I like this song best when Amy Pickering sings it (no offense, Ian), a woman's voice to the lyrics makes my soul squirm. We women know that everywhere we go there's an idiot there saying to himself, or his buddy, "I'd tap that." I just watched one of those Chris Hansen-Dateline-predator shows last night and every single man said they didn't know why they came to have sex with a 13-year-old girl but we know why, don't we? There are men among us who will do anything to get their rocks off. I truly believe that the number of people (not just men) who will do something monstrous, given the opportunity is a lot higher than we would like to even think about.
Why can't i walk down a street free of suggestion?
Is my body the only trait in the eye's of men?
I've got some skin
You want to look in
There lays no reward in what you discover
You spent yourself watching me suffer
Suffer you words, suffer your eyes, suffer your hands
Suffer your interpretation of what it is to be a man
I've got some skin
You want to look in
She does nothing to deserve it
He only wants to observe it
We sit back like they taught us
We keep quiet like they taught us
He just wants to prove it
She does nothing to remove it
We don't want anyone to mind us
So we play the roles that they assigned us
She does nothing to conceal it
He touches her 'cause he wants to feel it
We blame her for being there
But we are all guilty
Every time I hear this song it just smacks me upside the head. Does it get any better? I saw Fugazi live in Boston sometime in the early 90s (probably '90 or '91). It was the kind of show a girl could go to by herself and not be scared that some punk was going to rape her in the restroom. It was important that everyone treat everyone else well, including in the mosh pit, otherwise the music would stop. Just like that, until Ian was satisfied that the idiots had realized that bully behavior just wasn't welcome.
Ian MacKaye is a man that is easy to respect. He is a man who never sold out to commercialism during a period of time when it seems everyone else in our world has. Including the politicians sitting fat in Washington DC allegedly representing us while in fact they are paid off by special interest groups with the sole goal of padding their own pockets. Ahhh, Ian MacKaye you are refreshing.
I tried to embrace the straight edge philosophy and still support that way of life, there are far worse things for young adults to get into. I was just too much of a beer drinker to spend any large amounts of time stone cold sober. The straight edge lifestyle took its name from a Minor Threat song that advocated a drug and alcohol free lifestyle. There are always those that can appreciate a good thing but cannot resist taking it even further.
In Charlottesville, MacKaye discusses the troubling evolution of straight edge from personal philosophy to humorless dogma. "People who beat people up for getting high are looking for a line to draw," he says. Militant straight edge became a dizzying game of one-upmanship--some punks even went so far "straight" (no drugs, no sex, no meat) as to become Hare Krishnas.
-Andrew Beaujon, Spin
Really, Hare Krishnas? The food was great, and free. I did always feel bad about leaving my leather Doc Martens on the shelves prior to entering the temple, but was always warmly embraced. While learning with the Krishna's I also met a wide variety of people including hardcore rockers and even once-popular television actors. Krishna Consciousness and straight edge hardcore was a match.
P.S. Some excellent vegetarian recipes can be found here.
5 comments:
OMG, remember all of the Krishna's Justine was friends with freshman year? Almost all of them were ex-punk rockers or skate kids from NYC... and all totally hot!!! Can't recall the one's name that kept asking us to come to their temple for free food and chats but he was way too cute to be celibate...
Yeah, he had a connection to a NYC band *heavily* associated with Krishna Consciousness (as it turns out some adherents were pretty loose on the celibacy thing and there was even talk of some drug use in the late 90s Krishna Core circles). He gave me some beads (he was in my room once, oh man! he did resist my moves, apparently) but I cannot recall what ever happened to them or his name though it seems like it is right on the tip of my lips.
Of course not all men think that way about sex.
I forgot all about Fugazi. Thanks for the vegetarian recipe link, btw.
Joey-of course not, but your breed is relatively rare:-)
RK-love the veggiepes, they used to serve this dessert item at the ISKON in Boston that appeared to be carob flavored farina...I loved it but have not been able to find a recipe for it since. I currently do not eat meat, because I am not at home...the only reason I eat it there=I raise it myself.
Fugazi (and Ian MacKaye) is hot!
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