The Punk Movement

“Many of us like to ask ourselves, "What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?"

The answer is, you're doing it. Right now.” Aaron Bushnell a US veteran who self immolated a year ago, as a form of protest against the US’ involvement in the genocide of millions of palestinian people. 

“Deny defend depose” Luigi Mangione, a wealthy italian-american man who shot the American UnitedHealthcare CEO in the pursuit of justice in broad daylight in new york city, who sparked the idea of “class consciousness”, the awareness of one's place in a system of social classes. Who taught us that it truly is us against the 1 percent. 

If there's anything that these people have taught us is that protest and the pursuit of justice can come in many forms, there is one form of protest which I feel is often overlooked when talking about forms of protest. 

Music being used as a tool for revolution, when genres form subcultures which symbiotically morph into countercultures. When genres and the bands and artists that pioneer these cultures further mobilize movements. 

The punk movement was a social and cultural movement which originated in the 1970s, branching out of the hippie movement a decade prior. Taking the message of the hippie movement from an idea of peace and love and morphing it into an anger at the old tradition from the generation prior. The punk scene was marked as a rebellion against the status quo, and a movement of self expression. Through it birthed a genre of aggressive rock music which coalesced into an entire culture that has transcended over 50 years. 

The punk scene of the 1970s was pioneered by bands like the sex pistols, the clash and the ramones. all centered around anti-authortarian, non-conformity and a Do-it-Yourself ethic spurred on by their anti-cooperation ideologies and a rejection of capitalism. Leather jackets with hand sewn on patches that tell stories, the infamous “crust pants” which were heavily ripped distressed jeans that were adorned with patches, safety pins, paint and stains. The punk movement prided itself on its anti-government, direct action and promotion of individual freedom. This subculture is also a counterculture, which has morphed and branched out into a family tree more convoluted than the royal family’s created various more modern forms of punk, goth and even emos, which all also further branch out into various subcultures that all use their music as tools of revolution. 

American Idiot by Green Day isn't just a catchy tune, it deals with themes of fear and xenophobia. The band accuses the mass media of using propaganda to stir up paranoia in a post-9/11 world. In concert the line “I'm not apart of a redneck agenda” becomes “I'm not apart of a MAGA agenda” and more recently in south africa at the annual calabash festival the lyrics became “i'm not apart of an elon agenda” 

The punk movement was able to flourish because it was a movement predominantly pioneered by white people. An instance where a large group white people used their privilege to mobilize a movement and stand with marginalized communities and political issues that concern the greater good. especially considering the time the punk movement came up. 1970, 5 years after the jim crow era, 40 years before the legalisation of gay marriage in the US and UK (which was where the movements arose) 10 years after the anti-establishment movement, and 10 years before climate change and conservation became a political issue. They were pretty ahead of their time. 

I have the punks to thank for the creation of my favourite bands, my beloved knee high converse shoes, and converse, special thank you to the ramones for that one. Leather skirts, the way I wear my natural hair and the way I wear my eyeliner. Although I am not punk by any means, anyone can be punk. If you listen to the music, and coalesce with the politics you are punk.  

The punk movement was largely political, making it a special case of protest music because it became a whole culture, speaking to a generation of young people who were tired of conformity, tired of being basic, tired of the status quo, and a generation of young people who craved rebellion.