#don't rb this pls the last thing i wanna hear is discourse about this

[flamejob]

the way y'all talk about straightedge on here is crazy like you've clearly never met or had good conversation with a normal modern straightedge person, why is everyone's view of the lifestyle stuck in like a 90s fear mongering TV report about violent teenagers. my local edge scene is the most diverse and welcoming hardcore environments I've ever been in, and not in a toothless, watered down kind of way - we are still using music to fight back against racism, fascism, etc. every straightedge person i know including myself is pro harm reduction and we all have users in our lives that we care about and don't condemn. no one is jumping you for smoking weed outside of a show. straightedge has taught me more kindness and empathy than anything else, i'm so sick of it being shat on just because people think we're all spineless losers for not using! and yes it does have a history of being associated with shit people, but just like punk and hardcore, that does not define the scene. it's important to acknowledge that history and actively fight against it, which so many modern sxe people are doing so... take 5 minutes and think