Is the label meaningless now?

[sleepyboi]

A friend of mine on Facebook posted that he hated kids who called themselves straight-edge because now it's just a label that has no meaning anymore and they're just doing it to seem cool. He said the original punks were okay but now it means nothing. Is this true?

[Lifestyle_X]

I guess there will always be kids who think it's cool to call themselves things, like straight edge or punk.

[CarlaRant]

Calling oneself straightedge is as meaningful as the person makes it. I would hope that those who decide to take it on were doing it for their own reasons and wouldn't worry about being seen as "cool" or not, but that's not reality. There are always those who will fall wayside to remain "cool" in others' eyes by later choosing to drink or do drugs.

I know that most of my sxe friends decided to drink when they got older because they placed a pressure on themselves to fit into what a typical adult is supposed to do in social settings. I don't believe this was a pressure from others, nor a way to appear "cool," but they didn't tactfully know how to tell people they don't drink. Instead of saying "No thanks" at the business party where most people are just having one or two drinks (not getting wasted like at a house party of their youth), they said, "I'm straightedge" and had to go into a whole conversation about what the edge lifestyle. It's at this point that the non-edge conversationalists can get defensive about their choice to drink and go on the attack. It's tiring. I know I don't like to explain every one of my choices to strangers. It always leads into a barrage of questions followed by defensive statements like, "I could never give up ____________" or "I had a friend once who was sxe/veg*n and he got sick..blah...blah...blah..."

So yes, I think that in a way the label has become meaningless in society when there are so many people who use it as a youthful phase rather than a lifelong commitment.

Sorry for the long post, I was just thinking a lot about this too (mostly why my edge friends have "sold out" at an older age rather than their early 20s).

[rodrigo]

man, i was thinking this was a thread about record labels and was preparing a whole text on new ways to access new media content thanks to the internet.

i'd ask if being labeled as straight edge (by yourself or other people) is more important than being drug free.
to me, labels have no meaning besides the pretty clear meaning they portray. i dont really care if half the world calls themselves straight edge and drink. i am straight edge because i dont do recreational drugs and i love hardcore. they dont undermine my status as a hardcore lover or a drug free fat brown dude, the same way i dont make em look better.

[Lifestyle_X]

a drug free fat brown dude

You make yourself sound so yummeh!