Jet Set Radio & Being Truly Punk

What does it mean to be truly punk? Is it the clothes you wear? Is it how you carry yourself? Is it how you view the world? Well, it may be that last one just a bit. Being punk means being anti-establishment and anti-capitalist. In Jet Set Radio, you get to play as one such gang of punks. The street punks nicknamed "Rudies" are the graffiti-tagging heroes of tomorrow, evading cops and rival gangs and fighting the true enemy, the corporation trying to take over the world. Sound familiar? We live in a country right now that is an oligarchy, meaning only the top 1% of people hold any power. This is a result of the capitalist system that we live in; it keeps the rich wealthy and the poor impoverished, as well as powerless. True punks fight against this cruel system, just like the Rudies in Jet Set Radio.

In Jet Set Radio, we play as the GGs, a gang dedicated to protecting their home turf and occasionally helping those who ask for it. The main thing that makes the GGs the gang to be a part of in game is the fact that they choose to fight against that oppressive corporation, the Rokkaku Group. Now this isn't your typical big bad evil guy trying to take over the world situation; it's also the world we live in right now! Think about what Elon Musk is doing in America, and not just America; he's trying to use his influence to effect quite a few other countries as well. No one man should have so much power. Being punk means fighting against systems like this that allow things like this to happen.

Punk isn't just fashion or how you carry yourself; it's about your state of mind. Do you think the GGs fought the Rokkaku Group just because they thought it'd be fun? No, they did it because they knew they had to or their very way of life would be taken away. We punks of today need to understand that we do what we do as punks for the betterment of the people's way of life. As a self-proclaimed punk myself, I can tell you it's all about how you view the things happening around you and how you react to those things and what you do in action about them. You must be leftist to be punk. No if ands or buts about it. You must have a fundamental understanding that this system we live under is corrupt and needs to be abolished; if you can't get that, then you can't be punk.

If you truly find yourself thinking, "Man! Being punk sounds cool!" then do me a solid and look into being more active on your own turf. Get active in your community! Participate in local protests, volunteer locally, and learn about what's actively happening in your community. Just like the GGs who vigilantly look after their turf, look after your own! We have the power to make real change; we are many, and the rich and wealthy are few. Keep this in mind and know that real change is possible, with great effort and organization, of course.

Get organized! Help your community! Fight against all forms of oppression! Stick it to the man! This is what it means to be punk!

Yours truly,

Icarus