"Straight Edgers"-Clean living gang that attacks drinkers & smokers

[underpants]

I heard this mentioned on talk radio so I had to check it out.


Reno police classify Straight Edge as a gang

http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2005/05/30/100693.php?sps=rgj.com&sch=LocalNews&sp1=rgj&sp2=News&sp3=Local+News&sp5=RGJ.com&sp6=news&sp7=local_news

You wouldn’t expect a splinter faction of teens that rejects alcohol, tobacco, drugs or promiscuous sex to be an active criminal street gang, but in Washoe County that’s exactly what’s happening, authorities say.

In March — following a six-month investigation — Straight Edge was officially classified a gang by the Regional Gang Unit. Nearly every week, gang officers investigate Straight Edge crimes or harassment that doesn’t seem to subside following arrests.

Authorities describe Straight Edge attacks as random, opportunistic, violent beatings that can be spurred by minor comments from nonmembers. Members — who sometimes use bats, shovels, knives, brass knuckles and Mace — don’t engage in violence unless they can outnumber their targets, police said.

Straight Edgers tend to attack other teens who are publicly engaging in activities Straight Edgers don’t agree with, such as smoking or drinking.

“It’s ironic and disappointing that otherwise good kids are committing crimes to promote their own personal philosophy,” said Lt. Doug Cardwell of the gang unit. “We’ve had more crime attributed to Straight Edge than any criminal street gang this year.”

What is Straight Edge?

In a 1983 interview with the Washington Post, punk rocker Ian MacKaye discussed his song “Straight Edge” which described the philosophy of punks against drugs and alcohol. MacKaye, then 21, was the lead singer for the band Minor Threat.



http://www.punknews.org/article.php?sid=12787&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

Straight Edge is defined as a lifetime commitment to abstain from alcohol, tobacco, drugs and promiscuity. It has changed thousands of lives for the better, steering young people clear of many of society's problems."

[GiovanniC]

1. Let's See If I've Got This Right

Smoking, Drinking, Sex = Bad

Beating the everlasting fuck out of someone = Okay


:crazy:

[mermaid]

10. Yeah, You Basically Have The Straight-Edge Theory Correct

These people are severely fucked in the head! They subscribe to their own brand of "Toughlove" as they call it...and this brand of "Toughlove" calls for beating the everlasting fuck out of people they call "losers" like alcoholics, drug addicts, gays, etc.

The thing is, though...as the article notes....and this is quite correct...they will not attack one-on-one...they only attack when they are assured of an overwhelming number advantage on their side. They are basically pussies. Much like most gangs.

They really do, in both form and function, very much resemble a street gang, although what motivates them is far different from what motivates most youth gangs.

I have, in my time, had a few acquaintances who were Straight-Edgers, and this is exactly how they think, act, feel, and function...and that regional task force was quite correct to label them a gang.

Though the Straight-Edgers do not consider themselves a gang, in the classical sense (and in the classical sense, they AREN'T a gang...much in the same way the Hell's Angels ARE a gang) they fulfill the form and function of a gang, and very much have a group mob mentality, much like a gang.

Yeah, future Republicans, I agree. But not at the moment. You see, Straight-Edgers also despise politics and politicians of all stripes. That'll change when they get older. What you are basically looking at here is our very own Hitler Youth.

[HeeBGBz]

22. They beat people up cause they aren't gettin any

All that pent-up shit will pop like a bad zit.

I guess we should be blessed that they aren't breeding.

[ieoeja]

26. Isn't that the defintion of Conservative in this country? n/t

[annabanana]

2. sound like vigilante thugs to me...

"We’ve had more crime attributed to Straight Edge than any criminal street gang this year"

..Pretty much says it all doesn't it...

[LynneSin]

3. Somebody give these kids some drugs and sex....

...so they can mellow out and stop beating up other folks

[underpants]

4. Very odd

I guess they are trying to spread the word....one assault at a time.

[ananda]

5. Future Republicans..

.. all. The horror! The horror!

Sue

[demokatgurrl]

6. aren't they kind of neo-Nazis too? n/t

[name not needed]

9. No, actually.

[Jara sang]

7. Got to admire those family values.

[mike_c]

8. further proof that people NEED drugs for a happy, healthy life....

sheesh

[RaleighNCDUer]

11. Hitler Youth

were also clean living youngsters who abstained from debilitating vices.

[seemunkee]

14. Nazi Punks Fuck OFF

Punk ain't no religious cult
Punk means thinking for yourself
You ain't hardcore cos you spike your hair
When a jock still lives inside your head

Nazi punks
Nazi punks
Nazi punks?Fuck Off!

Nazi punks
Nazi punks
Nazi punks?Fuck Off!

If you've come to fight, get outa here
You ain't no better than the bouncers
We ain't trying to be police
When you are the cops it ain't anarchy

Repeat chorus

Ten guys jump one, what a man
You fight each other, the police state wins
Stab your backs when you trash our halls
Trash a bank if you've got real balls

You still think swastikas look cool
The real nazis run your schools
Teachers, businessmen and cops
In a real fourth reich you'll be the first to go

Repeat chorus

You'll be the first to go
You'll be the first to go
You'll be the first to go
Unless you think?

[seemunkee]

12. Ian Mackaye would be pissed

He never meant for it to be a movement like this. It was a way for kids to get into clubs, specifically the 9:30 club in DC, to see the bands they liked. It was a philosophy that centered around being responsible for your actions and having fun. I was of drinking age when this all started happening.

My son was straight edge and hated the way the hardcore XXXers behaved. In the end most of them broke their edge and went way over to the other end becoming heavy drinkers and drug users. He still hasn't broken his edge but hates to be classified as XXX. My younger daughter is the same way.

[underpants]

16. God I loved Fugazi

Sitting in the waiting room aha sitting in the waiting room

Anyway that was what struck be about this. MacKaye? really?

Apparently not someone took what he said and twisted it for their own agenda.

[oneold1-4u]

13. So Close

To Hitlers great youth training! Are these youths being supported with money weapons and legal aid?(who) Looks very much like lots of secret societies that have formed, in the past, to cloak their actions and remain in societies worst "closets"!

[hemp_not_war]

15. They need to smoke a bowl

LOL

[Melynn]

17. The new storm troopers for the GOP

I wonder how long it will be before the Straight Edgers start attacking people for being liberal?

[flvegan]

18. No, no, no. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

True Straight Edgers tend not to be violent. The SE folks mentioned here and discussed in this thread are thugs that happen to be forcing their beliefs on others.

Most SE that I know and know of don't drink or smoke, practice monogamy, don't take any chemicals (caffiene, aspartame, etc), follow a vegan diet and lifestyle and are nonviolent.

Maybe things have changed and I'm way behind in the times.

[underpants]

19. Okay thanks

IT sounds like someone is picking parts of something to further their own agenda.

[LeftyDarthBrodie]

21. Absolutely correct

The people mentioned in this article are nothing like the Straight Edge kids I knew a couple years ago. Not all Straight Edgers stay that way and most that don't become very heavily involved in drugs, especially hard stuff.

I hope things haven't changed because Straight Edgers were some of the nicest people I knew. They got a bit rowdy during punk shows but never intended to hurt anyone.

[NoKillShelterGuy]

24. The Straight Edge people I know...

are some scary little fuckers when they are in a group. Sooner or later, they will pick on the wrong person, and end up shot. It will be no great loss.

[SpiralHawk]

20. Pluto in the final 10 degrees of Sagittarius

Ideology goes nuclear. Fundamentalism of a different, even uglier kind.

But, this too shall pass.

[maxsolomon]

23. Straight Edge + LDS = Seriously Warped Interpretation

<Detective Lex Bell of the Salt Lake Area Gang Project in Utah thinks Straight Edge is popular there because of the strong Latter-day Saints’ influence, which mirrors the group’s core beliefs.

“When these kids are raised with these beliefs and they get to high school, they are exposed to more people and cultures and some get dogged for being LDS,” Bell said. “They can grab onto something like Straight Edge that they think is cool and still represents their beliefs.”>

the LDS is all over Reno, too.

Back in Cincy in the 80's, we had 2 warring camps of "Skinheads"; the usual rascist kind you think of, and a multi-racial group that just loved Ska, Bomber Jackets, & Vespas. It was stupid, but it was nice to see black & white kids stand together against rascism & fascism.

Given that Straight Edge is 22 FUCKING YEARS OLD, i think this is absurd. These kids could be Ian Mackaye's grandchildren (biologically possible, i contend! Ian born in 1962, if has kids at age 20 in 1982, those kids are now 22!).

[chopper]

25. straight edge

is fine. its like the skinhead movement, a buncha chodes claiming to be them caused trouble and now everyone thinks nazi scumbag whenever they hear 'skinhead'.

having sXe and skinhead friends who are some of the nicest people on earth, it pisses me off.

[devilgrrl]

27. Gotta love those Health Nazis

In high school we referred to them as "jocks." What a bunch of assholes! :nuke:

[Sapphire Blue]

28. These would be hate crimes if the victims were a legally protected class.

These "mostly white" gang members who "sometimes use bats, shovels, knives, brass knuckles and Mace" are "otherwise good kids"?!?!? Are they "otherwise good kids" because of their 'superior' moral values? :sarcasm: