I went to a punk concert yesterday. Or at least I thought I did.
I’m gonna be quite frank with this. I can’t and won’t talk around it and I’m really the last person to censor my own thoughts.
So it was Anti-Flag. Thanks to a friend of mine, I was on the guestlist. She sorta knows the band. The three of us arrived in Glasgow and it was rainy and windy. Obviously. We arrived at the venue and that’s the first time this thought came to my mind. What the fuck happened? I was scanning the crowd again, looking for a sign that I’m really at the right venue cause after all, at a Rise Against and Anti-Flag concert you would expect some punks, right? I really really hate to say this but I just have to, even though I’ve been called names all my life and I hated it. Emos. A lot of them. Is this a punk concert? I don’t know.
But as soon as the band came on stage all my worries were forgotten. This was the real Anti-Flag, the ones that make me feel incredibly strong, yes almost invincible, they make me feel like I can achieve anything if I just do something. Number 2 had one of his speeches near the end of the set and I must admit it really touched me. I know, the words were the same, the paroles were the same, I’ve heard it all before; but seeing him stand on that stage and say it, scream it out loud, made me believe in all of this again. It made me think about a lot of stuff, it made me re-think stuff as well, but most of all, it made me believe that there are still people out there who DO make a difference.
And then the after show party. You know, I’m really the last one allowed to point fingers at people, but after building up a certain picture of your idol in your mind, it’s hard to see it destroyed in front of your eyes. Of course they are all human. Of course. They are humans with very strong beliefs, or at least that’s how I think of them. Girls? A lot of girls? Alcohol? Was this still the punk band I used to know? I don’t know.
We live in a world where veganism and straight edge are the new punk. But what happened to the old punk? The ones that go on the street, and not only to protest against Kentucky Fried fucking Chicken? Yes, the environment is important, it has always been, but what about us? The ones that won’t quiet down just because society tells them to do so? What about the people who refuse to count material things as valuable? Where are the spikes, the mohawks, the leather jackets, the doc martens? I don’t know.
Davey destroyed the punk scene?
It’s already destroyed.
After all of that, after writing this down even if I’m still not sure if it’s the right thing to do, to put it out there; after listening to Die For The Government, which is in my opinion one of the best records AF ever made, if not THE best, after thinking a lot, thinking about how people change, why they change and if it is possible to change so much after living a life of such strong beliefs, I tell you:
This is not about or for Anti-Flag.
This is for you, Miriam and Lovisa.
Cause I know, that despite of what I’ve seen yesterday, there are still people out there that tell you to fuck police brutality and that wars will never be over unless we unite ourselves and destroy all borders. Cause after all, how can we act in unison when we don’t even know anymore what unites us? One people, one struggle.
In the words of Chris Nr 2 and Anti-Flag, who I still admire and love:
If tomorrow you hear somebody say something racist, sexist or homophobic, speak out loud, stand up for yourself, because you know that we will back you up.
We are not alone. And together we will fight until the world we live in is a better place for everyone.
LOVE. PEACE. UNITY.
