American Eulogy
The Identity Crisis of the Punk Movement
While “Punk” fans rage within the confines of the machine when it’s their guy’s turn you start to realize that these old Punks have become a mockery of themselves. It’s one thing to be human, of course, to grow, and to become different over time. It’s another thing to be a part of an “idea,” where you’re representative of an ideology or a definition.
Whether it’s Black Flag’s legal battles, Billie Armstrong saying “nigger” in the song this piece is named after, Sid Vicious wearing a swastika, The Clash signing onto CBS Records, or Johnny Ramone being the Punk rock equivalent of John Wayne, it's clear that the idea of "Punk" doesn’t align with the modern left. Punk was never meant to support any establishment holistically. The Rock Against Communism movement within Punk is either something many modern Punk fans are ignorant about or have a harder time coming to terms with. The current genre is rife with cognitive dissonance on how the genre ought to be, and it feels more performative when political endorsements are made. There’s more too with Siouxsie and the Banshees brandishing swastikas, or the Sex Pistol’s Johnny Rotten being conservative.
Well is it just Nazi Chic? For some of them, yes. However, this is antithetical to modern left-winged politics, and punk’s version of anarchism, nihilism, or however you wish to describe them is incompatible with the left. The Rock Against Communist movement isn’t left-winged at all, and many of the bands are proudly self-described racists. This self contradiction is definitely part of an evolving culture, where definitions shift, and the old version of something clashes with the modern framework. Glenn Danzig is also another funny and enigmatic figure that just doesn’t fit neatly within modern frameworks. Many of these people are relics of their time; they’re not the same as the modern left, and that’s perhaps the most glaringly performative thing about it. The ones who do cater to this nu-left are betraying their younger selves for money, which is a spiritual irony.
Before some idiot quibbles, of course I don’t think there are no consistent left-winged bands in Punk music; but they’re typically not the ones you think of when you think of the genre. I’m aware of the Dead Kennedys; I’m aware there are bands who are counter to the right-wing. In no way, shape, or form is this me saying there are no left-winged Punk bands. I’m making the point that the older bands who defined the genre like Skrewdriver tend to make Punk more complex than that. It is reductive to say Punk is only left-winged, and a fundamental misunderstanding of politics in general.
The idea that conservatism is the be-all and end-all of what is “right winged” is fairly absurd, I wouldn’t call most libertarians or right-anarchists conservative at all. Even the neo-pagans who idealize a world like Conan’s have nothing akin to the conservatism these bands make fun of.
If you’re still skeptical there are far earlier sources from the time this genre emerged. It’s not uncommon for any genre to have controversial figures, and Punk is no exception for either side. Matters like this are why I think it’s reductive to look at the world through such a limiting framework, but I wanted to address the ignorance I keep seeing over the past few years on the topic.