it's dead to me

Once upon a time, "punk" was slang for a queer. It was what some people called young guy who slept with an older guy. I've held that origin close when applying the term punk to myself. I'm not talking about my specific sexual habits but I'm talking about the broad use of the term punk to describe a queer. However, I'm no longer using "punk" as an applicable term for me. Those origins are gone and forgotten. Punk is dead.

Yesterday, I discovered that Limp Wrist (a widely known queer punk band) is playing a show in town with the Punk Rock Faggots (the straight fuckers from Beaverton who's fans continue to harass me even though our altercation happened two years ago). It was disheartening to find out because, despite the problems I've had with PRF and several other Portland punks, I've championed Limp Wrist as the punks that would school their asses. Finding out their playing together is a slap across the face and a knife in the chest but it only hurts if I care. Today, I no longer care.

The punk music scene here in town has had very few positive things (Riot Cop & MDC being among them) to come out of their apolitical, in-your-face, drunken, abusive recent past. Their ethos is "Fuck you. It's punk. If you're not offended, we're not doing our job." Therefore, writing these brats off is no big loss. I *heart* the cyber-punks, steam-punks and the bike punks as they seem to be subcultures that are doing it right. I'm over the music scene though. Give me the reaffirming gay heartbeat of techno anyday.