Ёжик — Who is who

First hard-core concerts with terrifying cries except of singing and chaotic mosh-dancing*, attracted crowds of people. There were usual punk’s attributes: sex, drugs and alcohol. But some punks had become tired of continuous booze-ups and halls perpetually filled with smoke. Hard-core appearance had become a reason to change their life.

New movement called straight edge sprang up on Washington’s punk-scene. It advocated life style without addictive habits, which damage human’s body and mind. sXe had become philosophical branch of punk, reaction to negative attitude to the world and self-destruction idea.

One of the first well-known straight edge bands were “Teen Idles”. But real leader of sXe was Yan Makkey — the leader of “Minor Threat” band. In 1981 he wrote a song, where he entitled main rules of straight edge: don’t smoke, don’t take drugs, don’t drink alcohol, don’t have casual sex. Makkey himself said that he hadn’t organized any movement, he just wrote a song about things he lives according to: “This song is most of all about the right of individual choice. I was singing about the edge, which I will never overstep.” The name of movement comes from these words. Punks picked up his idea and developed it: “Control your energy and direct it in creation course. Be more aggressive and calmer, ruder and politer — be “more”! Find the best ones among surrounding and become better than them.

Nobody will change you, unless you become better on your own. Don’t listen to people, who say «One man isn’t man”. There are only five barriers on your way: laziness, hostileness, agitation,     feeling of guilt and doubt. Try to overcome them and the world will become better”.

The identifying sign of sXe had become a cross, drawn on the other side of a palm. Because security guards in American clubs used to note minor in case they

shouldn’t be sold alcohol in club’s bar. Emblem of sXe is three crosses: one for

every vice: alcohol, drugs and smoking.

When Minor Threat was broken up, sXe movement flagged for a time, but it was revivaled at the middle of 1980s. New sXe wave was headed by Henry Kollins —_________________________________________

*Mosh-dancing is funful kneading at the stage, including stage-diving (dives into crowd) and crowd-surfing (rolling on people heads)

the leader of “Rolling Band”. He was famous because of his uncompromisness, protest against consumer’s organization and many albums as a support for unjust convict teenage ecologists, anarchists and antiglobalists Rollins also performances with TV programme like endorsement, where he moved sXe ideas.

Most of sXe-bands aren’t famous, because they prefer to act according to DIY principle. DIY (do it yourself) idea means insubordination to behavior rules in the society imbued with commerce and refusal from making famous according to modern show business ideas themselves, refusal from making money of creative work.

Straight edgers call themselves as rebellious. They suppose, if people choose sXe life style, state and corporations power, which have huge revenues from selling legal “drugs”, which is alcohol and tobacco, will be wavered. Most of straight edgers are vegetarians. They come out for protecting animals’ rights and draw one of their crosses for this cause. They don’t eat meat, don’t wear leaver and fur clothes. They prefer sport style in clothes like skaters or Californian punks. They like chequered shirts, old school jackets and old models of vans pumps. They avoid fashionable labels in case to emphasize their indifference to meanless clothes.

sXe-people are very demanding to other people and to themselves. Radicalism and intolerance of ones of them caused new “Hardline” branch formation. Hard-line followers have chosen tactic of attack against everyone, who limits them in aspect. Their excessive aggression makes to doubt if they belong to sXe. However straight edgers treat all youth movements very benevolent, unless they are insisted against sXe. Punks are friends and enemies of straight edgers at the same time, because their behavior often doesn’t meet with sXe ideas. Skins, who destroy all positivism of hard-core concerts by their behavior, have strained relations with straight edgers, too.