...anyone who consumes alcohol in order to escape reality, alter mood or emotional state, forget, or any of the other countless reasons they may come up with for willingly putting poison into their bodies gets no respect from me. not as a whole person, but for the time that they do so. if you like to do so, for any reason, i dont respect you while youre doing so, and during any time that you are still under the influence....

You know, I can relate to this type of thinking, because I used to think the same thing about people and illegal drugs. Stuff like pot, cocaine, acid, shrooms, etc... Up until about a year ago. I've never done any drugs other than alcohol and about 13 cigarettes, I just don't think that the risks (mainly the legal issues and some physical and social) of doing them is worth the "rewards". I used to think that anyone who did do them was weak or stupid or just plain beneath me. I was also very adamant about me beliefs and let everyone know it. This type of thinking pushed a lot of people away from me, good people that were afraid of being judged, just because of a choice they made that they had every right to make.

About 2 years ago I met a wonderful woman whom I want to spend the rest of my life with. She has had much different life experiences than I have, and needless to say, did not share my same views about people who do or did drugs. She forced me to look at why I feel the way I do, and because I actually took the time to look at myself, I have come to realize that people can do drugs and still be good people that are not weak, or stupid, it is just a choice that they make, sometimes its just a fun thing to do for them.

I still dont think that doing drugs is a great idea, and it would probably be "healthier" if one never did any, but who am I to impose my judgement on others? So, I don't mind if someone does drugs, or drinks, as long as they are responsible about it and don't hurt anyone in the process.

Did you manage to scrub the `X' off your hand?

Before i was about 21 or 22, i would have been wholeheartedly agreed with you CustomSex. I wnt through my entire life up until then on a huge kick about how escapist and bullshit drugs and drinking are, and i just couldn't get it. I didn't understand why people would want to numb themselves to reality. I thought it was weak. I never had a drink until my 21st birthday... and then only one and it was a huge deal to me.

Looking back, I have a clearer view of why i thought that way. It was a combination of a few things. First, fear of loss of control.
Second, fear of addiction or dependency.
Third, there's some superiority one feels in holding ones beliefs above others as stronger and more "right".
Fourth, i hated what i saw when people were drunk. People acting retarded, not like themselves, using it as an excuse to be a certain way or do certain things and thinking it was cool. That was probably the biggy, not wanting to ever act like "them"... whoever that was. Not wanting to NEED it to have fun.
Lastly, after seeing how people felt after getting loaded, the following day... i didn't get it. I didn't understand knowingly doing that to yourself... knowing how you'd feel the next day. Which is why when i do drink now, it's never to the point of drunken stupor or hangover.
Oh yeah... then there was the whole alchohol tasting like [censored] issue... but that was pure naivete. I still hate beer though. =]

As i got older i met more and more people who drank, but weren't retarded about it. People who didn't need to drink to have fun, but would sometimes kick back and responsibly drink. Over the years i realized it wasn't this horrible monster that defined you or made you a certain way, and could be enjoyed in moderation and responsibly. People who can only have fun by drinking still irk me, but i'm getting over it. I realized more and more it was a superiority thing for me. That didn't change all the things i still felt were wrong about it, but it sure felt good to think i was better than the masses because i could resist the drink. I'm way over that now.

Anyhow... just thought i might point out how i came to the point i'm at now from a similar view point to yours. I'm not a regular drinker, and i pretty much hate bars, but every once in a while i'll partake and do so for fun with friends. I guess i'm saying... explore the reasons you feel the way you do... moreso that just the logical and reactionary ones posted above... there's probably more to it than that.

I've still never done an illegal drug in my life mostly for the same reasons. I think i'm just stubborn about it now...hahah.

Heh... i see Matt had the same ideas too. I would wager you'll change your tune with age. It's happened to every straight edger i've ever known. This reminds me of one of my favorite comics ever... i'll see if i can find it..

lol @ bitt

:edited to break confusion

I'm 30, and I haven't moderated that much. No drugs for me (I try to avoid OTC painkillers, too, but for the anti-inflamation benefit I was taking Naproxin Sodium recently while my foot healed). Alcohol, starting at 25, and fewer than a dozen times since.

I don't care what other people do, and I don't hold it over them, it's just not my thing. I agree about the bars, not my scene but sometimes I go along.

Thank Jeebus for archive.org!!!

http://web.archive.org/web/20021013210109/http://www.nothingnice.com/old/03-13-02.shtml

What is this Straight Edge stuff? was this some kind of california fad/club/movement? I've never heard of it except for a couple times on this BBS.

chimichangas

look in my freezer, right above the ice cream sandwiches.

I first heard about it 2 days ago when people started asking about livejournal usernames of the form xxfooxx

Loren will probably do a better job with this than I will (and I think we've already done this dance, oddly), but:

Back in the early-to-mid 80's, a group of hardcore bands, notably Minor Threat, started or were part of a backlash against the sex and drugs part of rock and roll. They nominally espoused the idea that drinking, doing drugs, and having casual sex was a bad idea. This caught on in a big way. The Straight Edge movement, named after a Minor Threat song, became quite popular, and the members identified themselves by magic-markering black `X's on the backs of their hands.

Straight Edgers are often noted for zero tolerance and disdain of all who don't follow their ideals. They're also known for often quickly and dramatically losing their ideals as they become legally able to drink.

Ian MacKaye, the singer and lyricist for Minor Threat, has, in more recent years, stated that he didn't intend to start a movement (with which he is usually credited) and personally hates Straight Edge. Whether this is true or a case of the aforementioned falling off the wagon I doubt we'll ever know.

Yeah, we've been over this in the "hangover" thread. Read through there for details. Then there's always http://www.straight-edge.com. I never did associate with the whole straight edge thing. When i came to San Francisco when i was 18, a bunch of people called me that and it was the first i'd heard of it. It's a pretty interesting phenomenon though. Still see kids all the time sporting the "x".

Speaking of which, my sister and her boyfriend finally stopped smoking a few months ago.

Of course, they could have just wanted to see a good show at a venue with a bar

Back in the early-to-mid 80's, a group of hardcore bands, notably Minor Threat, started or were part of a backlash against the sex and drugs part of rock and roll.

As long as there's, you know, sex and drugs, I can do without the rock and roll. - Mick Shrimpton

Did you manage to scrub the `X' off your hand?

I don't think I was ever straight-edge, I've just never done any drugs other than alcohol, and I can't stay away from sex. (almost addicted to that)

I suspect the straight-edge "X" comes from the marks the ID checkers at the bars where DC bands played were placing on the hands of 18-21 year olds (or less than 21 year olds in general) as a notation to the bartender(s) not to serve them.

I'll also note that (at least later versions of) the liner notes for the song Straight Edge added "I" in brackets to the three claims in the chorus.

-brendan

I think the BBS translated something to markup there. An asterisk, maybe?

fixed

Is that a Mach 10 on the sofa? It's the weapon of choice for Birmingham ganstas....

It's a Cobray M-11/9 which derived from the MAC-10. It's chambered for 9mm. The MAC-10 shoots .45.

From top to bottom on the sofa:
Romanian SAR-1 - 7.62x39mm
Mossberg 12 ga shotgun
Remington 700 .30-06
Ruger p90 - .45 acp
M-11/9

All I have are:
M1 Garand (standard issue)
M1-D Garand (sniper version)
Ruger Mini-14 (.223 semi)
Remington 870 12 ga
Ruger Anaconda .44 Mag with an 8" barrel

I guess it's enough, more than I can handle at one time in a battle...

Last time I fired any proper sort of gun was 21 years ago, at a target being towed behind the MV Keren in the South Atlantic.

I miss that GPMG. Still, if they changed the laws here to let anyone have guns, there would be such a mess...best not, eh?

hehe nice... the p90 and the .30-06 are actually for a friend. I wouldn't mind getting a Garand though. That AK is fun to shoot and all, but good luck at hitting anything past 150 yards.

I miss that GPMG

Ahh, the good old gimpy. I'm actually looking for a pair of good replicas for the Pinkie....

My friends father-in-law took us out a while back, and he has a Mini-14. That is a fun gun to shoot! I don't have any myself, but go out with buddies to the desert and shoot clays. But yeah, that mini-14 is lots of fun to shoot!

mini-14 is lots of fun to shoot

Yeah it's like a bigger plinking gun. A little more expensive to shoot than a .22 but if you shoot reloads it's not too bad. It's lots of fun with the 40 round clip! It's hard to get a tight grouping with it at a long distance, though. The M-1 is awesome with open sights up to 600 yds... in the right hands, and they're not mine!

Where can this stella be obtained in the US, more specifically in Southern California?