Is Straight Edge Political? A Fanzine on the Political Potential of Straight Edge

  • 2025/10/30 01:32


A few words before you start reading this fanzine here. First, let me briefly explain how I came up with the idea to address the question: Is Straight Edge political? I myself have been living drug-free for several years and use Straight Edge (or sxe) as the proper name for my life. The subculture often teaches me that the decision to live sober or sxe is a deeply personal one and often comes from a blunt “I’m better than you because I’m sober” and often goes along with the stereotype of the caveman who doesn’t consume but instead lifts weights endlessly and hits on other people at hardcore shows. Often this cliché may be true, and I often wish that this would change, as I see that in addition to self-optimisation, there are often many more layers to which Straight Edge can be applied. I often move in anti-fascist spaces in my spare time, and from a left-wing perspective, this zine is also written – as a kind of straight edge intersectionalism. From this perspective i tried to look on different topics like consumer criticism, sex or animal right.

This zine is made by xstreunerzeckex in april 2025 @xstreunerzeckex

Is Straight Edge Political pdf

Out of Step With the World: Exploring Straight Edge as Anarchist Praxis

  • 2025/07/09 22:25

A zine that explores an anti-authoritarian overlap between straight edge and anarchism by exploring both the origins of the straight edge movement and the history of intoxication culture.

Out of Step With the World_Exploring Straight Edge as Anarchist Praxis pdf

 

 

The Anarcho-Primitivist case for Straight Edge: Against His-Story, Against Alcoholocaust!

  • 2024/07/05 23:12

From back cover:

“The foundations of colonial genocide bear the stench of a long and protracted alcohol induced nightmare — nearly every indigenous culture the Europeans encountered was destroyed by European alcohol and disease. The spreading of firewater among indigenous populations of North America went hand-in-hand with the distribution of lethal smallpox-infested blankets. Many of these cultures, without the experience of thousands of years of civilized alcoholism to draw upon, were even more subject than the Europeans to the ravages of “the civilized brew.” Between alcohol, disease, commerce, and guns, most of them were quickly and utterly destroyed. This process was not unique to North America — it was repeated throughout the world in every European colonial endeavor. While the drug of choice varied (sometimes it was opium, for example, as in the “Opium Wars” Great Britain waged to control China), alcohol was judged in many countries to be the most socially-acceptable tool of pacification.”

The Anarcho-Primitivist Case for Straight Edge pdf

Anarchy & Alcohol: Wasted Indeed & How The Fiends Came To Be Civilized

  • 2017/09/12 01:16

Text from the zine:

“The foundations of colonial genocide bear the stench of a long and protracted alcohol-induced nightmare – nearly every indigenous culture the Europeans encountered was destroyed by European alcohol and disease. Th e spreading of firewater among indigenous populations of North America went hand-in-hand with the distribution of lethal smallpox-infested blankets. Many of these cultures, without the experience of thousands of years of civilized alcoholism to draw upon, were even more subject than the Europeans to the ravages of “the civilized brew.” Between alcohol, disease, commerce, and guns, most of them were quickly and utterly destroyed. Th is process was not unique to North America – it was repeated throughout the world in every European colonial endeavor. While the drug of choice varied (sometimes it was opium, for example, as in the “Opium Wars” Great Britain waged to control China), alcohol was judged in many countries to be the most socially-acceptable tool of pacification.”

Anarchy and Alcohol pdf

Confronting a Silent Assassin: Intoxication Culture in Resistance Movements

  • 2017/09/12 01:02

From back:

“From an anarchist perspective, intoxication remains a source of contention. Many radical anti-capitalist anti-statists remain unaware of the ways intoxicants, stimulants, and depressants have been deployed by ruling classes throughout history as mechanisms for diminishing the self-defense capacities of industrial and agricultural workers, peasants,and slaves. Sadly, many radicals – especially in the USA –see the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs as an authentic and valuable aspect of working class (but not necessarily oppositional) culture. From an individualist perspective, the issue is further fraught with contention due to the peer pressure and unspoken assumptions of subcultural conformism that inhere in their consumption. And adding an extra dimension to the conversation is an anti-civ perspective, where we must acknowledge their reliance on industrialized production and distribution.

Confronting A Silent Assassin_Intoxication Culture in Resistance Movements pdf

One For The Resistance? Oppression, Anarchism & Alcohol

  • 2017/09/12 00:27

Text from the zine:

“Aside from my personal aversion to alcohol and the abuse thereof, I strongly feel that alcohol consumption – and production – is a highly political issue, which anarchists should not ignore. In this article I will attempt to explain why I feel it is that anarchists should consider starting a dialogue regarding the alcohol industry, the role of alcohol – and alcoholism – in capitalist society, its current effects on the poor and working classes, and its place in a future anarchist society. This is an issue that has been considered by anarchists in the past, but unfortunately does not seem to warrant much attention these days, and I’m uncomfortable to say that I think that many anarchists – as with other issues facing us – may be reluctant to admit that it is a problem for, or within, our movement.”

One_for_the_Resistance_Oppression_Anarchism_and_Alcohol pdf