Sober Living for the Revolution Talk: 25.10.10. Brighton

Straight-edge has persisted as a drug-free subculture for 25 years. Since its origins in 1980s the scene has been linked to radical thought and music. Tracing this history, ‘Sober Living for the Revolution’ includes contributions from famed straight edge rockers like Ian MacKaye (Fugazi), Mark Anderson (Dance of Days) and Andy Hurley (Fall Out Boy) and numerous feminist, anarchist and queer activists dedicated to a sober, liberated world.

THE COWLEY CLUB
Brighton’s collectively owned Libertarian Social Centre
12 London Road, Brighton
cowleyclub.org.uk

We want ecstasy as a way of life, not a liver-poisoning alcoholiday from it. “Life sucks—get drunk” is the essence of the argument that enters our ears from our masters’ tongues and then passes out of our slurring mouths, perpetuating whatever incidental and unnecessary truths it may refer to—but we’re not falling for it any longer! Burn down the liquor stores, and replace them with playgrounds!
For a Lucid Bacchanalian, Ecstatic Sobriety!’ - Crimethinc, Wasted Indeed

The relationship between intoxication, gender, and violence is complex. A significant proportion of gendered violence—specifically sexual and relationship violence against women—is committed by men while intoxicated. Of course, this doesn’t mean that intoxication causes violence, but it would be equally foolish to ignore the correlation. In heterosexual interactions, men who have learned from media and pop culture to understand themselves as initiators and seducers use alcohol as a tool for overcoming resistance both from the desired sexual conquest and from their own conscience. At the same time, in this harshly puritanical, sex-negative culture, many rely on alcohol as their only means of overcoming the shame they feel about our sexual desires. Generally speaking, I think that the broad dependence in this society on alcohol in the process of finding partners and having sex obscures our sexuality, negatively impacts communication, reduces our ability to give and receive meaningful consent, lessens the probability of safe sex practises, and supports rape culture. When this dependence, and all of the dangers it entails, connects with patriarchical notions of sexuality, including male senses of entitlement , the hunter/hunted dynamic, and “no means yes” myths, the results can be disastrous.’ - Nick Riotfag, Towards a Less Fucked Up World




I'm a person just like you
But I've got better things to do
Than sit around and fuck my head
Hang out with the living dead
Snort white shit up my nose
Pass out at the shows
I don't even think about speed
That's something I just don't need

I've got the straight edge

I'm a person just like you
But I've got better things to do
Than sit around and smoke dope
'Cause I know I can cope
Laugh at the thought of eating ludes
Laugh at the thought of sniffing glue
Always gonna keep in touch
Never want to use a crutch

I've got the straight edge
- Minor Threat, Straight Edge