Imagine me, in business casual (barely), sitting in a dirty Brooklyn dive bar to see one of the DIY punk bands I’ve been following for all of three months. I can barely stay still from the excitement. Yet, I notice, like I always have, that I stick out like a sore thumb. I’m not referring to the business casual attire; we all do what we can to survive in the city.
Regardless, I’ve started to challenge myself and ask, “Do I really stick out at these shows?” Partly because I always end up leaving with a new friend when I attend a show alone.
And mostly because whenever I go to a show, the band’s lead singer stops their set to discuss a political issue that belongs to the ideologies of the left. As a black woman, this makes me feel safe. As an avid music fan and someone who is hyper-fixated on the history of anything and everything, I’m intrigued.
Uncovering Punk’s Anti-Establishment Roots
For the next few days after the concert, I did a deep dive into punk music and its anti-establishment roots. In the mid-70s, the punk subculture emerged in the United Kingdom and New York.
The punk movement began among teens and young adults looking for a more combative approach to rebelling against societal norms compared to the tamer peace and love movements of the 60s and early 70s. Punk music is and has always been grounded in counterculture — from fighting for working-class inequality to fashion to non-conformity in the realm of self-expression.
I discovered that you can’t separate punk music from politics, even in the slightest.
@mycelium_queen Replying to @mycelium_queen ♬ original sound - Mycelium Queen 🦋
Death Versus Bad Brain
As soon as I was old enough to go to shows alone, I submerged myself in the DIY scene. I had no idea what I was doing, I scoured the internet to find “small concerts,” as I called them, in Boston, where I went to high school.
I identified with punk for myself. But when I made the connection between punk and politics, I opened myself up to a whole new world of music.
Lyrics like: “Politicians in my eyes / They could care less about you / they could care less about me as long as they are to end the place they want to be,” from the band Death — considered to be the pioneers of punk music as a genre — spoke to me.
I was even more pleased that the actual founders of the genre — originally a jazz fusion turned hardcore punk band called Bad Brain — were Black Musicians.
I once declared that I’m only an amalgamation of those who came before me, so hearing this quite literally brought tears to my eyes (I’m so far from joking, it’s almost funny again). At my favorite DIY punk, emo, and rock concerts I belong just as much as anyone else.
I’ve always loved that punk music and its subculture take a stand for its listeners.
Feminist Punk: The Riot Grrrl Movement
Shortly after fully immersing myself in the scene, I was introduced to Bikini Kill and the Riot Grrrl movement. Emerging in the early 90’s, the Riot Grrl movement came about out of necessity for a space for women in the punk scene. Riot Grrrl directly combats sexism and works to normalize female anger and sexuality.
In 2023, I began filming a documentary about Boone, North Carolina — a small town rich in music, culture, and activism, especially for the LGBTQ+ community. My production team and I soon noticed that the conversations solely about the music scene quickly became political, especially for Babe Haven, a Riot Grrrl band hailing from Boone.
I now have the pleasure of calling the band members my friends. They’re an integral part of the history of punk and the Riot Grrrl movement, from their songs about objectification of women, like “Uppercut” and “Daddy’s Little Girl” to firsthand accounts of the band from those who believe that punk music has always been all about men — particularly white men.
“Riot grrrl is the way we dress, the way we talk, and the way we stand up for ourselves and other feminine folk. It’s aggressively inclusive, and that’s why we’re so drawn to it. We have on one hand, this outlet for our collective anger and grief, and on the other, we have this platform for queer and feminine celebration.” – Babe Haven
Jonathan Courchesne
Through the Looking Glass
Now, my eyes are peeled for signs and signals of the punk scene and its connection to politics. From the moment of silence for Gaza at a November concert to the New Jersey-based punk band Funeral Doors’ moment of silence for Gaza, and Brooklyn-based band Talon in February.
I remember standing in the crowds at that concert in February as the business casual people entered the bar, expecting a relaxing after-work drink with some light chatter in the background. I watched their faces as they slowly backed out of the door. While they heard howling, the fans listented to Juni, the lead singer of Funeral Doors, screaming, “F*ck trans genocide!”
Everyone was immersed in the safe space the band had provided us. Somewhere in the crowd, there was someone — or 3 or 4 individuals — struggling to truly be who they are. And — if only for a brief moment — they felt like they belonged.
Lead singer of Funeral DoorsERYNN WAKEFIELD
Inevitable Misunderstanding
Although there are essential conversations happening within the punk and DIY communities about what it means to be a part of the subculture, we still have work to do. Recently, I had an extremely jarring experience as I was peacefully scrolling through TikTok.
I came across a string of videos about right-wing punks trying to claim the subculture for themselves. Soon after my feed was flooded with stitches and clapbacks from left-wing people explaining the subculture of punk music and the inability to remove it from left-leaning political discourse.
@c4b1n_1n_th3_wxxds_ Sorry i look kinda bad 💀 ive bad a rough few weeks . . . . . . #punk #punkstyle #punkclothing #punkrock #punkfashion #crustpunk #folkpunk #queer #gay #lgbtq #pride #leftist #leftistpolitics #anarchism #Anarchy #Socialism #anarchocommunism ♬ original sound - C4b1n 🔻
Punk's Proclamation: A Movement Rooted in People’s Power
I’ve said it time and time again: artists must reflect the times. It’s both comforting and empowering that this genre I love so much does not deny me. And it wouldn’t be what it is without me. As silly as it sounds, I often return to a meme, one that declares that people — if they choose to create — need to carry the burden of the world they’re living in. This has only proven to be true.
Punk music and the subculture behind it aren’t merely screaming and studded belts from your local Hot Topic (if they’re a thing anymore). The punk scene highlights the struggles of the working class, sheds light on political issues relating to marginalized groups, fosters community, and fights for what’s right.
Punk music has always held a space for me; all I had to do was claim it.
@wormtriip via Instagram
Strict Immigration Policies are Destroying Maryland's Crabbing Industry
Maryland crab picking factories are wanting for workers, but America's current immigration policy is keeping seasonal workers out of the country.
One unforeseen consequence of our current immigration policy is the way in which it hurts American business, the very thing these policies claim to protect. On the one hand, illegal immigrants allow business owners to hire workers at a fraction of the market rate due to these workers' precarious position. This is the sort of thing that ought to be eliminated in the interest of providing fair pay to the entire American workforce.
On the other, immigrants provide the necessary manpower for businesses that require a high volume of low-skill workers, like restaurants. The current administration's anti-immigration policies don't just target potential illegal immigrants for deportation but have made it harder for laborers to get visas for seasonal work. As of right now, foreign workers are awarded work visas via a lottery system rather than a first-come, first-served based. Trump himself has derided this practice as unsafe and open to infiltration by criminals and terrorists, drawing ire for his wishes to abolish the program. This could be a devastating blow to many severely understaffed industries across the country, as the lottery itself leaves many business wanting for workers.
For example, the Maryland crab industry has reportedly lost 40% of their workforce for this year's crab season and nearly half of the Eastern Shore's crab houses don't have enough workers. This is bad news for crab lovers, as about 50% of the United States' blue crab harvest comes from Maryland. U.S. unemployment has steadily fallen since 2008, and as it has, the demand for seasonal workers in fields that require intense manual labor has shot up.There were reportedly 81,000 applications for work visas this January with only 33,000 visas available, presenting a huge problem, not just for the federal government but for the businesses that need these foreign workers to operate. On top of this, Mexican workers who depend on these jobs–some of whom who have been coming to Maryland for 20 years–are suddenly unable to feed their families.
Even fervent supporters of Trump's stance on immigration would be forced to admit that from a utilitarian perspective, this is a disaster, not just for the crabbing industry, but for the state of Maryland. Crab prices are set to skyrocket due to the limited availability of Maryland's crabs, and companies are losing millions of dollars, all because they can't adequately staff their warehouses. In order to help alleviate the problem, Maryland Representative Andy Harris successfully campaigned for an additional 15,000 visa approvals, but it may be too little too late. By the time the workers arrive and are situated, the crabbing industry will have already taken a huge hit, as we're already more than two months into crab season. This visa approval also doesn't guarantee that the crab houses' prospects will improve next year. The current lottery system makes it incredibly difficult for Maryland crabbers to know how well they're going to be staffed in a given season.
According to Harris, efforts to raise the visa cap have been stalled by labor unions claiming that that foreign workers are being used as a means to drive down domestic wages. This however, feels more like an attempt to shift blame, as the AFL-CIO is pretty firmly pro-immigration. In fact, most major unions strive to organize immigrants, undocumented or not. There may be local groups or factions attacking immigration, but the idea that these fringe groups are powerful enough to stop the passing of meaningful legislation is far fetched.
Regardless of what Andy Harris can get done in Washington, crab picking houses can't continue to operate at a loss if the Maryland crabbing industry is to survive. This much is clear. The stringent immigration restrictions obviously don't help Mexican workers trying to find seasonal jobs. And for all the lip service politicians have given to helping American businesses, these same laws have crippled one of Maryland's biggest industries. As a result, we're left with one question: who is the current immigration policy designed to help?
Matt Clibanoff is a writer and editor based in New York City who covers music, politics, sports and pop culture. His editorial work can be found in Inked Magazine, Pop Dust, The Liberty Project, and All Things Go. His fiction has been published in Forth Magazine. -- Find Matt at his website and on Twitter: @mattclibanoff