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Negative Behavior Youth Movements in the United States and their Effect on Domestic Terrorism
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Nice job smearing the reputation of a group that opposes the dirty, dirty lifestyle you celebrate by habit. Straight Edge is not a violent leftist movement associated with anger, fear, hatred, racism, or anything of the sort. Straight Edge is keeping your body and mind clean and clear to prevent these things from happening. Elements of the left and right come into the political impact of Straight Edge, which goes so far beyond your provincial, vitriolic lying in this article. I am sorry.
The real terrorism is the fact that your hate gets published, and that people will read this and believe it. I am afraid for a generation OLDER than me, and I am the supposed youth at risk. I am afraid of what YOU will do.
wow, straightedge is bad? haha some people are just so ignorant
“This subgroup of Straight Edger’s shaved their heads and was known by the street name, “Skinhead” (Nelson, 2005). These rogue Straight Edger’s became a type of ad hoc army for the traditional racist groups providing muscle to carry out the violent intent of the adult leadership (Nelson, 2005).”
Thanks for that… I needed a good laugh today.
So because I choose to live my life differently I am now a domestic terrorist? This is b.s. You can be Straight Edge and not be in a Crew, you can be in a crew and not be Straight Edge. Does this make sense to you at all? Any of you? It is a philosophy on living a clean life. That is it! Nothing more. I will not stand for this. Nothing but positive things have happened for me since I started living this way. I am a member of society and this countries broke system. I have a wife and a son, I go to work full time and School part time. I go to shows with my wife and wear Edge gear, so now because a few people that are violent have gone and ruined something that is suppose to be positive.
This is one of the worst articles on Straight Edge I have ever read. The real tragedy is that people who don’t know any better will read this and take it as the gospel truth.
What everyone who tries to write on the subject fails to actually comprehend is that the movement is down to the individual person themselves. There is no leader, there is no group meetings, there is no day that all the “straight edgers” meet, so please stop trying to paint it as a club or cult, because anyone who is edge knows this and it’s about time people stopped trying to make a peaceful and personal belief into a violent and anti-social thing that is going to damage society.
There are militants with in ANY and every field of beliefs and all of these people have lost all comprehension of their original beliefs entail. I have been straight edge for over 13 years and I have never ever preached to anyone about the Straight Edge liefstyle as I know full well it isn’t for everyone, in fact I’ve had more hate from people that drink than heard about violent Straight Edgers.
Please, read up on Straight Edge with Google searches at least, and take any of this article with a pinch of salt, because that is all it is worth.
Below is a pretty well rounded breakdown, please take the time to read it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_edge
wow. you (or your cited works) got a lot wrong. like, a lot. if you had done even the most rudimentary or internet searches, you would have gotten so facts that clearly contradict the statements you have written; that clearly push an aganda. This cannot even be called propaganda, because it mostly contains erroneous informatioc.
Minor Threat did write a song callled “Out of Step” you got that right. But, not much more.
Please take the effort to read on skinheads and straight edge. you will find the truth out there.
a concerned, beer swilling hardcore skinhead (at the age of 33); with much respect for my sxe brothers.
I know the mainstream will never really understand straight edge, but to associate it with terrorism is completely ridiculous.
This article is completely ridiculous. Neo-Nazis have absolutely nothing to do with straight edge or hardcore.
I hate to see something that means so much to me slandered in this manner.
worst article ever….. thanks for wasting everyone’s time. you are a pathetic excuse for a “journalist”.
talk about irresponsible “journalism”. only in America could a youth movement based on the rejection of drugs/alcohol could be turned into something bad. for the record, I’m 40 yrs old, straight edge and I’m proud to say that punk/hardcore and straight edge saved my life.
Nice article my man…sorry i stop reading after noticing straight edge and terrorist were in the same sentence. You call yourself a journalist. Just do some research cause you’re clearly mssing a part here.
Wow. I remember back in the 1980s when all the Straight Edge kids were into White Power. Those were the days. All the popular bands had songs with lyrics about how wonderful racism was. Of course, I wasn’t white, but I just thought the whole White Power thing was so cool (because I came from a broken homes) that I went along with it. No one seemed to mind. We had a lot of fun listening to music, and shaving our heads while planning attacks on cops.
But then in the 1990’s PETA showed us the light and taught us that speciesism is way cooler than racism. This worked out great for me socially, because people were starting to get suspiscious that I wasn’t White, but it was easy to be vegetarian, and throwing red paint on people wearing fur was kind of fun.
If they ever arrest me for all the terrorism I’ve been committing, I wonder if they’ll let me join a White Power gang in prison? Fingers crossed.
Thanks for the entertaining article. Please keep up the good work. Maybe your next report could be about how you got your head so far up your ass?
I have been straight edge for over 15 years, and I never ever got myself involved in any kind of violence. This article is so uninformed and written with bad intent. Who is this Nelson person quoted so often? He has no clue, there are other authors who did they research much better. Reading this article is pure waste of time. Probably sponsored by tobacco and alcohol industries.
A far larger number of the original “Straight Edge” kids went on to be pillars of their communities. Some of us, far from becoming criminals have made our mark in law enforcement careers. Many of my peers served proudly in the armed forces. There are also doctors, lawyers, professional athletes and educators who have emerged intact from this youth subculture which encouraged the best virtues and being an asset to the community.
WHO RATTED US OUT?!
Wow. This article has less accurate information than a years worth of Onion articles.
SXE “members.” As if every kid who drew an X on their hand suddenly was subscribed to a newsletter. What a joke.
Unfortunately, Straight Edge is only a small part of the militants aforementioned. Straight Edge is a positive thing in many many people’s lives, and for us to take the fall for some jackasses isn’t fair to anyone. You can compare it to any religion. There are religious terrorists in every group, and AS A GROUP, we also have them. Like some of the other comments, just really read into Straight Edge, before you bash it, and give a bad name for everyone.
Despite your desperate attempts to make this ill-researched bunch of hogwash sound academic, it’s obvious to anyone with a cursory understanding of youth subcultures in America that you have no idea what you’re talking about. You should really read Ross Haenfler before you begin to attempt judgments on punk, hardcore, or Straight Edge.
This is laughable, yet sad. Most authors pride themselves in their research, but this obviously wasn’t the case here. It seems Mr. Dale Yeager should find a new line of writing, either in the ‘fictional’ realm or possibly a job with The National Enquirer.
Get your facts straight and look into another line of work, since this definitely isn’t your strong suit.
Professionally:
This article and author fail to clearly define that it is examining a small radicalized potion of a movement. Radicalization can occur in any movement; be that movement animal rights, gun rights, religion, left, right, etc. The author could have stated the population he was examining up front and in a clear fashion. As an analyst with over 15 years of experience examining terrorism this article strike me as poorly written. The author’s writing style appears to be an attempt at subterfuge and concealing that he is describing a very very small minority of radicalized persons that also call themselves straight edge. The style of writing would be akin to me writing a paper on Iranian supported Shi’a militants in Iraq in the 2005-2007 time frame, but doing so in a manner that gives the reader the impression that Shi’as can only be militants. In domestic construct, it would be like authoring a piece declaring that all young males from Central America in Urban areas are MS-13 members. Simply put, the author cherry-picked references to meet a preconceived, and flawed, premise.
A domestic terrorism panel consisting of the major federal law enforcement agencies examined straight edge pre-9/11. This panel dismissed the idea that straight edge as a movement presented any threat at to domestic security. Further, the panel clearly recognized that it was criminals who happen to call themselves straight edge, NOT straight edge as a movement, that were of concern; and, the radicalized/criminals persons calling themselves straight edge were in isolated pockets such as Utah and Wisconsin. One member of the panel, a senior ranking federal law enforcement official with over 33 years of experience chastised the group and prevented straight edge from being deemed a domestic terrorism organization–this panel member’s son, whom is straight edge, was working for the same agency when the panel examined the subject.
Personally:
I am straight edge; I am married to a “brown” woman. I have struggled to fight against racism since becoming in a the straight edge movement some 18-years ago, and I have never committed a criminal act–well, except for speeding. Straight edge does not present a threat to domestic security; hundreds of straight edge persons work on the front lines of security–domestic and in combat zones.
Why are you deleting comments and critism on your article?
Do more research sir. And if free thinking and morals are what constitute domestic terrorism, then by all means, that’s what I am. My wife and i are Straight Edgers and we are not violent hatemongers. You are spreading this propaganda, in a forum of which you also speak on business management. If you want I would be more than willing to discuss Straight Edge from its roots to the countless sub-genres in which it carries the values strong. It’s articles like this that are ill-informed and that spark a backlash that could be avoided.
Straight Edge has nothing to do with violence. Straight Edge is choosing to live a clean drug free life style. Skinheads have nothing to do with straight edge. If you also did your homework you’d know that not all skinheads are racist and affiliated with racist groups. Your article is domestic terrorism. It’s people like you who make this world a worse place than it already is with your hate speech. I will not be painted as violent because you are a bigot. Look at the amount of drug related crime then look at us thinking with clear minds, without haze. It’s obvious that you are either an idiot or uninformed, either way your facts are not facts at all but propaganda. I’m proud to be Straight Edge and live clean. I hope you can look yourself in the mirror knowing the hate you spread with this article. Don’t associate us with Juggalos either. They are a crowd of excess and violence. They are who you should be focusing your attention on. I will not be cast down for choosing to live my life drug free or be associated with violence in any form. That is not what Straight Edge is. Take your hate somewhere else.
If you’re going to write about the straight edge movement, shouldn’t you interview some straight edge people and not just cops and so-called prison experts. Why wouldn’t you seek out a “straight edge expert” for your research? Anderson Cooper interviewed straight edge kids in Syracuse back in the 90’s. Yeager could’ve at least watched that segment (on youtube) and borrowed from it. This story is as irresponsible as the journalism or lack there of that got us into the Iraq war.
why my comments are removed? can’t accept critisism?
So…your first mention of skinheads comes in the late 80’s and attached to the straight edge scene and WP groups. You showed your ignorance right there.
Not in thier defense but I also like how you smear Juggalos and Goths as negative yet offer now reasoning behind it.
You make me sick.
all you need to know about how little this clown knows and understands about the world is that he cites the orwellian named “center for consumer freedom” as a source.
no wonder 90% of everything in this “piece” is hilariously wrong.
This article is objectively incorrect on many points—simply provably and undeniably untrue. I’m not sure where you got this information, but it seems like you got it from other “experts” and I doubt any of it is firsthand information from people actually IN the subgroups you’ve discussed.
The most glaring example is your clim that “skinheads” came out of the straight edge subculture in the 80’s in the US. The skinhead subculture started in England in the late 60’s and was not racist in nature. There were several waves of skinheads, and the National Front and British National Party started to influence portions of the skinheads—nationalism and racism started to spread through the ranks. Skinhead culture had made it’s way to the US earlier, and this shift in politics in the UK also spread to many of the skinheads in the US. This all happened before Straight Edge even existed.
Straight Edge began in the US more than a decade after skinhead culture arose in the UK, and is completely separate and distinct from skinhead culture. Yes, many punks, hardcore kids and straight edgers shaved their heads, but shaving your head does not make you a part of the skinhead subculture (any more than military recruits are “skinheads”).
Straight Edge is about not drinking, not smoking, not doing drugs and not engaging in promiscuous sex. Period, end of story. There are definitely straight edge kids who also become in other things like vegetarianism, or gangs, or the peace corps or politics or whatever, but none of those things have anything to do with Straight Edge whatsoever.
Also, the violence associated with Straight Edge—a worldwide subculture—and it’s initial designation as a criminal “gang” stems almost 100% from Salt Lake City, UT in the 90’s. The Straight Edge kids there would fight non-edgers, and they would also fight each other almost every week—there were two major “crews” there that were at odds. Almost every article and news story about Straight Edge violence involves SLC. That seems to say a lot about Salt Lake City, and very little about Straight Edge.
One thing I do not doubt is that Straight Edgers who go to prison gravitate towards White Power gangs. This has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the Straight Edge philosophy at all, and nothing to do with a tendency to racism. What this is due to is the fact that prison culture is strongly divided among racial lines: the blacks join the black gangs, the Mexicans join the Mexican gangs and most white convicts become involved with the White Power prison gangs—most Straight Edgers are white. Once again, has nothing at all to do with Straight Edge.
The overwhelming majority of violent criminals are not Straight Edge. The overwhelming majority of white supremacists and Nazi skinheads are not Straight Edge. The overwhelming majority of environmental or animal rights direct action advocates are not Straight Edge.
Lol
HAGANSE CARGO DE LAS CRITICAS… SIN CENSURA!
Really?? REALLY?!? I notice you failed to interview even ONE straightedge person. I’m not even straight edge and i find this offensive and stupid. My four year old nephew could write a better news article. You have no idea what your talking about. Try and do a little research before you open your mouth. Ignorant prick.
What an incredible and creative sort of information you present in your article! Do you ever pat yourself on the back and wonder why you are stuck writing internet pieces? Your talent speaks volumes! Who needs research or logical argument when you have imagination, right? LOL!
I neglected to commend you on exposing the influence John Dewey had on punk rock nihilism, and how essential American public schools were to the music scene.
On a whole, I would say that Stephen Glass put more work into investigating his subject matter than you have and in the end Stephen Glass put out more trustworthy articles than you have.
further proof the world will never understand.
and on the topic of animal rights…if this country is going to get away with treating animals the way they do without any penalty or guidelines, then i, and most with half a brain, fully support the actions of animal liberation groups protecting the voiceless and innocent. someone has to do it, right?
http://www.facebook.com/dale.yeager
maybe he’ll answer questions directly posted to his facebook.
This article ist just a piece of crap! What the hell are you talking about straight edge? Straight Edge means a drug free life. For some people (like me) an alternative way of thinking, but NEVER NEVER violence. Don’t spread you ignorance via the internet!
This is the most rediculous excuse for a journalist, even a man. Straight Edge: Clean. Not choosing to live the lifestyle of an unworthy drug user, dealer, or prostitute – Anything to DO with that filth.
Mr. Yeager, Open up your eyes and take a gander at the United States of America.
If you cannot grasp the real issue, all you can do is continue to sit there in your detatched enviroment and write such scum about Edge. Placing blame to those of a clean life and shitting on your own IQ, (which must be quite low) disgusts me.
You sir, are a pompous failiure.
If you associate Straight Edge with violence again, I will kill you.
Seriously, though, the idea that violence is inherent in Straight Edge is absurd. It depends entirely on the individual.
“Spineless and mindless, you flex your muscles and not your f***ing head.
A deep man with a strong point made without one thoughtful word said?
“Huff and puff”, the fierce fists will do the talking
cant speak for yourself so your “crew”‘s with you walking.
Tell me whats worth fighting for, and it better be something greater than an evening of the score.”
It’s all about how you conduct yourself.
This is so ignorant it blows my mind
Seriously embarassing
H2O vocalist Toby Morse and Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson have been terrorizing this country with their positive message of living a clean positive life for too long. It’s time that we deliver an ultimatum to these terrorist thugs: that they need to become like Eminem or Barry Bonds and stop destroying America through their encouragement of kids to stop snorting cocaine, or else Homeland Security will stop fighting Al Qaeda just in order to deal with you.
Seriously this is one of the worst articles i have ever read. I sincerely hope this person is fired and never allowed in media again. Your arguments have zero validity and you have no idea what you are writing about. This is the first time I have ever been on this news site but you, and the editor who approved this article, have destroyed its credibility and deserve failure. This outraged me not only as a positive liver of the straight edge lifestyle, but also as a journalist. This article is trash and it is my hope that not a single person believes what you are saying.
“A small group of male followers were targeted by a new coalition of white supremacy groups. During the mid 1980’s, white supremacy groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, American Nazi Party and Aryan Nations had joined forces i…n a coalition based at the time in the western United States (Political Research Associates, 2008). Because of increasing pressure from federal law enforcement, these groups sought out young males to join their cause of white supremacy. This subgroup of Straight Edger’s shaved their heads and was known by the street name, “Skinhead” (Nelson, 2005).”
Nelson obviously knows very little about straight edge kids OR skinheads.
“These rogue Straight Edger’s became a type of ad hoc army for the traditional racist groups providing muscle to carry out the violent intent of the adult leadership (Nelson, 2005).”
Again, pure drivel. And learn to cite your sources right. Did you go to college? Are you familiar with the term “Ibid”?
“Today, the remnants of this rogue subgroup remain in the Straight Edge movement. An interview with Ogden Police Detective Jeremy Nelson in 2007 revealed a fact confirmed by various prison gang experts throughout the United States. While Straight Edge members lean decided left politically, when they are incarcerated for a crime, they overwhelmingly join White Supremacy gangs while in prison.”
Do you cite ANYONE else but Jeremy Nelson? Also, what are you citing for this insinuation that incarcerated straight edge people join white power organizations in prison? This whole writeup is baseless, foolish, poorly cited, and ridiculous. I would advise searching for data outside of the burgening metropolis that is Ogden, UT before jumping to any more conclusions.
PS If the data was actually analyzed in an academically acceptable fashion and turned out to prove this connection, it wouldn’t be surprising-the majority of these kids are caucasian males, and when you get locked up, you stick with your own kind or bad things happen to you. You can call that what you like, but it’s a pretty solid fact as far as the epic failure we call our criminal justice system is concerned.
Are you seriously stupid?
Most ridiculous thing I have ever read.
STRAIGHTEDGE KILLED JOHNBENET RAMSEY
Straight Edge is a philosophy, not a movement. It is an idea centered around personal development while encouraging togetherness. It is anything but dogmatic, no one dictates or preaches Straight Edge.
The people who choose to life their lives this way spread across all cultural identities; They are black, white, lower to upper class. They are men, women, children. They are your family members,coworkers, police officers, your college educators and are not always associated with the “hardcore-punk” “scene”. They have written beautiful works of poetry, fought for the rights of children and saved lives of thousands of drug and alcohol addicts.
Yes, there are some who have committed crimes in the name of this sacred idea, but I think that could be said of any religion, political agenda, or civil rights movement. Malcolm X for example promoted violence as a vehicle towards the noble goal of civil liberties for blacks during the 1960s (and i think it is ironic that Dale Yager has quoted him on his personal facebook page.)
These few blemishes do not make up the whole face of the community that has united thousands when religion, government, or family were not there.
Dale Yager is a man who possesses a very powerful tool; privilege. He is male, upper-class, middle-aged, Christian, and white. This privilege has given him the potential to make a positive change in his community with ease of access of access to the things needed for that change. But, unfortunately he has given in to the hither of corporate greed.
i will end with a piece of poetry:
ARMED, armed with a mind
i’m gonna strengthen my action with thought
make use of the gift i got
and walk fearless because i’m armed-with-a-mind
a weak offense when you step to this
mind over matter is power over fists
i walk fearless because i’m armed with-a-mind
-Have Heart “Armed With A Mind”
What is your greatest tip for someone looking to become a Forensic Psychologist
[WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ‘514228992 which is not a hashcash value.