"I'm a person just like you, but I've got better things to do than sit around and fuck with my head, hang out with the living dead, snort white shit up my nose, pass out at the shows. I don't even think about speed, that's something I just don't need. I'VE GOT THE STRAIGHT EDGE!"

It was twenty-eight years ago when Minor Threat, a Washington D.C.-based punk rock band, first yelled these words in their song titled "Straight Edge." Little did they know these words would start a new movement for some of America's youth: the youth who aren't so into the idea of keg stands, hangovers and poisoning their bodies.

"We were young, angry, and wanted to make a change for the better," says Scott Danough, the former guitar player for Bleeding Through, who was straight edge for seventeen years. "Not just in ourselves, but our surroundings."

The term "straight edge" is rather simple. It refers to making a committed and clear choice to not drink, smoke or do recreational drugs. Although the term may sound simple, the world of straight edge is not always so clearly defined. In fact, "straight edge" was originally just a quick forty-five second song, and it was never meant to be more than that, let alone turn into such a big movement. But since the eighties it has developed into a community for like-minded kids all over the world.

"I first heard of straight edge when I was fourteen tears old," says Taylor Young, former singer of Moria who has been straight edge for ten years. "I went to a few shows and would see people with X's on their hands." Later on, he would find out what those giant bold black X's symbolized. It is the most common sign for straight edge; the letter X, mostly found in a group of three X's in a straight line. (XXX) Originally the X symbol was used to mark under age kids at shows, but was later adopted to be the face of the straight edge movement. The X's can now be found everywhere: on stickers, shirts, and some have even gone as far as permanently marking themselves with a straight edge tattoo.

And since it was a hardcore punk band that originally coined the term "straight edge," there has been a very strong bond between the straight edge culture and music from the beginning. There have been multiple bands in the hardcore music scene that have followed in Minor Threats' footsteps and shown their edge through their music. Through screaming lyrics, brutal breakdowns and beats like you have never heard before, bands have been able to show their straight edge affiliation.

"Straight edge and music are connected for me personally," said Christopher Duett, who has been straight edge for twelve years. "I found out about straightedge through the hardcore music scene and I have played in straight edge bands. Sincere straight edge music fuels the passion and pride I have and rekindles that feeling from the beginning that I'm not alone in being the odd ball out."

The shows and concerts that many straight edge bands perform at also act as a meeting ground for straight edge kids everywhere; a place where they can dance like crazy people, scream as loud as they want and stay completely sober. "I was huge into playing guitar so when I found out that I could go see these new straight edge bands play locally I got super excited," said Keith Barney, guitarist of Monument to Thieves and former member of Eighteen Visions and Throwdown who has been straight edge for sixteen years. "I was always drawn to the fact that this music also had an educated message. The music was interesting and different but the lyrics were also trying to tell me something."

The music may be what brings the straight edge crowd together initially, but it is certainly not the glue that holds them together. The key component in this community is good old-fashioned values that they have set for themselves with individual personal meanings behind them. Some straight edge people grew up with alcoholic parents, some just never fit in with the traditional crowd of kids, and some are just trying to make good decisions in life. "Straight edge has kept me out of trouble," said Adam Riser, who has been straight edge for eleven years. "It's made me face my problems with a sober mind while allowing me to develop social skills without the aid or comforts of alcohol and other vices. It's reinforced my confidence in my long-term decision-making skills."

Not only do people become straight edge for different reasons but they also bring different histories and opinions to the table. Some straight edge people are former drinkers and drug users while others have never laid hands on such things. Some straight edge kids prefer to stay away from the bar and party scenes completely, while others do not really care what other people decide to do with their own lives. If you are lucky, they might even offer to be your designated driver!

"I always thought it was normal to drink and party but as a teen but I never liked it," said Duett. "I finally found a place where I felt I could be myself and belong. We had a common bond in being an adolescent minority. It made me feel comfortable in my own skin."

While the majority of straight edge people like to "keep it posi" by staying positive, being a good citizen and setting an example for others with their decision to be straight edge, there is another group of straight edge people that have taken it to the next step with violence and hatred towards those who drink, smoke and/or do recreational drugs.
"Straight edge by nature is not a violent movement or set of ideals," said Young. "But like another other group of people there are those that like to take things to extremes or attach other extremist ideas to straight edge."

Within the past decade straight edge has landed in newspapers, on documentaries such as National Geographic's Inside Straight Edge and on television shows like the History Channel's Gang Land. But, it has not exactly been good press: it has focused on showing the dark side of straight edge that has caught the attention of law enforcement agencies around the country. In 2005, a group of high school students from Reno, Nevada had gathered in a parking lot of a local casino when they were met by a group of straight edge kids who were looking for trouble. A fight broke out and things quickly took a turn for the worse. Surveillance cameras showed more than just fists being used. It caught the straight edge kids using weapons such as brass knuckles and a shovel. This incident made it clear that these kids were purposely trying to inflict harm on others. "It really is just a group of bad apples," said Barney. "It is usually kids that are involved in crews and I'm not into that shit at all."

Groups and "crews" such as FSU, short for Fuck Shit Up or Friends Stand United, have been the leaders of this kind of straight edge following. FSU started back in the late eighties by a group of kids living in the greater Boston area. One of the founding members, James Elgin, lived his life to the motto of "life is tough so get tougher." Elgin and his friends were set on "cleaning up the streets" no matter how many drug dealers they had to rob or drunk kids they had to beat up in the process. Luckily, these crews only make up a small part of the straight edge community, and although the media has shed a negative light on the straight edge culture, there will always be others who continue to carry on the straight edge ways in a positive and appropriate matter.

However, it is inevitable that everyone will change as they get older and go through life. For some straight edge people this means that one day they will end up breaking their commitment to straight edge, which is commonly referred to as "selling out" or being a "sell out." The reasons to begin drinking, smoking or doing drugs after living a straight edge lifestyle vary for each person and is a decision one must make on their own, without any judgment from outsiders.

"I decided to not be straight edge anymore when I was thirty-four years old," said Danough. "I felt like I had to move on. I just didn't care for it as much as I once did. It wasn't where my heart was anymore. I don't regret it and I still respect straight edge." And with seventeen years of being straight edge under his belt, Danough has seen a lot of different generations of straight edge kids go in and out of the hardcore scene. Some of the older generation straight edge people are still around, while plenty of others have come and gone for various different reasons. It is now up to the younger and newest generations of the straight edge crowd to carry on the legacy while staying positive and showing others what straight edge is all about.

"I have always felt it's the most punk rock thing you can do," said Barney. "It is one of the biggest middle fingers I can give to mainstream life."