This is my State of the Union Address for the Revolutionary Underground.
The RU (Revolutionary Underground, for retards that couldn't figure that out), is what I call any number of people, from any number of counter/subcultures, that are working to change this world for the better. By better, I of course mean what they think is best. To my knowledge, concensus on better hasn't been reached, but we shall get to this later.
Groups typically involved in this are the punks, the hippies, the left-wing intellectuals, the hip-hop set, any number of autonamous survivalist groups/cults. The list is hard to make because the RU is people looking for change. There are many punks who simply like green hair and spikes. No revolution there. No problem, not everyone is cut out for that sort of thing.
This is when things get weird though. Who is up for a change? Who are our leaders? In what direction is this revolution headed? When I look back to the sixties and their hippies, I saw an agenda, a direction, no plan to speak of, but they were trying. What about today?
No.
Let me tell you what I see. I see a bunch of hippies that identify with no message. They take their drugs, they wear smelly oil, they put on itchy hoodies, they smile.
They do not protest. No marches, no letters, no message. A concert isn't a mode of change, it's a fucking social club. You meet other worthless individuals with whom you can go into your van, and slowly kill the last remnants of the old hippy way.
A social club?
Let's talk punk. What do I see? It's a fashion show. "People think my Dead Kennedys coat is cooler than your vintage Ramones T-shirt." Conventional haircuts and popular music not allowed here. You like NOFX and the Dropkick Murphys? Congrats! You've just become too mainstream. You didn't follow the rules, no revolution for you. You aren't punk enough for it. Get out of here.
Go to college.
Become the left-wing intellectual. Not punk now. You listen to independant music, but you wear conventional clothes. You aren't a drunken slob now. You put on your avant guarde black box frames and listen to Guided by Voices, until you are eventually devoured by the machine. It hurts less when you go willingly.
What the point of this bashing?
Comparison. In all these instances I see two things. The first obvious one is the circle jerk fashion show that all of these cultures are. With so much effort spent accessorizing your outfits, it leaves little time for change. With a mind so focused on getting tail, subversion becomes a significantly smaller portion of your day. The point of the movement has dissolved, and they have devolved into the same corporate whores they claim to hate. They breathe in smoke from a Newport, and breathe out hate for lobbiest, and poison selling corporations. They hate Paris Hilton for being a slave to fashion, but won't be caught dead without their green hair in a perfect mohawk. They swing at a machine they cannot see, all the while tightening their collars.
How could they take those collars off? Perhaps with a little help from a brother.
Uh-oh. That dosen't fly. A punk won't help a hippy. He's not sure why. It was in a song somewhere. Urban-boy won't help out the privledged college boy. "Let his daddy's money help him out. I've got my own problems." Round and round they go. The same agenda on the tip of their tounge, but their fashions won't allow it.
Alienation.
I cringe when I see a rapper thank Dr. King for his sacrifices to promote equality, then walk off stage and get into a fight in which he uses the word faggot no less than 30 times.
Alienation. "They agree with our message, but they're not cool enough." It's the knife in the heart of the RU.
So my State of the Union can be summed up simply-
Fashion took the place of a message; ego took the place of progress.
I sum this up with a thought towards progress. What I think everyone needs is a fat dose of cyanide - for their ego. Instead of complaining that the oil company is fleecing you, walk to the store. Sure the oil company is still fleecing you, we'll get to that. In the meantime though stop being a slave. Don't bitch about how cigarettes cost too much, and it's unfair to smokers; quit smoking. Don't talk to me about a lack of educational opportunities; go to the library, pick up a fucking book. All your problems will still be there, but you will be moving to eliminate them.
The leash you put on yourself is much tighter than the one your corporate master has on you. Truth is, you break your leash, theirs dosen't matter. Because without the clutter of your fashions and preconceptions, you'll be ready for the revolution.
Ready to break your own chains?
Might I suggest our fine BIP section?
