Yeah, that's right, punk is nothing.
I'm sure nobody's missed me, but I haven't written anything for quite a few months. This is due to a move (I'm now in a different state) and my enrollment back into college. Not to mention I'm working a lot, so I stay pretty busy. I have, by my own admission, neglected to write for this excellently done zine, and I truly miss it.
But I'm sure you're all wondering at the title. Well, I'm taking this time to write an article that I've been meaning to for quite some time now. I just couldn't resolve the angle that I wanted to approach it with. You must understand that this is an article in which I will, without disclaimer or mincing of words, vent my disgust for the punk community, if you can call it such.
Punk has let me down as a subculture. Yep, it has done a poor job of resolving any conflicts I have about many things-the reasons why I adhered to punk for so long in the first place-political and personal freedom; freedom for all, and peace for all.
But let's start from the beginning shall we? Remember back a few articles (or maybe just one) I quoted a very insightful view of a writer to me, whose critique of "punk" was its limitation to a subculture which didn't really have a force for change. Despite this critique, Dave was still open to punk, and I remained so, and I imagine most of you who read it did too (in other words, you didn't hate punk all of a sudden from having read that). However, ever since I started thinking about that, I've been applying it practically to the punk community all over the place, and trying to see if it were indeed true. Well folks, it's true. If you think 'punk' will liberate you and create what it claims-peace and freedom for all-think again.
Punk just hasn't lived up to its potential. What I see is little cliques of high school kids getting together to wear chains and black torn up clothes, and creating an atmosphere of rebellion wherever they go. In other words, it's cool and certainly PUNK if you are so radical that you alienate yourself from society. This is exactly what pushes punk into the underground, and restricts it to a MERE subculture movement. Something that so alienates it from reality and real direction and effect, that it will (well, it HAS) become a directionless rebellious-teenager phase.
Is this truly what we wanted it to become? Is this all punk ever was to us? Not so. We wanted punk to actually DO something-to use it as a tool for bettering society and freeing everybody. True, punk has been just about the only proponent of anarchy in modern days, which is valuable. We need a push for anarchist thought these days, but punk is doing a horrible job at promoting what anarchy really is. Punk is adding to the misconception and distortion of anarchy. And here's the big question-is punk really doing anything? Ok, it's easy to find things WITHIN the subculture-yeah, it's powerful. But big deal! Who cares about the effect it has on its own members-that's not the point. The point is to share these collective attitudes about politics and life with other people outside the circle in hopes of opening their eyes to the injustices and oppression going on in modern society. Punk has not done this because, again, it also strives to alienate itself from the mass culture. How can you remove yourself (in fact, eject yourself) from society and yet promote bettering it? Punk is contradiction.
I don't have a problem with being radical-don't get me wrong. I think it's invaluable, and a great characteristic of many people. However, when you claim that you want to change the world and open everybody's eyes, then alienate yourself and hate everybody who isn't like you, what good does it do? Punk is a collective community who has turned its membership into a juvenile contest of who can be the most radical or the most "punk" by hating everybody else.
Am I really serious that this goes on? Of coarse, and everybody reading knows exactly what I'm talking about. Sure, there's a few die-hards who stand for what punk really meant back in the day, and perhaps of those old-school people there's a few who have actually worked to do some good outside their own little punk clique. But punk has become some stupid kid game of popularity-just read Maximumrocknroll, and you know what I'm talking about. Stupid people...
I'm not knocking punk out for good though. I like most of the ideas, and I do like a lot of the music and such. But the punk community is one big contradiction. Something that talks one thing, and walks another. How many of you "punks" work for a corporate company? "Well, its just a job, and I need money, but it's only temporary" or whatever other crap you want to justify it with, you're contradicting yourself and your views on life. If you took punk that seriously, you would have started your own business, or worked for a small, privately owned shop who gives back to the community.
While the punk ideals are great, they are completely unrealistic. There is simply no realistic way I can support my fiancée and I using the ideals that punk has. I'm proud to say that I work for corporate company number one, Hewlett Packard. I'm also happy to say that I love my job, love the people I work with, it pays good, and I get good benefits. This is real life, not sapping money off your parents to support your stupid radical lifestyle that will take you nowhere and alienate you from everybody but your own little group.
It is then safe to say that punk is a subculture that has been reduced to such a low level-an insignificant level-that there is no hope for its survival as a powerful movement that actually does something for an outside community. Punk has not created a significant number of jobs for people, punk doesn't support people or pay the bills. Punk has no effect, punk is petty. Punk contributes nothing to society except for misconception and confusion. Punk does not achieve anything by virtue of itself. Punk is little more than a directionless subculture doing nothing for society and man as a whole.
Punk had its day. There was a time when the punk movement meant something, and caught attention. Now, you call yourself punk, and the first thing to mind is Green Day. The Punk community is directly responsible for this. They have not done anything to free themselves from this misconception, they have done nothing to make people think otherwise. There is no unity, and there is no consensus. There is no sigificance--there is nothing.
With this, I reject the punk movement as, realistically, anything. I reject punk as a way of life, and hope that those of you who wish to be affiliated with this movement can pull yourselves together enough to actually count for something. As it is right now, have fun affecting nothing, and I wish you all the popularity and attention in the world. You are punk.
P.S. Direct all flames to me (aalance@student.nnc.edu).
