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
Firearms enthusiasts are leaving Youtube in search of greener pastures
Following Youtube's recent restrictions, many content creators are moving away from the platform.
A little over a month ago, Youtube changed its policies regarding videos that include firearms.
While Youtubers can still give shooting demonstrations or display their weapons, users are no longer permitted to post videos intended to sell firearms to prospective buyers. Youtube has also put a ban on all videos "providing instructions on manufacturing a firearm, ammunition, high capacity magazine, homemade silencers/suppressors, or certain firearms accessories as those listed above." On the one hand, this move prevents illegal gun sales from taking place on Youtube's site, certainly making their lawyers happy. On the other, it's the absolute least they could do in the wake of the Parkland School Shooting.
If one were to assume that Youtube's core demographic is comprised of sane, relatively rational folks, then the logic follows that this move should have been a slam dunk, both from a legal and public relations perspective. Still, some of the more ardent gun enthusiasts are taking their content elsewhere in order to protest Youtube's decision. As if a group of people being upset that Youtube–a site famous for cat videos and Charlie Bit My Finger–won't broker their firearms deals isn't surreal enough, the first place they turned following the ban was Pornhub.
Yes, that Pornhub.
Unlike Youtube, Pornhub's restrictions for what goes up on its site are, um, pretty lax, and firearm aficionados are flocking. While Youtube certainly has more daily active users, Pornhub is still one of the most popular sites in the world, and would probably be a good alternative save for one simple fact; as its name implies, Pornhub specializes in a very specific type of video. For example, if you type the word 'gun' into the Pornhub search engine, the first video that comes up is of two men in tactical gear titled 'Glock 19 vs Hudson H9,' the second video is called 'Crazy girl ***** her ***** with a gun.' . The sociological implications of so literally blending sex and violence aside, the second video, as well as the rest of the page, certainly makes it difficult for content creators to gain mainstream appeal using the adult entertainment site.
Firearms information courtesy of Pornhub
Possibly with Pornhub's limitations in mind, the founders of Full30.com recently created an all new platform for firearms enthusiasts to share the content that they love. The site is broken up into three sections: video, blog, and forum. The video section contains the same types of videos that Youtube recently banned, namely men, mostly middle-aged and white, loudly explaining how their weapons work. Most of the videos are posted by accounts with names like God, Family, and Guns or Big Shooterist, and unlike Youtube–where videos can get millions of views in a matter of hours–posts on Full30 only tend to get around 500-1000 views a piece. The videos range from weapons tutorials and roundups, to Internet philosophers waxing poetic on their interpretations of the second amendment. While the comments sections are lacking in volume, they aren't lacking in enthusiasm or vitriol.
You'd be hard pressed to find a video on Full30 in which the comment section doesn't feature some iteration of "dumbass liberals are scared of guns."
Exuding a similar spirit, the Full30 blog is a section of the site dedicated to the discussion of gun policies that looks like it could have its own tab on Breitbart. On top of this, every article seems to be written by someone named Matt, and it's pretty safe to assume he's the only person churning out content for this portion of the site. Aside from various articles offering a conservative stance on gun control, the section also features thinly-veiled native advertisements for AR-15s and other assault rifles. Regardless of one's stance on gun control, seeing an ad for an AR-15 next to an article about the Parkland School Shooting can feel a little jarring.
Still, the most active part of Full30 is its forum, a sprawling list of comments where pictures of assault rifles captioned "A socialist judge killed more children than my AR15s" without any context compete with posts about the death of democracy.
Outliers aside, the forum reads a bit like a carefully curated Facebook wall. Specific questions about guns are answered swiftly and carefully, while social issues discussed there are usually approached with an attempt at nuance in lieu of expertise. It's worth noting however, that the threads on Full30's forum do fall into a similar trap that Facebook and Twitter feeds do; namely, they're echo chambers, resonating a relatively universal worldview and not putting much of a premium on diversity of thought.
Screenshot of Full30's Forum
Many of the posts in the forum also call for the creation of safe spaces for conservatives and gun lovers, and Full30 might be giving us a glimpse into what a conservative safe space might actually look like. While questioning American democracy may not seem like a proportionate response to Youtube telling a few content creators to stop selling weapons on their (Youtube's) platform, it's important to remember how insular and partisan online communities can be.
When a tight-knit group, online or otherwise, perceives a threat to their way of life, they tend to retreat inward.
As the world changes and gun policy gets (somewhat) stricter, it's a virtual guarantee that more sites like this will start popping up. Full30 is still pretty small, but inasmuch as a community's hobbies and entertainment are indicative of its worldview, the site is an interesting glimpse into the collective psyche of the American gun lobby's most diehard supporters.