I'm pretty sure Punk Is about individualism, that is as a philosophy of a way to live life instead of a genre of music. I remember the whole straight edge thing, but that was way back in 8th grade. Mostly it was poser stoners heckling "straight edgers" about not doing drugs. It's really pointless, drug use is going to happen, what does it matter if people are or are not? It reminds me of this little icon I saw that said "what is the difference between people with tats and people who dont have them? People with tats dont care if u don't have one. " In this instance people who use seem to care, but I don't. "You don't want any of my drugs? Oh, your straight edge? Oh, okay then, what ever, I'd still like to hear your crazy song" That is what I would have done in that situation.
Punk as a way of living is a beautiful thing. Expressing yourself, going agianst the "norm", it's all fairly good hearted, but so are straight edgers. I say worry about yourself, because if you focas too much on the worlds actions, you'll leave yourself behind.

Personally, if you want to find fellowship with others who want to opt out of drug use and permiscuous sex, i commend you and obviously respect your decission. Straight-Edge takes a very sinister turn, though, when people want to replace drug use and sex with violence. It's beyond the pale of any kind rational or sensible solution to social problems like drug use.

Punk ITSELF is a subculture...nobody is totally an 'individualist'...EVERYONE has influences and has been motivated by what others have done somewhere along the line.....Labels are trash.

You can't group all SxE people with the gang/violent sect of them. I have been straight edge for 5 years, and only do it for myself, the music, and the point I am trying to get across. I am not an extremist. I see nothing wrong with someone drinking every once in a while, but it is something I choose to abstain from because for every person who casually drinks, there is one who drinks way too heavily or is even an alcoholic. There needs to be more people on the oposite side of the spectrum to show kids that conforming to the 'Well I'm in highschoo/college now, so that means i need to get wasted every weekend to fit in and be normal' mentality is not the only thing out there

Then punks shouldn't hate on you.

In the wise words of some dumb rapper: "don't start no shit, won't be no shit"

Defining what punk is is so not punk rock

I find people who refrain from this sort of thing to be annoying & boring
I also find people who do all this stuff to be just as annoying & boring.

So in short, be like most people.

Do it in moderation & shut the fuck up about it.

Totally Agree... Dont think it can be said better.

Straight Edge get on my nerves because they preach

The Oppisoite set of people.... Well are just ****ing Junkies.

Then you must hate every genre then?

Well, that's why I said "Straight-edge takes a sinister turn when you replace sex and drugs with violence."

You talk about impressionable kids falling into the weekend routine of excessive drinking, but groups like SxE, or whatever the proper denotation is, offer the same sense of belonging, the motives are the only difference. Any time you're dealing with groups that tend to be very clandish, like straight-edge, you run the risk of dealing with potential fanatic, moronic automatons.

Some of the hardcore groups, primarily those in 1980's Boston, SSD is the one that springs to mind immediately, definitely belong to this group I'm talking about. Not only would Jaime Sciarappa pontificate, but he would kick your teeth in if you were drinking a beer at a hardcore show. Jello Biafra talked, almost endlessly, about how hardcore groups, like the Suicidal Tendencies, had really become very gang-like. This is where the problem sets in. If you get a group of people together, I don't care how good natured or well intentioned they are, somebody is going to take their own radical interpretation and contort the idea into something dangerous. It's just how people are. Wasn't it Groucho Marx who said "I wouldn't want to be a part of any group that would have me as a member"?

I applaud you, my friend, and I actually wish that I had the desire to quit drinking entirely, but what I'm driving at is that you don't need to belong to a group in order to make the right decissions. You're right--we need more positive role models, but all this SxE stuff is just as potentially dangerous as any college party.