No More Swastikas in Punk, Please.

I went to a dance night last weekend to support some friends of mine who were DJing and one of the first things my girlfriend spots is a dude in a swastika t-shirt. Turns out he's in one of the bands playing that night, so he's not just a random guy in a swastika shirt, he's the center of attention. I'm not mentioning any names, because I don't wish to draw any more attention to this person or his band; they're well-known enough in this town. I will mention, that this t-shirt is related to an old New Orleans punk band who used the image of a swastika made of crawfish (what a horrible idea on so many levels!) to be shocking. Of course, the wearer of the shirt claims not to be racist. I'm not sure if anyone's every asked him if he knows that the swastika is mainly an anti-Semitic symbol that is also homophobic and fascist. I'm guessing it wouldn't make a difference.

As you may well have guessed, I've never been into using bigoted symbols or language jokingly, for shock value or for irony. In fact, it's been pissing me off for almost a decade now and I've finally hit my wall. Back around 2003 or so, this band Japanther was blowing up all over the country and it was no different in Portland. All of the sudden, everyone I knew had a Japanther poster hanging up in their bedroom or kitchen. Fine. Later on, it came out that Japanther was connected to the infamous Vice Magazine and their label Vice Records. I happened to find an article by one of the founders of that magazine in an online right wing journal called The American Conservative, in which he basically admitted that Vice had a right wing agenda.

Of course, a lot of people in my community were concerned. I remember, my housemate, Nate, contacted Japanther directly to ask them what was up. I also remember getting into an argument with another woman in my community who just wouldn't believe what I was telling her I had read in that article because, at least at the time, Vice's primary mode of spreading it's right wing ideas was through--you guessed it--irony and low-rate humor. For many, it's more difficult to see these kinds of messages clearly when everything's a joke. I never read an entire issue of that magazine and I haven't laid eyes on a copy of it in years, thankfully, but that situation really sticks with me.

Even though we've come a long way as a nation and a community when it comes to bigotry, the coast is not clear! Not even close. There was just a racist coup of a local government in Northern Louisiana a couple of months ago! (If you don't believe me, google "racist coup"!) I live in a town where Orleans Parish Prison is filled with poor folks and people of color and the majority of the black citizens are poor. I get confused with my ex-girlfriend who is also black on a regular basis and it happens to other people of color I know on a regular basis as well. God forbid I ever "fit the description" of someone who's done anything illegal. Look at all the anti-immigration and pro-life legislation going down in Arizona, and the white supremacist groups that are most likely making Barack Obama's life a nightmare. I live in a town that was allowed to flood on purpose because it's citizens were mostly poor and black. Rape is still a problem. Hate crimes against queers are still too common. These are just a few examples of the war that is being waged in the United States right now. Knowing all of this, how can you make a joke of it? Oh, it's because you're a straight, white male and none of this affects you directly so you don't have to care. I'm so fucking disgusted with that shit.

The ultimate problem with ironic humor when combined with symbols or language that many people find degrading is that the people who use it are being ambiguous about what they really believe. You're saying something racist, but then you say you're not racist, which means you've actually said nothing. Instead of saying something you don't mean, why not say something you do mean? If you're a bigot, admit it so I know never to come near you or go to any of your events. If you're not, then why hide behind irony? What is it that you're really passionate about? What is it that you really believe? Why not be clear? These days, I'm feeling that, "I'm not racist/homophobic/etc." doesn't mean shit to me unless you're explicitly saying and showing, "I am anti-racist," or "I am against homophobia."

It's time to pick a side. There is no being neutral when it comes to these things. Saying "I am not political," is a cop-out that basically means, "I'm fine with the way things are." And being fine with the way things are means that you support racism, classism, heterosexism and the patriarchy because that is the default in our society. If you're not against those things, then you're going along with it even if you don't mean to be because those forms of oppression constitute normalcy here in the U.S.A. Besides, what are you, depressed? How can you not have a passionate opinion one way or another about some of the most important issues of our time?

The old-school, straight-white-dude-dominated, New Orleans punk scene needs to catch up or get left behind. I am not talking about the old time and New Orleans jazz punk scene, which, as far as I've seen, creates welcoming DIY spaces in this city. The old-timers I'm talking about know who they are! This city is changing, for better or for worse, and all the punks you've alienated and written off as PC aren't just going to move to San Francisco or New York to get away from your stupidity. We're staying and we're creating our own scenes that are going be better than yours--stronger, smarter, and better music, too.

Old colums at shotgunseamstress.blogspot.com