Wrote this comment in r/punk that will almost certainly deleted, would appreciate some thoughts

submitted by RuinedSpiral from (self.TumblrInAction)

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[–]LtGreenCo 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (7 children)

I was into Punk Rock in the 80s and 90s. Back then, while Punk lyrics were often political, the teenagers and young adults who were into it were more about the music than the politics. Gen X generally gave no shits about politics. We were the slacker generation; we gave no shits about anything except getting high and listening to good music. Yeah we were kinda useless but at least we didn't have all this tranny shit to deal with.

In the 00s it kinda looked like Punk was dying and I was well into adulthood and had bigger things to worry about than music, so I stopped keeping up with the industry. In fact it hasn't been until this thread that I even knew kids were still into punk. But from what you're saying it's a completely different culture now. Sad.

[–]RuinedSpiral[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

I definitely appreciated your perspective as an older punk fan. A lot of people around your age on the Reddit thread where I initially posted this are saying things like “fuck those bigots, in the 1980s we’d beat the shit out of Nazis that came around!” While Nazi skins were definitely a problem back then and from what I hear violent altercations would occur, I have to wonder how liberally exactly these redditors define the term “Nazi,” and how much of what they’re saying is even true.

Personally, I got into punk in the early 00s and as I said in my post things were always left leaning but pretty chill up until 2015 or so. I never really experienced much in terms of violence in punk firsthand, though as social media got bigger you would see more cyber bullying and call out posts, so that’s something. I supposed I’d like to emphasize at this point that while the punk community was never perfect, it was a hell of a lot better than what it is now, and the shift was sudden and palpable.

[–]LtGreenCo 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

fuck those bigots, in the 1980s we’d beat the shit out of Nazis that came around!

LOL no. Yeah there were neo-Nazi skinheads back then but they were relegated to white trash communities and seeing one was like seeing a unicorn. They were not a big problem like people want you to think. Keep in mind the past has been retconned by SJWs to seem more racist than it actually was because that's the narrative they want you to believe so you'll buy into their anti-racism CRT horseshit. The reality is things are way more racist now than they were in the 80s and 90s and we can thank woke culture for that.

For kids in the 80s and 90s it was all about the music; it was how they defined themselves. Nobody defined themselves by their LGBTQ activism or how inclusive they were or whatever. They defined themselves by the music that made them feel the most emotion. Which in hindsight sounds stupid right? Isn't it more important to be politically active than to be obsessed with music? My answer is no, not when you're a teenager. A kid's only job should be to enjoy being a kid. IMO anyway.

[–]RuinedSpiral[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

Yeah, this honestly reads as much more truthful and realistic to me than the types of stories you read in books like American Hardcore or Our Band Could Be Your Life. I have always thought that if the American hardcore punk scene in the 1970s and 1980s was truly as chaotic and violent as described in media like that, there is no way it would have been sustainable for as long as it was.

It’s not that I think people like Henry Rollins or Mike Watt are lying by any means, I’m sure things like police harassment and violent run-ins with people outside of punk did happen, and there are some pretty high profile documented incidents. It’s just that all of this, like a lot of things, has gotten exaggerated over the course of these old heads telling the same stories over and over again.

[–]LtGreenCo 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Oh I mean 80s Punk Rock culture was certainly more rowdy and violent at times and things did get better in the 90s. But if people are trying to say it was due to Nazi skinheads then they're full of shit. As someone who for years traveled to different cities to see my favorite bands play, in all those years I saw skinheads one time, in some shitty armpit of Indiana, and it was at a gas station; they weren't even going to the concert.

[–]RuinedSpiral[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

I’m definitely sure it got more tame as the years went on. In all of my time going to shows I think I only saw one very small fight and afterwards people talked about it for week. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Nazi Skinhead in person, for all of the hype they get.

[–]LtGreenCo 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I'm just one guy so who knows maybe I just got really lucky. But honestly back in the day, in my experience at least, people generally weren't racist and it was very hard to find someone who truly was - someone who truly feared and hated other races. It just wasn't a thing. The most racist thing you'd encounter was maybe someone telling a racist joke, but it was always done for comedy and not out of hatred.

[–]RuinedSpiral[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Again, that tracks for me and my guess is that yours is the more typical experience. I have seen no Nazi skins and very little violence but have heard a lot of big talk from social justice types about “punching Nazis” in the scene.