my problem with SO MANY "alt" people

this is not necessarily applicable to all alternative people, but it definitely is with the people at my school. i don't mean to come on here just to complain (bc that's annoying 0_0), but being a groupie isn't punk.

first of all, everyone is fully entitled to listen to what music they wanna listen to. but if you claim to truly support the messages of punk bands (or bands with punk messages, punk elitists don't murder me) without genuinely holding those political beliefs, then you're being disingenuous to yourself. you're allowed to not hold anti-establishment beliefs! just don't pretend to. the politics of most punk bands are leftist, and there is no denying that.

and if you do hold leftist beliefs (or morals in general...) then you should not be buying shit from temu. or shein, amazon, etc. you should rethink your principles if you're buying some spiky bracelets from temu and a hot topic RATM shirt. that's because you're just as blindly consumerist as the popular kids wearing lululemon shit. everything that huge, amoral brands like temu and shein stand for is antithetical to alternative (leftist) beliefs. they abuse workers and pollute our beautiful world in the name of profit. still, don't be ashamed if you haven't known where to start with alt fashion.

so, what's the "right" choice to make if you wanna dress in alternative clothes? it's simple: buy secondhand clothes and/or DIY!! there is no doubt that we have enough stuff in the world. so stop buying brand new clothes and instead opt for thrift stores! i know in some places local thrifts are hard to come by, and for many goodwill is the only option (they overprice their clothes sm it's awful). but at least it's still secondhand. and from there, you can distress clothes or write/draw on them as you please!! my friend made me an awesome bleached NIN shirt for christmas, and my lovely girlfriend made me a walking dead shirt for our anniversary. there are so many tutorials you can find online to make your clothes how you want them to be. :)

and lastly: be a good person. the shein warriors at my school piss me off so much. not just because they constantly disregard morality and embrace consumerism, but because they are genuine rape apologists. excuses for SA is disappointingly common in alt communities, and opposite to morals anyone should hold. it doesn't matter if you want to be cool and alt, do not excuse deplorable behavior because you think someone is cool. this is a wide issue in our society that goes deeper than people in alt communities, but it is surely prevalent here. no matter what, we should be good to one another. in such a deliberately hateful society, the most anti-establishment thing you can do is be kind. see the good in each other when the techno-fascists that own this country want us so divided.

so at the end of the day, be who you genuinely are. don't pretend to be something you're not. just ask yourself: do i want to be a part of something, or do i want to be something because of my own principles? if those principles aren't there, don't flaunt around your "hardcore" music and style.