Punk Rockers For Bush?

[THUNDER HANDS]

Here's the story: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/21/fashion/21PUNK.html

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With his mohawk, ratty fatigues, assorted chains and his menagerie of tattoos — swallows on each shoulder, a nautical star on his back and the logo of the Bouncing Souls, a New York City punk band, on his right leg — 22-year-old Nick Rizzuto is the very picture of counterculture alienation. But it's when he talks politics that Mr. Rizzuto sounds like a real radical, for a punk anyway. Mr. Rizzuto is adamantly in favor of lowering taxes and for school vouchers, and against campaign finance laws; his favorite Supreme Court justice is Clarence Thomas; he plans to vote for President Bush in November; and he's hard-core into capitalism.

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Anyone but me think, while really odd at first, the idea of punk rockers supporting Bush actually makes a lot of sense.

Punk is supposed to be going against the grain, so to speak, and since most punks are liberals, the idea of conservative punk rockers is almost true to the nature of what punk is supposed to be. Different.

But maybe I'm just not into punk (which I'm not) enough to get it. To me it seems kinda funny, anti-punk punks.

[DarkPhenyx]

1. "Don't judge a book by it's cover."

That's what it boils down to for me anyway. You aren't a terrorist just because you are Mideastern. You aren't a crack-thug just because you are a young black male. Just because you dress in an alluring manner does not mean you are a slut. *shrug*

I don't hin it's a law anywhere that punks have to be liberal. Come to think of it, while they may not be conservative, they can be kinda anti-liberal in many ways.

[vi5]

2. It makes little to no sense historically.....

You would have been hard pressed to find punk rockers for Reagan in the 80's. The message was by and large liberal and progressive and almost everyone involved felt that way (other than the factions of right wing skinheads who just started trouble). But true punks would never be conservative.

But nowadays with punk being simply nothing more than an outdated style and bands playing the same 3 chords and melodies in pre-packaged form, it makes perfect sense.

[charlie]

3. Pfft...

This ain't news. I played guitar for countless bands, lived with punkers and metalheads for decades. This isn't a surprise -- there's a paucity of thinkers amongst either group -- Spinal Tap is as much documentary as it is satire. They consider themselves some sort of fashionable nihilist/anarchists, but most I've known have been as reactionary as any God-and-Country Toby Keith types. Right now there's a flurry of articles making the webrounds about Johnny Ramone's arch-conservatism. Shock! Horror! Shit, he's never ever even tried to hide his East Coast redneckism. Again, this ain't news.

[Colin Ex]

4. When I think conservative and punk, I think

The Clash. The Sex Pistols. Bad Religion. Fugazi. Minor Threat.

Oh, well. It's not like punk wasn't dead enough anyway.

-C

[Screaming Lord Byron]

5. At last, final proof the punk is indeed dead. It's merely a fashion.

It's pretty clear to anyone with half a brain that punk was not a right-wing phenomenon. Anyway, this guy's just a dumb kid.

[Colin Ex]

6. An afterthought

The Bouncing Souls are from New Jersey.

-C

[tigereye]

7. looked like spin to me

I think there have always been folks with more conservative views in the "band scene" esp as it became more about how you look than how you think. I think since punk is about questioning things, at least in this old school punk's opinion, it is not surprising that some would have these views. Although it makes little sense to me. They are just trying to counter the punkvoter phenomenon. Which BTW is a wonderful site.