A while back I started reading All Ages by Beth Lahickey. I enjoyed the book for the most part but felt that it became a bore to read after a while and I had to take a break from it. I thought when I read this book that I find something inteligent and enlightening about the people that were at the forefront of the Straight Edge movement, but that was nowhere to be found. And I was quite saddened to know that some of these people that sang so much about how SxE was a life choice that made themselves better they broke edge to fit in.
I felt that Beth should have had some more in depth questions and attempt to get more than the same answer from everyone she interviewed. It became trite after awhile to hear the same things regurgitated interview after interview.
Here are a few quotes (with some comments by me in italics):
Mike Hartsfield [Outspoken] - "Yeah, it's really weird I remember all of that stuff pretty vividly"
Beth Lahickey - "That's because you were straight edge"
Susan Martinez - "I bet the straight edge kids remember so much more" ... Of course we do
Drew Thomas [Bold] - "It's easy to be straight edge if you have a really clean lifestyle and your parents are rich." What a fucking cop out, being an alcholic or a drug addict can happen to anyone. You can never say someone had an easier life only by looking from the outside inward.
So I honestly feel that the idea behind the book was great, and it was nice to read some of the interviews, but don't read it cover to cover. Read the interviews that you think would be important to you and skip the rest.
December 23, 2006
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4 comments:
Man I don't agree with you at all on this. Yes anyone can be a drug addict. But if you are rich live in a nice house. Aren't around dealers all the time and addicts. It is easier for you to be clean. How many od's do you here of in the Hamptons? How many od's do you hear of in Harlem? See what I mean?
asianxheartlessxkaos, drug addicts are everywhere. People's lives and reasons for being Straight Edge are they're own. You can't just say that because you or someone else grew up in a different neighborhood that you deserve to be SxE more than someone else.
I'm not saying anyone deserves to be more edge. That wasn't what I was saying at all. I was saying it is easier for people to be drug free depending on where they live.You can't honestly tell me that people living in Flatbush are facing the same problems as people living in Comack? It has nothing to do with who DESERVES it more. But your surroundings do have a lot to do with who and how you grow up.When you have to walk pass 3 crack dealers and 3 smack dealers just to get to school...you are more prone to being an addict. Does that person deserve edge more then someone who gets a ride to school in their dad's bmw...no but is harder for them, more tehn likely.
People in Flatbush aren't facing the exact same problems, but they are facing some that are more of a problem than many people realize.
Suburban kids are lost in the world because people think they have no real problems. These kids are more likely to abuse prescription drugs, household chemicals, and alcohol than urban kids these days. Suburban kids grow up with abusive families and alcoholic and drug abusing parents just as urban kids do. They may not see the drug dealers on the street corner, but they do see their friends stealing Prozac from their BMW driving mom's. I didn't grow up in NY, so I didn't see drug dealers on the streets. But I knew the coke dealers in my school, cause I sat next to them in class. Some of my best friends grew up in nice homes with loving parents and were in rehab constantly.
College kids these days abuse more drugs and alcohol and die of drug related abuses every year. It's hard to know what it's like on other side with out being their.
But that's why it's important for all people that claim SxE to be proud of others that claim, because no matter how remote we may be, we are all part of a community.
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