Anarcho-punks are broken

what a daft argument! Cos like everyone pissed off at current social relationships must be traumatised from an early age right? Seriously, you've more fucked in the head if yr not.

my family situation was pretty dull, parents split up when I was about 20, so no biggie.
Nothing bad in me childhood or anything like that.

 

I wouldn't say that ALL punks and anarchists are the product of broken homes, but if something bad happens in your life you're probably more likely to become politicised.
I'll give you my story.
My parents split when I was 5 years old so I don't really remember it. My dad moved away (from Jersey C.I.) to England when I was about 10... I can't remember exactly. He got married again at some point and that lasted for 5 years or so before they split and my step-mum moved back to America and I haven't seen her again since, although I still message her sometimes. My mum got remarried as well, my step-dad's a bit of a dick, we don't really get along but I just try and keep my space from him. At least he supports us though, financially etc. but obviously money doesn't really mean much.
Musically, at primary school age I just listened to whatever my dad and older brother listened to. Mainly Chumbawamba and the Offspring from what I remember. I knew Chumba were anarchists but didn't have a clue what the word meant. Towards the end of primary school I got into Black Sabbath because Iron Man got stuck in my head and I got my dad to burn me a CD of loads of Ozzy's stuff. On entering secondary school I decided I wanted to explore different genres and find something I liked for myself, I went through stages of liking trance/hard-house sorta stuff to liking Metal. System of a Down became my favourite band and they're what politicised me. Them and Rage Against the Machine. I realised that there's more to life than worrying about getting a fucking job and that people really don't have equal opportunity, I noticed how unjust this life is and it just fucking sucks. In a way I sort of gave up on my own life and thought seeing as there's no hope for me I may as well use this life trying to make other peoples lives (people I care about) a bit easier. I do still have some hope though... how much varies from day to day really... From SOAD and RATM I started listening to related bands, bands they said inspired them etc. a lot of which were bands from the punk scene. This led me to get back into punk, along with my dad dragging me to a Stiff Little Fingers gig, which I thought was brilliant. Over the last year I've really got into Ska and Skacore stuff.

Sorry I got a bit carried away there on the music side of things... haha.
But yeah, for some people I think it's easy to see that this life ain't alright. For others it might take a kick to wake em up. Just depends on who you are I guess.

 

My parents are still together. I love them dearly. I'm probably not an 'anarcho-punk' but I'm definitely an anarchist. I think Prince Kropotkin may have something to say on all anarchists coming from an unfortunate background.

 

Your friends opinion is not true, there are alot of guys that are punks/anarcho punks and not broken , or traumatized by their childhood , some of them might be , but it's not a rule or something like that

 

I'll tell you my story ...

Almost all my mother's family is anti-capitalist , my grandpa was illegal during the fascist regime in Portugal (1933-1974) , we was from the Communist party ... so my uncles and mother were educated to be leftwing , currently just one of them is communist , my uncle . My mother is anti-political( I mean she thinks political parties are stupid...) , anti-state (I think) but I think that if she reads a little of anarchist writers she I'll turn into one , so I've been educated with all this ideas, first I was marxist , I've been reading marx for some time , then I discovered anarchism , and here I am.
Not that chaotic after all , at least not physical chaos , inside my mind I always had this revolutionary spirit (not saying revolution is chaos, I'm using chaos as rebellion , chaos to the system)

 

I wouldn't say my life was 'broken' I certainly had a fair share of 'disillusionment' that has led me to the light that anarchism is the way, and any other way of governorship is bullshit (i may be bitter also, but not sure i'm broken...)

 

My story is kind of weird. My parents split up when I was 10... not necessarily traumatic or anything, I had begun working at a young age though. I was fortunate enough to land a job t all what with Detroit's auto-industry going to shit. Eventually I got into a union job. I was dissatisfied with society as a whole. Everywhere I looked I saw racial issues and it pissed me off. I got involved in gang activity also at a young age. As I started to become more politically acclimated, we tried to mainly target Nazi sets, obviously, the whole mess got everyone into trouble in the long run; seeing the worst of disenfranchised youth, I started doing alot more political reading and research. Learning about leftist ideologies... I eventually put together that the crime on the streets was an emulation of capitalism - and not only that but it was a product of it! Of class division, of wage slavery, of socio-economic inequality. I certainly wouldn't say that my childhood was "broken" or anything.

DZA, I couldn't agree more. Music accompanied me every step of the way (obviously it changed alot through the course of everything) but nothing is truly apolitical.

 

i have an amazing family, and after shit that's happened in recent years i love and respect them more than ever. i've been a little shit to them in the past, and regret that. we may never agree on certain aspects of life, but that doesn't matter. honestly, love and respect are all that really matter in this world, and other things as well those are just the biguns.

 

This reminds of an editorial I just read in Madison's paper about how the writer hates anarchists. One of her slanders was that she saw one at a protest wearing nice clothes and who looked "well fed and groomed". I reckon that a lot of people think that in order to subscribe to anarchism you have to be a ragged ass bum or you're a hypocrite.
Some bullshit, that.

I'm personally really close with my family and love them dearly. By no means do I come from a broken home and I definitely do not think that that has any relation to anarchism. This society is completely fucked and needs to be dismantled, one can see this almost anywhere. I agree with DZA and think everyone's waking moment is different, it doesn't have to stem from trauma.

Also is there any group more loving than the anarchists? I mean in a black bloc I could know absolutely no one and still feel love and acceptance through anonymity. And then there's the eco-anarchists of the west who found entire collectives around it. Capitalism is essentially devoid of any sort of love and respect. I think we do a pretty good job and standing in as a polar opposite.
Ideally same should go for punk rock. It's a community.

 

ive been thinking about this for a while and ive noticed that alot my friends who are into punk come from shitty backgrounds. i think that is what bonds us together because we have that in common, a looming tether.
i was born on an indian reservation where over half the population are either drunks or participate in gang activity, not the best combination for a place to learn shit.
my father used to beat my mother alot, i remember once when i was like 4 or 5 my dad chased my mom and dragged her out of our truck by her hair and beat her while two white cops looked on. at this time cops from the cities were allowed to patrol on our reservation so it wasnt a big deal seeing them around.
my mom got fed up and moved us to phoenix where i got beat up all the time because i didnt know any english and had to take 'special' classes. i think my mom couldnt handle raising three kids on her own cuz eventually she enrolled us into dormitories where most of my childhood memories took place. i got my ass kicked in these dorms on a daily basis because i could speak good english, indian children rank each other based on how much knowledge one has of their language and culture.

soo glad i found skating, took out alot of stress pushing wood over the years and made some of the best memories...

 

right, and i don't believe that anybody could grow up without having suffered from the conflicts of the mess we're living in - everybody get's his/her share of shit. just compare all those cliches of "happy childhood" or "good family" to everydays reality - they don't fit and it's impossible to live that way, no matter how much money, resources and luck you may have. the fact that it's impossible to escape the inhumanity of "civilized" living was always creating disturbance and dissatisfaction - voila: here goes punk and other alternative movements, and strolling around in social history i'm still surprised how early our culture produced dissidents and runaways.
being something like a anarcho-punk and living with my kind i would say we are far from being broken, we still search for a better way to live and try to deal with the factual constraints and failures of the system that produced us far more than our parents - occupied with their own survival in these dark times - were able to educate us. comparing my personal history with my VDR Vassily77 history - lots of differences in every size and importance imaginable, some bigger or smaller similiarities - the only thing in common: the moment in which the feeling took root that there is something very wrong with everything around you - and then the story starts heading towards punk and anarchism, consequently following the rules of experience and perception to end up in an attitude.
yes, you have to be really fucked up to be able to remain ignorant and conform to the system that takes you hostage from your very first to your very last breath. i think it's part of the strategy to produce damaged characters to minimize the risk that they ever become humans and start claiming a human living too. i still get angry when i hear the official statements about the actual situation of families and parentship in germany - its like the sunday preaching about that far, far, far away paradise... but not about this world.
and what about the representants of the system? are they in any way "better" - nice and caring people, occupied with desire and passion to do everything in the best way possible for everyone?

 

I also do not agree with your friend but hey here's my story anyway
I'm from a loving and caring home still live with my parents and they're still together they don't fully understand me or my beliefs but at least the let me be free in them
my school years on the other hand were not that jolly at all from when I was four years old (first day of elementary school) until I was 13 years old (third year high school)
I was bullied punk for me was an outlet looking punk was self defense they still all called me names and shit but after the first time I stood up to them they did not hit me anymore (someone stole my clothes after gymnastics so I ran after him kicked him in the back so that he fell turned him around pulled down my undies and sat on his face ) so the look was (and maybe still is) a way of self defense I started listening to punk thanks to my mom because she bought me a ten disk compilation cd box (she's still whining about that being the worst decision in her life ) when I was 15 and my English started pretty good I got more into the kind of punk that really had a message to it witch mostly was anarcho and crust punk then started reading some philosophy start 2010 (witch was mostly because I wanted to know more about the philosophy after coming here ) so yeah that's pretty much my story

 

I've been a punk for 14 years and yes in my experience, most are from either broken, abusive, or oppressive homes. That is because punk appeals to the outcasts and rebels. As for political punks, the ones still living at home tend to have a more functional family unit that supports their alternative views and lifestyle. For the people I used to squat with 12 years ago, all of us were runaways from dysfunctional households.

In every alternative culture, you have a higher incidence of people from tough upbringings. That doesn't reflect in a negative way on the culture. Humans are social animals, when normal society abandons or rejects someone they tend to seek out other people who were also abandoned and rejected. From this you get subcultures like punk, hippie, gangs, etc.