“Punk is an attitude.” – 1980’s punks
Punk is usually thought of as a genre of music and as an offbeat irreverent style, but at its core, punk is about being skeptical of the establishment and it is inherently anti-authority. However in the current year, punk, has become a mouth piece for the establishment narrative and pushes a message of conformity and compliance. That is to say, punk is dead! What is left is derivative music and played out fashion. The attitude that once made punk a powerful cultural movement and creative force has long since passed. Today’s punks are sell outs and ideologues pushing authoritarian politics, who look down upon the working and middle classes and identify as and with elitists; Green Day and Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedy’s), from the Bay area of California, being prominent examples punk elitists. Today’s mainstream “punks” are more likely to be the entertainment at some smug black tie political event, than in some dingy club speaking to the disaffected, working class youth.
More than ever we need punks! We need skeptics, who question authority, the DIY mindset, and creative self expression and innovation. The homogenization of thinking and culture in response to indoctrination and propaganda, has left a sad deposed shell of what was once a youthful and energetic art form, Rock-n-Roll and by extension punk. There is no room for punk in the age of authoritarianism and conformity.