Im probably gonna bum some people out, so if you cant stand a longwinded open-minded discussion, feel free to skip over this. This isnt directed at any one person or even a group of people. Its not about anyone, specifically. Just the ramblings of a jaded old dude about whats been flooding my feed for the past couple days. Ill start by saying most of you probably dont know who I am, and thats fine with me. I have no need to be recognized or prove my cred. People that know me, know me, those who dont, probably havent been around as long as they claim they have. Violence and aggression is and has always been a part of punk and hardcore. That doesnt always justify it or give it a pass, but the fact of the matter is, the lyrics we all know and quote never said, Nazi punks, please quietly and politely find your way to the door and see yourselves out. We dont really appreciate your ideology. Kthnx! We have had a reasonably calm scene, but that is because long before you or I went to our first Warped Tour or bought a band shirt at Hot Topic, a bunch of skinheads in the PNW refused to let scum infect the scene with a form of violence-by-way-of-mindless-aggression and intimidation that threatened the subculture. They met nazi violence head on with a greater, more unified, intentional, and powerful violence. They stood up and refused to back from the line that they drew in the sand. They said, you are not welcome here and your presence will not be tolerated. A nazi just showing up at a show was offense enough to get them stomped out. Am I thankful that this is not still the case? Yes, of course. But does that make me unappreciative of the work they put in to benefit the scene simply because it was achieved through violence? No. Does that make them hypocrites for combating violence with violence? No, not at all. That is the only thing that nazi scum responded to. Talk all you want, theyd keep coming back. Display a unified and constant show of force and as the history of our scene, as so many others, has proven, you will get the desired result. I am not saying anyone needs to start a war over pit beef. What I am saying is: dont talk about it, BE about it. Dont sit online and say so-and-so arent welcome at our shows. Dont let them in your show. Period. Or do, I dont care either way. Which brings me to my next point, crews are NOT the problem. Individuals in the crews are the problem. By casting a wide net and banning any and all crews, you simply do more harm than good. I am in a crew, I have never had any crew beef, never had anyone that actually knew me or my friends have any issue with us being a part of this scene, and we have done more to benefit this community than a lot of people may ever know. I have personally kicked people out of shows that I paid to get into for picking on the little guys, weve stopped countless drunk GIs whos only interest in hardcore was Hatebreed (great band) and the chance to act on drunken aggression on some unsuspecting 16 year old, did security for a venue, just so they could continue putting on shows. We were never ones to start fights, but we didnt have a problem ending them. This isnt tough talk, this is just me saying that from time to time, violence might be the only way to diffuse a situation (that doesnt mean it has to be the first line of defense). Two wrongs dont make a right, but if the second wrong prevents third wrongs, fourth wrongs, etc., then sometimes that is the best way to handle it. But you cant be afraid t get your hands dirty and you certainly cant be afraid to be held accountable for the things you say or do. Another point is that when the crew Im in started, we were nothing more than a handful of friends that hung out, looked out for one another and other hardcore kids at shows, and moshed in parking lots to metal core and beat down bands. When we decided we wanted to be a real crew, we met up with some people from the other local (read: dominant) crew, let them know our intentions and asked for the green light to fly letters. Some of you are rolling your eyes right now, but this is a historic gesture and protocol in many subcultures, one that actually helps build and protect the scene from more and bigger issues. Rather than create some sort of pseudo beef and cause more drama (and, quite frankly, get our asses handed to us), we opted to be civilized. This has never once been reciprocated by any newer crews, and though we dont care, Ill air it out now that any perceived beef has always been one-sided. Im not going to fight over turf or letters, Im a grown man with a real life outside of hardcore, and Im too damn old for that nonsense. My last point for those involved to consider: police arent the answer. That will only bring scrutiny and attention that the scene neither wants or needs. Not because hardcore/punk has anything to hide or because Im all ACAB, but because the outside world just doesnt *get* hardcore. The last thing the scene needs is beat cops patrolling shows and hassling kids coming and going from shows or shutting shows down, enforcing curfew and noise ordinances, etc. Or worse, can you imagine what the pit would look like to cops? No way would that not lead to bad news. While I was one of the owners in the the organization, The Viaduct NEVER called the cops. Not once. We settled our own disputes, usually prior to any violence. We watched out for problems and would pull people aside and talk to them before the problem got out of hand. If that didnt work, we made sure that it was *our* problem to deal with, not the rest of the people at the shows. I am not in a crew because I am afraid to fight alone, I am in a crew because we all shared a passion for hardcore and I know that if I need them, my friends would be there to back me up - and not just physically, but in every way. I have no intention on apologizing for being in a crew or dropping the letters and that doesnt make me a bad guy. I dont think anyone in this scene or any other scene across the country, for that matter can think of one situation where anyone in our crew has done anything that harmed the scene (other than people commenting about Zack moshing on YouTube). If you care about the scene, you have to ask if what you are doing is part of the problem or part of the solution, and I feel that we have always been part of the solution. Ive bled for hardcore, Ive gone without for hardcore, and up until the last few years, I put everything else in my life on the back burner for hardcore. And honestly, Im all but out of the scene at this point so if I cant go to your shows because I refuse to drop some letters, so be it. This scene is more yours than mine now anyway. And when youre blacklisting us all from your shows, just know that youre welcome for the couple years that I ran a venue and let you come to shows, or let your band play shows, and paid out of pocket almost every month so that you could have someplace to call yours.
Posted on: Sun, 18 May 2014 06:26:09 +0000
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