Punk.
Too many times I've heard common misconceptions to the phrase "Punk". People associate being "punk" with being unique, different, and being yourself. First of all, if being punk was being yourself, there wouldn't be a phrase for it. "Punk" would just be known as "being yourself". Anyway, this blog is just to clear up those misconceptions once and for all, although I know half the GSBians on this site won't even read this.
In essence, to be punk is to do something for the first time. To start a new wave is to be punk. To fight against a bigger community for a greater cause is punk. To go to Hot Topic and get a Green Day shirt and some black pants is not punk. Annoying your family for no reason is not punk. Hating and rebelling against your teachers for no reason is not punk. Basically what I'm trying to say is:
What punk is today is not punk.
Activism is pretty a more globally known form of punk. Punks are just teenagers who follow activism. Instances of true punk being shown globally include:
The Haymarket riot, 1886, a violent labor protest led by the Anarchist Movement
Martin Luther King's 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a key moment in the Civil Rights Movement
The Stonewall riots in 1969 protesting the treatment of homosexuals in New York City
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The many ACT-UP AIDS protests of the late 80's and early 90's
The Seattle WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity against the World Trade Organization
Anti-globalization Protests in Prague in 2000
Serbia in 2000
In essence, to be punk is to do something for the first time. To start a new wave is to be punk. To fight against a bigger community for a greater cause is punk. To go to Hot Topic and get a Green Day shirt and some black pants is not punk. Annoying your family for no reason is not punk. Hating and rebelling against your teachers for no reason is not punk. Basically what I'm trying to say is:
What punk is today is not punk.
Activism is pretty a more globally known form of punk. Punks are just teenagers who follow activism. Instances of true punk being shown globally include:
The Haymarket riot, 1886, a violent labor protest led by the Anarchist Movement
Martin Luther King's 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a key moment in the Civil Rights Movement
The Stonewall riots in 1969 protesting the treatment of homosexuals in New York City
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The many ACT-UP AIDS protests of the late 80's and early 90's
The Seattle WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity against the World Trade Organization
Anti-globalization Protests in Prague in 2000
Serbia in 2000
Comments
Previous | Page 2/2
You're right, but I just think people get confused. Punk is standing up for what you believe in and not just standing up. But it has to do with so many other things that focusing on just one aspect of it will not give you the big picture.
A
Demonic., March 25th, 2007 at 12:01:39pm
wow that is amazing what you wrote.....
hollywood tragedy., March 25th, 2007 at 12:01:27pm
yep you're right
Love, March 25th, 2007 at 11:52:18am
All I've got to say is, you're right.
Lykwoah, March 25th, 2007 at 11:37:59am
You are my f*cking hero, dude. Amen. Why can't people see this? That's the true nature of punk, I don't know how many times I've tried to say that. And you brought up a very good point with the whole image thing. I wish more people could see that punk isn't a label (don't even get me STARTED on that) or a music genre, but it's a lifestyle. Of activism.
A+
Funky Platypus, March 25th, 2007 at 11:21:10am