The Straight Edge
So I have decided to post on this topic after hearing uninformed judgments being made about a group as a whole based on the actions of a few.
Excuse the lack of structure...
The Straight Edge movement was started by a member of the hardcore band Minor Threat back in the 80's when he looked at the straight edge of the ruler he was using on a poster and it reminded him of he and his band mates straight lifestyle (no alcohol, no drugs and no sex - hence the XXX symbol often identified with straight edge). The band subsequently wrote this song:
Straight Edge - Minor Threat
I'm a person just like you, but I've got better things to do
Than sit around and fuck my head, hang out with the living dead
Snort white shit up my nose, pass out at the shows
I don't even think about speed, that is something I just don't need
I've got the straight edge
I'm a person just like you, but I've got better things to do
Than sit around and smoke dope, cause I know I can cope
Laugh at the thoughts of eating ludes, laugh at the thought of sniffing glue
Always gonna keep in touch, never want to use a crutch
I've got the straight edge
That's how it began. The basic deal is no alcohol (of any form), no drugs (incl; painkillers unless prescribed) and no promiscuous sex. Over time people following the straight edge philosophy have also adopted vegetarianism, veganism and some even ban caffiene from their body. These are not requirements for straight edgers. There are also the militant fundementalist Straight Edgers who are refered to as Hard Liners, the ones who kill, assault, or otherwise attack people (and often establishments) who don't adhere to a straight edge lifestyle. The majority of straight edgers condemn these acts as straight edge is a personal choice and they state that if you don't think it's for you-don't do it - it is a lifelong commitment and a personal and individual choice and can't be forced onto those who it isn't right for. It's not fair to judge a whole group as arrogant, forceful, fundementalist thugs based on the actions of only a few! How do you 'heretics' feel when people assume because you're a christian (or at least follower of Jesus in some capacity) that you hold all the views of say, Brain Tamaki and Destiny Church? It's the same thing.
Straight Edge however is NOT a religion, there is no deity or worship. It's more about accountability. By saying you're straight edge you publicly show that you want to be clean, clear and in control of your mind and body and after making such strong claims leads people to pay more attention to what you do.
There are a number of Christians who claim to be straight edge. Hard Liners again are the ones who believe that Christians shouldn't identify themselves as straight edge (and some shouldn't) because it's not about religion but again most real straight edgers don't think it's a big deal because as straight edge isn't about religion, it doesn't matter what faith you have be it Christianity, Buddhism, Islamic etc; Your sexuality also isn't a factor, it's whether you have casual, meaningless sex that is as such things become addictive.
Avoiding addiction is part of straight edge too because once you are addicted to something it has a hold on you and you're no longer in control. There's an emphasis on being responsible for your own actions.
Hmm, well rant nearly over. I subscribe to the straight edge philosophy. It makes sense to me, it's a personal choice and my own experiences led me to that decision. It took a year of thinking and research to come to that conclusion and it was a decision not made lightly. So please feel free to mock, challenge or whatever but do a bit more research first :). And don't expect me to smack you in the head with a baseball bat or feel I'm above you because you're drinking alcohol or taking panadol. I'm not hard line, I'm Straight Edge.
posted by AJ @ Thursday, May 31, 2007
10 comments
10 Comments:
Really (just to argue a little), the only "straight-edge choices" you are making are (a) no alcohol and (b) no painkillers, with (c) no meat a possible straight-edge choice.
(I mean that 'no drugs' and 'no sex' aren't really choices for you, more just default positions. It'd be a choice if you were faced with the option regularly; I don't believe that's the case.)
Given that (among our group of friends) we have both teetotallers and vegetarians, the only *real* straight-edge 'choice' is then no pain-killers.
Not to belittle, but it just doesn't seem that revolutionary or worth talking about... yes, good lifestyle choices, but I think you're pushing it to identify yourself with some other culture when you're really just 95% part of the culture of your friends.
good comment, the choices i have made are based on past experiences, not current frustrations aswell as the other groups i interact with -eg; family and friends in nelson who drink smoke etc, quite heavily and/or to excess.
both my parents drink/drank alot and the result was never pleasant. my family has a history of alcohol problems and i have seen and bore the brunt of their and friends from other circles drinking, drugs etc;
the majority of my friends, outside my chch cluster, still drink, have sex casually, smoke tobacco and marjuana and take drugs. i spent the entire summer in this culture after dad died and grew up in an environment where alcohol was viewed as a necessity.
i have seen very bad effects from alcohol, drugs and sex. i am willing to discuss these things in person but not on the internet. this post was not intended as a declaration of rebellion against my clean and resposible christchurch friends whom i respect a great, great deal, apologies if it seems that way. i was trying to give some info and point out that judging a group based on what a few do is ignorant.
X is more punk than Y.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
innapropriate stan, matt and i resolved our debate and i dont want your gross generalisations and judgments of and about other people on my blog
"innapropriate stan, matt and i resolved our debate and i dont want your gross generalisations and judgments of and about other people on my blog"
no idea what you're talking about, i was merely stating an opinion on the "straight edge" debate whatever you two were debating about. also it's ironic you say gross generalisations and judgments of and about other people, considering that's exactly what you've done...
stan you asked me to name one one preist who did not molest boys that is gross and a generalisation. and you referenced matts comment about me directly and challenged him i merely stated we had resolved it. you weren't "merely stating an opinion on straight edge." you were being needlessly provocative in the interest of getting a reaction so you could cry foul...again... you're nauseatingly predictable stan.
i said molested boys _or_ masturbated, referring to the fact that if you are straight edge then you would be against sex before marriage, and 'cos Jesus said thinking about someone lustfully is the same then any Christian who has ever masturbated has committed sex before marriage, which was in response to Matt saying you don't have a choice to having sex before marriage, which you do because you make that choice by refraining from masturbating. and i'm assuming that no-one is able to do that (unless they're disabled or something), thus someone who claims to be straight edge is in effect in the same position as someone who has the choice to have sex before marriage
stan, you were more vulgar than that which is why i deleted your comment. straight edge is NOT against sex before marriage it is against promiscuous sex. most straight edgers at the least comment to no sex unless they are in a commited relationship. regarding your masturbation focus, not sure how that applies to straight edge either as it's a physical discipline not a spiritual one. the only grounds i can see for straight edgers refraining from masturbation is to prevent it becoming an addicton.
because Jesus said thinking about someone lustfully is the same as committing adultery, therefore if you masturbate it's the same as someone who is promiscuous. unless you're arguing that you can only masturbate while thinking about someone who you are in a committed relationship with. in which case why does it matter how often someone does it? and removing all the cultural formalities of marriage, how is that any different from being with someone in a committed relationship, and if it's different because you can end a committed relationship before death then where do you draw the line between many committed relationships and promiscuity
ironic that you quote a "vulgar" song, then delete my comment which had no more or less swearing in it
what's wrong with addictions anyway, so long as you can fund it. i smoke dope regularly and feel crap if i don't but before you say that money is better donated to charity i bet i spend less than most Christians on crap like coffee (or even alcohol) and CDs and sponsor more kids than uni student Christians
straight-edge sounds like half-assed Christianity and it's people like Brian Tamaki at 6am in the mornings and the Destiny Church youth group handing out invitations to their Church in College that make me respecting and admiring them heaps for standing up for what they believe in, rather than people who water down Christianity in order to be more popular with non-Christians who don't like what the Bible says
in conclusion, i never intended to make judgments about people who want to be straight edge or awesome like Brian i was merely rebutting Matt's point that your straight edge morality doesn't count as you don't have a 'real' choice not to have sex, when from Jesus' point of view you have that choice everyday as everyone is capable of thinking about lust (whether they act on it or not)
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