[Not Afraid]

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

Not Afraid

Punk Rock – You’ve often referred to your punk rock past, What was it that made you a punk rocker, what distinguished you from the possuers who came after? How are you still most like a punk rocker. What about you is the least punk rock?

LOL!

I was a rebellious kid. I was raised in a very strict fundamentalist Christian household with a Mother who cares a bit too much about what everyone else thought. I always hated her attitude and the "little white lies" that went along with them.



When I got into HS, I started to find my own way (which was quite a bit different than the way I was brought up). I got into new types of theater, music, art and dance that were different from the traditional forms I had been exposed to. The friends I was attracted to were all of different races, religions and sexual orientations.



One day my BF brought home a single of Siouxsie and the Banshees "Hong Kong Garden". It was so wonderful and different from the boring, unimaginative Foreigner, Boston, ELO, Foghat, Kansas etc. We started to go see bands that were new and different - usually at small, intimate venues.



Through the club excursions, I met more people and saw more bands - some of them local. I started hanging out with other punks and bands, started shopping at thrift stores (Mother was appalled ), cut my long red/blond hair and dyed it black and generally threw ALL of the teachings of the church and my parents out the window as I discovered my own sense of "normal" - which I discovered doesn't really exist. I learned to questions things (like authority ) and find my own answers.



How is that different from the poseurs that came after? I think we were forging a new type path that was different that what had come before. We were defining American Punk in the late 1970's and early 1980's and it was a different attitude than the English Punk that inspired it. It was less about economics and more about attitudes, beliefs, religion, anger, authority, and government (although English Punk has some of the same focus). The music that came out of these attitudes expressed our beliefs and it was hard and fast and exhilarating! Those that came after (and continue today) adopted the style of Punk, but the attitude is rarely there. It's more of a fashion statement than anything - with a few exceptions. The conformity gets to me because it is so not punk.



Why am I still punk? I take my own road in many ways. I seek out things that are challenging and interesting. I don't follow much of what the masses do - especially in creative endeavors; music, art, dance, etc. I'm still very rebellious about getting involved in certain "popular" social phenomenon. I hate TV, I won't watch the News, I only listen to public radio, I usually don't read "bestsellers" and I'm very careful about how I spend my time and money. I still seek out the interesting and odd. But, I'm less punk in how I "look" (although I still wear a lot of black). I don't feel the need to make my opinions know all of the time. I don't need to convince anyone else I am right. I've become more comfortable in my own skin and am not out to change the world through my opinions. I don't really know if that is less Punk or not. But, it sure is a different attitude than the one I had when I was learning what rebellion was all about.

Interesting question! Thanks!