Am I Straight Edge?

Question

Mid 2007, i was diagnosed with cancer, and now have to take medication that i MUST take.

I'm only 15.. but all my friends love to go out friday night and get smashed... Theres even a group i sorta hang out with that do drugs daily!

I've never touched alcohol, never puffed a cigarette, and never experimented with drugs. i some time go out with them.. i usually drink gatorade or vitamin water.. am i straight edge?

Answer 1

Sure.

Answer 2

I considered myself straightedge until I was 18.  All through high school I had to take medications for my ADHD and mental health.  Without those medications I never would have been able to finish school and get into the amazing university I go to now.  I do not consider medications prescribed to you, taken by you, to violate the "broad" definition of what it means to be straightedge.  

Straight edge is all a matter of definition, even MacKaye rejects the terminology now because people have twisted the definition so much.  Some people include caffeine, meat, all animal products, s*x, even just kissing, in SXE requirements.  SXE is whatever you want it to be.  You don't need a label to know who you are.  I have still never touched drugs or cigarettes but I'm 21 now (first drink at 19) and I drink occasionally (few times a year, special occasions), never to get drunk.  I dropped the SXE label at 18 because I didn't want to be forced to give myself a label.  I to this day, and probably will have to for years to come, take prescription medications daily.  I don't ever ever plan to do drugs or smoke cigarettes.  Your commitment to yourself is an admirable display of your strength of character.

You said some of your close friends do drugs daily? I was in the same position. Actually to an even more extreme.  I worked at a punk/rock/alt/metal venue in southern California from 15-20 and saw people doing and under the influence of every drug imaginable during that time. I've been pressured to do drugs more times than I can count.  It just isn't my bag.  I think it's dumb. I've cleaned up nasty dressing rooms with drugs and paraphernalia left over, carried people to their tour buses, and called ambulances for potential overdoses.    

So, if you NEED to label yourself, then yes, you can call yourself SXE in my opinion.  But you can also realize that it is such a trendy label, that has so much useless negative baggage, you might as well just celebrate yourself and your values.  You are you, and you don't need any punk rock movement to tell you what that means.    There is a great chapter on Minor Threat (and Fugazi) in the book "Our Band Could Be Your Life" by Michael Azerrad.  It features interviews with Ian MacKaye, and some other SXE people.  

Take care of yourself, I hope your treatment goes well!!!