Straight Edge

[JaseSF]

It's my lifestyle choice. I don't consume alcohol, abuse drugs in any fashion or smoke cigarettes nor do I partake in promiscious sex outside of a committed relationship.

Some take it so far as to not eat any meat, to not drink any caffeine, to not even take prescription medication. Some join animal rights movements and are vegans. I don't go to those extremes but I guess it's up to an individual to decide what they feel is best to put inside their own bodies. I won't tell others how to live. I won't preach. I don't feel being straight edge makes me better than anyone else. I wear items (clothing, buttons and jewelry) that show my commitment to straight edge, to my lifestyles choices that I personally feel are best for me. I just like to show others that straight edge is something one can commit to should they want to - it can be an option for anyone. I believe in it as a positive personal choice.

I don't like or agree with the more aggressive stance some Edgers have trying to force others to follow a belief system against their wills. That doesn't seem right to me. I won't tell others what to do even if I do believe in some cases their lives would be better alcohol and drug free. Each individual has the right to make that choice for themselves.

There are some negatives to being "straight edge"..there are others who will dislike you for not conforming like the rest. Some will look at you like you have 10 heads where you wear the symbols of straight edge.

Regardless when it means to you the right choice for a better, healthier life for you, I feel it's worth it.

The best link I could find that explains Straight Edge: http://www.straightedge.com/whatissxe.html

[SkullBat308]

I agree with everything you have stated and applaud your stance.  .....but I am not staightedge, though I know I should be. Thanks for giving me your opinion on something I have been considering for my own benefit. It's hard to break bad habits and not want to conform with friends.  

I don't like or agree with the more aggressive stance some Edgers have trying to force others to follow a belief system against their wills. That doesn't seem right to me. I won't tell others what to do even if I do believe in some cases their lives would be better alcohol and drug free. Each individual has the right to make that choice for themselves.

Yeah, forcing opinions on people like that is part of the authoritarian mindset which is best avoided, as it leads to fundamentalism, that some doctrine is the immutable truth, the most close minded way of thinking imaginable.

[Mofo Rising]

I'm not familiar with Straight-Edge culture as it practiced today, so this is an outsider's observations.

From what I see, the Straight-Edge usually shows up in subcultures where drug/alcohol use is prevalent. The primary example is of course in punk culture, but by no means is this the only example. Where excess is abundant, there will always be the backlash.

If you decide on a strict anti-drug policy, I whole-heartedly applaud you. It does take work to maintain that, especially if you are generally involved in a culture where it is prevalent. If anybody's opinion of you is dependent on what you put in your body, f**k 'em.

However, I think that the prevalence of drug/alcohol abuse is greatly exaggerated. I would venture to say that the vast majority of people never even have to consider this an issue. A good friend of mine, a Marine, can say that he has never taken drugs or drunk alcohol. He doesn't even take aspirin. He also does not call attention to this, it's just a choice he made early on in life. No judgment for the people that do, he just doesn't.

But, since my main point of study is medicinal biochemistry, or the reaction of chemical compounds in the body, I can tell you that everything your body ingests is a drug. Eating an inordinate amount of sugar will change your body's chemistry, as any diabetic can tell you. Certainly, some compounds are more popular among those who seek an escape or high, but the boundaries of what is a harmful drug and what isn't are in no way clear cut.

So I agree that you don't really need any of the popular chemical compounds people use to get through their week (and there are some compounds that are clearly a very bad idea). But the idea that all drugs are bad does not necessarily follow. Alcohol to regular excess is not a very sharp idea, but that does not mean that all alcohol intake is the end of the world. A beer or two every now and then will not kill you. Related, if you have a specific health problems, anti-inflammatory drugs are a good idea.

So I view the Straight-Edge outlook as very akin to vegetarianism. Both ways of living have quite a few benefits to them, but it's not the be-all-end-all of how to live. Not being one or the other isn't the worst choice you could make. Unfortunately, both vegetarianism and straight-edgers have their irrational militants.

In case I didn't make myself clear, I applaud your choice. If that's the way you choose to live, continue doing so. Like you said, it's a lifestyle choice.

[Ed, Ego and Superego]

I was a single male in Eugene Oregon, and ended up dating and knowing what I jokingly called "Militant Bean Eaters".  I don't live a crazy life, but I had a a very hard time convincing many acquaintences that I was a decent person because I are meat, used Western medicine etc.   
So I think its your body, and if you are not breaking any laws, and will let me be me; do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the law  (thanks Alastair).
-Ed

[lester1/2jr]

I was into it back in the late 80's here in boston.  I used to go see Youth of Today Sick of It All and the like.  for me it really arose out of a disdain for suburban pink floyd listening sort of stoners and how out of it they were in terms of music and stuff.  their version of a counterculture was so non threateneing and jokey that the establishement couldn't possibly be worried by it.

I think it changed mainly when I got interested in metal and janes addiction and the pixies and music where the point wasn't abou power chords and so forth. so drinking became not a lame thing :)

[JaseSF]

SkullBat, you seem like a good person. You got to do what's right for you and what's right for you might not be what's right for me. That's your choice to make.

Mofo, I didn't call myself straight edge for many years, even though I was in essence practicing it years before, it just seems to fit when I did discover straight edge's history and what it meant, I knew it was right and fitting for me as an individual even if I know some might say I'm not in fact straight edge because I do eat meat (I'm not vegetarian not that there's anything wrong with being one) and I do take prescription medicine (I still consider myself straight edge though because of the commitment I've made to live my entire life alcohol free and drug abuse free. I'd never smoke or take illegal drugs.) I think it's all about taking care of one's body and what I consider best for me others might or might not agree with my choices. In the case of prescription drugs, they can be prescribed to the benefit your general overall health and well-being and as such I see no harm in taking it as long as you take ONLY the prescribed amount and don't abuse them. It is a lifrestyle choice and it's up to each individual to decide what's right for him or her. I also agree with you that how things affect body chemistry is up for debate. I also agree with you that straight edge did initially start as a backlash against the whole sex, drug and alcohol culture that was so prevalent in punk's heyday (and I still love most of the classic non-Edge punk bands as much if not more than many of the Straight Edge bands). Straight Edge still seems like a positive thing to me or at least it can be from an individual personal choice perspective.

I consider abuse of alcohol far worse too than those who drink only a beer or two socially (Hell my own father drinks socially but never to excess). The problem comes when people don't know when enough is enough or one drink leads to one after the other. I've seen it cause many uncomfortable situations and in a few cases, I know it led to deaths because the persons I'm referring to just couldn't overcome their addiction and it killed them. I've seen it lead to verbal and physical abuse too in several cases. Of course I would never drink and if I was wearing a straight edge symbol, I really don't think people should even offer it to you.  Even when I wasn't I felt uncomfortable when people would keep nagging me even after I'd alreay said "no" to any offer of alcohol. I just wish people would respect my personal lifestyle choice. Of course many do too.  It really does depend.

You don't need alcohol, drugs or cigarettes to have a good fun time. I've had lots of fun times without it. There's nothing wrong with a committed relationship and staying true to the person you love either. It works for me. I just hope some others might see it can work for them too. But again it's an individual choice...more power to that.

Ed and lester, thanks for sharing your feelings and experiences too.

Here another pretty clearly defined interpretation of being Straight Edge:

"Straight edge is a life long oath to abstain from all forms of recreational drugs including alcohol and cigarettes, and to abstain from promiscuous sex and moderate our sexual desires in general. These are the only guidelines for straight edge; all other lifestyle choices such as diet, religion, and political views are all optional pursuits often associated with straight edge.

Straight edge is an independent philosophy and is not directly associated with any creed, trend, music, religion or principle. Straight edge was born out of the hardcore music scene but the ONLY requirements of adopting a straight edge lifestyle is abstention from drugs and promiscuous sex.

The straight edge oath is one for life, taken to the grave (til' death). Straight edge is not for everyone. Straight edge is not flexible. Straight edge is a radical commitment to stay free of addiction and the destructive escapism common to society for your entire life. If you cannot maintain this oath until death, simply do not take it. If you must have promiscuous sex, call yourself poison free. The abstention from promiscuous sex is an element of straight edge often ignored or casually looked over by straight edge people but it is equally as important as not drinking, smoking or drugging yourself.

Some straight edge bands you might want to check out and especially read the lyrics of are Minor Threat, One King Down, Strife, Earth Crisis, Snapcase, Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today, Over My Dead Body, Judge and Good Clean Fun. A couple of other seminal hardcore bands which don't specifically promote the straight edge philosophy but do promote positive ethics include Sick Of It All, Warzone, Suicidal Tendencies, Cro-mags, Shai Hulud, Raised Fist and Madball. Google is your friend.

For more general information on straight edge please listen to the BBC's special on straight edge in its entirety here: http://www.straightedgelifestyle.moonfruit.com/"

[lester1/2jr]

my friend from college was in 10 yard fight.  he lives in vegas is a professional poker player and is not straight edge.  no one I know who was straight edge has remained so except one guy who can't drink because he has brain issues.  so the odds are against you but good luck.

my favorite straight edge guys are the shaolin monks

[JaseSF]

The odds might well be against me but I've never been one to conform in any fashion especially when it came to something I believed in strongly. Not drinking, not smoking, not being a recreational drug user and abuser, not being sexually promiscious...I've always lived that life even before I ever called myself straight edge. I don't see me changing now. The discovery of classic punk bands is where I learned of the straight edge music movement and well it seemed to fit with me too but I would have continued living my life the same without the label. The label was sort of my way of showing the world this is what I am. That said, someday I might well be old and helpless and they may well medicate me to hell but I'll be a sad sad state before I ever knowingly let that happen to me.