That's something I've been piercing together and it only started to click recently. Since I can remember, my dad had a big influence in my musical taste, I always saw him more as a rock/punk rock fan because that's how he presented himself and used it as an umbrella term to encompass everything he listened to, but there was so much more I didn't give attention, namely his lifestyle and politics so here is a little investigation about it all.
He have always been very secretive about his teenage years, if you ask him something about it he will just dismiss, avoid it or change the subject. I swear he does that on purpose, if he realizes you want to know anything he will just play around with you until you give up. The only way I found I can get information out of him is when he mentions it on its own, I need to make sure there are no interruptions and no questions, I will just listen. That's exacly what makes it so hard to know stuff about him.
For context, my dad was born in 1970 in the middle of the Brazilian military dictatorship which lasted from 1964 to 1985. It was a period of extreme censorship, human rights abuses and political persecution, it certainly left a mark on him whether he will admit it or not. Being punk in this context was significantly harder, it was just not about being censored politically but also by society as a whole. The coup d'état had the support from the upper classes from Brazil, which were very conservative and religious, it also received international support from the United States, so the preservation of moral/traditional values also served as justification for the political repression.
Getting new music was a difficult task, while the main targets of suppression were Brazilian records, anything that was considered subversive or against the values preached by the government was submitted to censorship. My dad was very active in the scene and also a very big fan of Sex Pistols and Dead Kennedys but getting a record? Almost impossible, they weren't sold anywhere or even played in the radio, the only realistic way you could get one was through pirate cassette tapes. He even had a nickname related to Dead Kennedys that his friends would call him, I always asked him why they called him like that and he would answer he didn't know, I had to it dozen of times for years before he finally told me.
When he used to tell me stories that involved his parents, the school, the cops, or the society around him as a whole, I used to think he was just exaggerating but now looking back it all makes sense. It wasn't just because he was a teenager with a bad behavior but something more serious, beatings were common, sleeping in the police station, being homeless, you got it. I can't help but wonder how something worse didn't happen or how they didn't disappear with him lol.
My dad always had this anti-consumerist and diy lifestyle, always avoiding hoarding stuff and giving away what he didn't need. It's one of the things about him I admire the most, he got a golden heart. Also important to punk as a whole is politics, but he never talks about it in depth with me, he is also not the type to label himself but he is very clear where he stands and I agree a lot with his views. I will spare the details but hearing him talk is very refreshing, he still got the spirit we need in the political climate of today. While a portion of the population wants a return to those dark and hopeless times, listening to someone that actually lived through it all makes me hopeful we won't let them have it again.
Sometimes he will just leave a comment on my stuff, like the day I was just messing up with some projects and he just pointed at it and said it was a symbol that represented the agricultural and industrial workers and he found it very beautiful. Or when I was just patching some stuff and my mom told me my dad had the circle-A in his jacket when they met and she recognized it. He definitely knows what he is doing, maybe one day he will be more open to talk about it.
I always had this feeling he raised me in a way that I wouldn't have to go through the same things he did, and looking back it's understandable, he never forced me to be something I didn't want to and always left me free to choose whatever path in life I wanted. Funny enough, it seems raising me like that made us even closer in many aspects. I'm very thankful for that. I love you dad.
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maciel
this is honestly so cool. i lived with a more conservative father, you know, the kind of people who would listen to punk music without even knowing what it meant.
he was cool, but he had a lot of anger issues which caused both to end their relationship, and now i live with my mom.
your father seems like such an awesome person. glad to know youre both in a great friendship
neptr joestar 🔞
ur dad sounds so cool...
its one thing to be openly punk nowadays (its more accepted, tho u will still get some dirty looks) but to be punk when it could get you arrested or put on a list somewhere, is a new level of bravery
i always appreciate ppl who can stick to their beliefs no matter what, even when it comes 2 small things, and its nice to know that even when ur dad was a teen growing up in a censorship-heavy place and time, he still resisted and kept that part of himself as an adult