Straight Edge isn't about the Music

So basically this post is a response to a post I found on AbsolutePunk.net about loosing faith in music. The author stated a lot reasons why he doesn't feel that music these days, and by that the bands themselves, are creating music that's worth listening to or travelling a long ways to see. I can see that, I feel that many bands changed to be like other bands, to make money (which honestly as much as that sucks, they got rich or tried and little kids cried over it cause they "sold out") or cause they changed their opinions on music. As much as I hate when a band changes and I don't like the outcome there are enough bands that I love too that changed for the better. I think AFI grew a lot and Eighteen Visions changed for the worse. Gorilla Biscuits broke edge then broke up, and eventually morphed into Civ, which is okay but isn't GB.

But the one thing that struck me from this post was that the author claimed that the music changed and he lost faith in that and broke edge. I see Straight Edge as a life choice that was made possibly through music but not something that is controlled by music. Straigth Edge came from a scene as a means to be part of music and a way to express one's descisions to be poison free. I got the feeling that the author felt that SxE was a fashion statement that he no longer wanted to wear cause everyone else decided to dress emo.

So my point is that SxE isn't about the music, it's about you. If the music changes and you decide to get drunk cause of it, don't blame the music.

Drunk British Women On The Rise

I just came across this interesting article on dailymail.co.uk (and a related article) about British women becoming increasing more like Amy Winehouse. The article is really about how many British women that have been raped were beyond drunk, many claimed they were drugged (but no evidence had been found) and they apparently consented to sex. First of all I seriously want to state that I'm very much against rape and any form semi-consentual sex. However I really think that women that get so smashed that they have no memory of any events that occured the previous night and have friend's that would leave them alone need to reconsider what's important in their lives.

I just feel like everytime I read articles like this that I become more and more disinterested in the lives of other people. I feel like too many people don't care about their own lives and it makes me not want to care about theirs either.

VOID

I just found this somewhat interesting blog post by a tattoo artist of a cover-up tattoo on top of a Straight Edge tattoo. The part that I find interesting is that someone would make something so important in their life like claiming edge and then somehow fall to a point that they need to make fun of it. Certainly I have no idea what made this person change their lifestyle but I wonder what would make them think that it's now somehow humorous.

For me, I could never break edge, it is too important to me. Even when it's not something that I think about everyday it is something that is ingrained in my life. Like all things that take serious commitment (aside from relationships since those clearly require the commitment of two individuals) such as being vegan or a religious lifestyle choice such as celibacy it is something that at one point in your life made such an impact that you "claimed" it, that you made it known to others and in this case "marked" you own body to let others know. This claim was clearly something of value, something to be shared with others.

Everyone deserves the right to break edge, but I truly wonder if it's done for the right reasons.