Minor Threat was a hardcore punk band from the thrilling days of yesteryear. their "gimmick" was that they were "straight edge" meaning they didn't drink, smoke, do drugs or have sex and eventually became a vegan and whatever else. And supposedly that was going to keep their 'minds clean" so they could think. And Ian (the singer) shaved his head and looked like a skinhead (because he had a savage receding hairline)and played violent music ... there is some debate over whether or not at one time he was racist, (I don't give a crap about that.)
Which is all well and good
EXCEPT people took them seriously. A lot of dopey kids that weren't part of the original hardcore punk scene caught on to this new straight edge skinhead scene and then the trouble started. When new bands copied Minor Threat and upped the ante by advocating violence against pretty much everyone.
and these kids would take permanent magic markers and draw big X on the back of there hands and go to bars and slap drinks out of people's hands etc.... and it was already bad enough that we had to fight the jocks and the bikers and the cops and everyone else NOW pile on a whole new group of straight edge kid skinhead little sons of ***.
They were holding their own against the longhairs by shear strength of numbers but encountered major resistance when they faced old north coast punks who were already violent psychotics. (they also got stomped in NYC but that's another story)
On the plus side, they were scrawny from not eating meat, they had no booze or drugs to dull the pain so you could hurt them very badly very easily and they were young, stupid and lousy fighters.
On the down side.... there were a whole *** lot of them.
Anyways it was getting regoddamneddiculous. On one night I got in three separate fist fights involving eight other people before I could even get to the bar to order a goddamned beer. The show hadn't even started yet and I was already *** tired and I had to keep these little *** in line the whole night.
That was the last straw and I held Ian personally responsible and communicated my growing unpleasant thoughts through a mutual friend.
For some reason I will never understand, Ian has been nothing but kind and gracious to me. He even offered us the use of his house to crash at when we came to visit DC...
So I haven't punched him the balls... yet. BUT IT"S BEEN ON MY TO DO LIST A REALLY LONG TIME!!!
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