WHAT IS PUNK TO YOU

I heard this question a while back and although I wanted to answer it right then and there, it wasn’t aimed at me. So instead I’m asking myself now.

To me, punk is what happens when the trash in society becomes defiant and starts to question hierarchies.

I think I embraced punk early on because it gave me permission to just… unapologetically exist. I saw myself as an impulsive problem, I harboured a feeling of being unable to meet the demands and expectations placed on people by the society. And instead of feeling left out, I suddenly felt included. Allowed to indulge my impulses and atypical expressions. No longer hindered by unjust criteria and arbitrary sorting processes. Instead of succumbing, the constant sense of not belonging instead created an urge in me to reject all traditional values, to oppose the status quo and fight back. The best defense is a good offense. Who the fuck are they to tell me I’m not good enough?

To me, punk is resistance. It’s defiance. But it’s also liberating acceptance. It’s a protest and a refuge at the same time. In concrete terms this means all the usual things people answer, such as DIY, freedom, rebellion, unity and friends. But the root, for me, is the rejection of stagnated values and the release from suffocating demands.

And studs. A shitload of studs.