Straight Edge people
 

Maybee I lived under a rock for a while, but I had never known of this straigtedge subculture.

Lately I have seen a lot of people with the X tattoo's on the hands/chest, anywhere and everywhere.. Even some people tattooing the word "straightedge" on them.

Anyone here a straight edge?

Never saw anything like that... some people are just starved for attention.

straight edge means that you don't drink, take drugs or smoke.
Itis not a real subculture but you find usually here, people who have stopped to smoke and taken drug, instead of really clean people.
The others are just.. clean... they don't need a specific name.

Sounds to me like a bunch of muppets trying to trend set, on a class of people I would label as "normal without vices". :)

-N

Thats so true it's sad

I knew a lot of sxe's back in the day, bunch of self-righteous wankers...

loooooooooooossseeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrsssss

They were big about 10 years or so ago... kind of played out I think, or maybe I just got older and don't associate with the age group that goes for that Straight X thing anymore.

It's been around since the early 80s with Minor Threat and other bands. It was a reaction to the standard "youth subculture" mentality of "rebelling" by taking drugs. Back in my high school, it was big with the skater crowd.

Ahhh...the memories. I didn't know it's making a comeback.

You saw this lately? I remember seeing this at punk shows like Gorilla Biscuits and Token Entry back in the 1980 and early 1990s and I thought this was long forgotten about!

Yeah - I'm most likely the only Edge person on the boards - or even the industry for that matter.

But yes in high school I was stupid enough to get XXX tattooed on me as a sign of sxe - fortunately, do to where it's located and the company that I work for - I can always just call it an advertisement.

word.....

My son was Straight Edge for a few years, beginning in high school. I will never forget when he broke it to me.

He was living with his mom, and I had gotten tickets to a Dodger game. We arrived early, so were just sitting in the stands talking, when all of a sudden he stands up, takes his coat off and shows me his red shirt with the XXX black logo on it, quite proud.

My immediate response was, "oh fuck, he has joined some kind of gang."

I asked him what it was about, and when he told me their belief of no drugs, no alcohol and no sex until marriage I was pretty relieved.

I mean, if your kid is going to join a gang, it doesn't get much better than that.

On my son's 18th birthday he got a tattoo of DRUG FREE down the back of his arms.

I told him he was going to feel pretty dumb if he decided to change his mind.

Which happens more often than not - has he broke yet or is he still edge?

Well, I know he doesn't do drugs, but he has written off the no sex before marriage (think he is abstaining from caffeine instead).

He is 23 now.

Looks like he could change that to 'Drug Fiend' pretty easily.... :1orglaugh

The advantage of that font

Good call :1orglaugh

Yeah - I never bought in to the whole "no sex" thing either (although I did do the Vegan thing for a year and a half, :error )

Is your son also in SoCal? I have a lot of crew out there - makes me wonder if we've crossed paths?

Straight edge is whack.

was that EVER cool?

Not to say being drug/alcohol free is for losers. But I find it hard to imagine that this ever took off

I knew some sXe kids in high school in the 90s. I don't drink, or smoke, or use drugs either (100% clean my whole life), but I never felt the need to get bad tattoos about it. I'm cool enough already. And the no sex thing is BS. (experience talking) Though maybe those lame punk-for-jesus types tried to hijack the label.

straightedge culture is alive and well in southern california. even amongst people in their late 30s and as young as 18. i say, whatever works for you.

As others have said, the "no sex" thing was never part of straightedge. That's just bullshit.

Straightedge, like any belief system, can be hijacked my extremists, like has been seen in Salt Lake City, where straightedge vegans are pretty much a terrorist group, in my opinion.

In some cities, it is also like a gang except they don't run drugs or turn out girls to prostitution, they just beat the fuck out of people 10-on-1.

In both of the above cases, they're just dickheads. In most cases though, the straightedge people I've known are cool. They simply don't drink, smoke or do drugs and they're cool about it. They don't pressure people to think like they do, they don't lecture you about shit if you do smoke or drink.


I look at this like when someone is a real asshole when they drink. A drunk asshole is likely to be an asshole even when they aren't drunk. The same thing applies here. An asshole with a cause is still an asshole in general. The problem is, they bring the whole scene down with them, making everyone else look bad too.

All-in-all, I'd rather my kid come home with dumb looking X's tattooed on him than come home smelling like a distillery.

AA is the road less traveled

I am very familiar with the straight edge scene. It has alot to do with the hardcore punk scene. Bands like Minor Threat, Youth Of Today, Four Walls Falling, etc...however, I'm as "crooked edge" as anyone can come so I won't comment anymore on it. :1orglaugh

Personally, I have nothing against it but I believe in living your life to it's fullest...even if it means that you die young. Your only going to go around this merry-go-round once in life so make the best of it. Fuck giving up the pleasures in life.

Straightedge. Haven't heard that line since the 80s. I think so much of it came out of Minor Threat Ian's growing up around peers who couldn't handle their recreational drug use.

Weather it's religion, a gang, emo, or some other "label", never under estimate the general populations 'need' to feel they belong to something.

A "culture"...haha...that's funny. So now taking pride in your health is a culture...omg..

Those who smoke dont force non-smokers to smoke

Why do non-smokers sort of force smokers to stop smoking?

i tried to be sXe once, but i fucked that up the second they passed the bong and 40's :(

No doubt.... :thumbsup

According to the definition of straight edge, I seem to be queer edge... :winkwink:

That seems to be the case more often than not with the sx crowd down here... cant go to a punk/hardcore show without the wankers beating the shit out of some random drunk dude they decide they dont like. 10 on 1 is about normal.

"Keep your blood clean, your body lean, and your mind sharp."

- Henry Rollins

Wow.. either I'm too young to have known about this, or I have lived under a rock as well.

Sounds like the hardcore religious kids from my schools..

I'm straightedge, but not in the beat people up sense...just in the living a clean life sense...I don't have tattooes or go to meetings with skater kids...I just live clean and hopefully it means I'm around longer to spend more time annoying my kids ;-)

My brother in-law was into it for a little while. Thank god he finally matured and moved on. It reminds me of a cult.

lol, no doubt...

Like deciding not to eat apples and starting a cult movement.

I am sure we know a lot of the same people. And I am sure we have been to a lot of the same shows.

Yes. He never went Vegan, that is for sure.

Like my son. He never held it against anyone that did those things and in fact, his non-straightedge friends would call him to get rides home after they had too much partying.

One might ask why are you such an idiot?

i don't drink, do drugs, or smoke, but i don't consider myself "straight edge," i just consider myself smart. :)

but on a serious note, i really don't do any of that stuff, but i don't think it makes me better than anyone else or that everyone that i come into contact with should know that about me.. it's not a huge deal to me. i don't get it..? :)

Are you AZ as well? Know anybody from x24x?

i just dont understand the need to classify yourself by what you DONT do.

thats similar to me starting a group for people that refuse to rape or murder people.

if you dont want to do drugs or drink...dont. no need for tattoos and a label.

I'm in AZ. I don't know anyone from x24x. I used to be pals with a lot of the straight edge kids about 10 years ago or so. I still go to a bunch of shows (not necessarliy x shows). I saw GB when they were here, my buddies band got to open for them. I am at Eastside Records 4 nights a week hanging out with my friends that work there. So I am sure we know some of the same kids.

lotta sXe haters on here. i got "drug free" tattooed down my shins like 9 years ago i think, but i didnt get it because i wanted to be a part of the sXe movement or wahtever, i got it cuz it represented me all my frinds drink and smoke and whatever and i never thought i was anybetter than any of them they just did their thing and i did mine, i cant stand the fuckin kids that talk shit about p[eople at show that are drinkn and shit if you are so sXe that you cant be around people drinkin then dont go to shows.

I haven't been to Eastside records in a couple of years. But I used to go up there nightly when I was a young "freshcut" - Mike Oxley (sp?) still work there?