time left to do anything of worth.

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You can't be straight edge at 15/16. How can you be straight edge if you're not even actually legally allowed to do the stuff that you're not doing?

Pretty sure that's just called "not breaking the law". I've always laughed at kids that claim to be straight edge, and then the second they turn 18 go out and start drinking. Fucking joke.

In a nice way Phil, I have to slightly disagree with the reasoning behind this... Whether Straight edge is full of bell-ends or not, I've always thought it should be something that you do for YOURSELF, regardless of what other people think of you, or act like. e.g. for self-improvement, self-respect etc.

Without overly trying to compare straight edge to a religion, I can't imagine catholics or muslims abandoning their beliefs on the basis that a minority of those who also share their beliefs go out fucking kids in the ass, or bombing buildings.

I also don't think you can really switch on and off straight egde... that's simply just not drinking, and smoking for a while. By that logic I'm straight edge right now - I don't smoke anyway, I'm married so I don't sleep around, and I only have the odd beer at the weekends.

I've probably been straight edge for a month or so at a time over the course of the year.

Furthermore, like Teabags highlighted through Ian Mackaye's dislike of militant Straight-edgers... I thought (and I may be wrong) that the ideas behind it were originally meant to promote general self-preservation and taking care of your body etc, rather than NEVER do this, NEVER do that.

If that's the case, then I'd say getting a little bit of exercise, not stuffing your fat ass with McDonalds every day, and trying to be a nicer all round person are far more worthy attributes to consider yourself "straight edge", than simply never drinking booze. Of course, you can't measure the above factors using strict parameters which means that it would be impossible for them to contribute towards straight-edgedness-ness.

100% agree with this.

agree with all of this.

generally speaking about edgers - each to their own etc, please don't preach at me or spout me any of the pish propaganda. I can make my own decisions and I'll be inspired by people and things that I choose.

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It was more not wanting to be associated with that sort of person. That's a personal choice too.

And we were talking several years, then getting disillusioned with it, giving it another chance to inspire me into bettering myself and then getting fed up of the people who were associating themselves with it. We're not talking chopping and changing every five minutes here.

I can understand that fully, although if you don't go around telling people that you're straight edge, and just keep it to yourself, then no one will know/care and therefore not associate you with the assholes anyway.

Even if people DO associate you with the asshole edgers purely on the basis that you are straight edge (rather than for your own merits) - then they're not the sort of people worth knowing anyway.

I have nothing but respect for people who are straight edge but don't go around making a big deal out of it. It's just it's a shame it became cool/a fad, because it has ruined what was initally a decent set of morals.

Just in case I came across wrongly, the last couple of paragraphs of my first post weren't aimed at you at all. Neither is the above, as I know you weren't the preachy-"look-at-me"-type and I know you also weren't the chop and change every five minutes type either.

Until your post I had actually forgotten that you used to be straight edge, because I never associated you with THAT type of person. Irony...

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