sXe Soapbox

There is a powerful sense of self worth and importance when you are part of a group. There is even more if you feel your group is better than others. There is nothing wrong with this and you see it everyday, most notably in high school. People form cliques, exclude others and adopt their own set of codes as a way of feeling important and part of something larger than yourself. This feeling can be intoxicating as we see in the swollen heads and egos within a group claiming to be "more popular" or "better" than other groups. We have one such group in punk: sXe.

This group somehow thinks they are better than normal punks because they have shunned the "evils" of our consumer society. No drugs, no alcohol and no sex (if you abide by the O.G. Minor Threat style.) These are the evils of society as they cloud the mind and inhibit rational thought. This is an admirable stance, forsaking the acts that many equate with damaging addictions, and deserves respect for its adoption of a lifestyle counter to mainstream culture and even mainstream punk. However, as anyone's choice of lifestyle is, it is their own choice and is no better and no worse than a non-sXe lifestyle.

This is where the problem of being sXe lies. There is a heavy temptation to view one's self as better because you are stronger than the "weak" people that need to use drugs to escape reality. Or you are stronger because you resist alcohol and all the problems it causes (of course, no one blames the person for their act, instead placing the blame on just the drug.) You are no better, you are just different. It is similar to christian "holier-than-thou" attitudes because they will go to heaven and we will eternally burn. You are the savior and we are the worthless sinners.

I have met only a few sXe people that don't carry around a soapbox to give their sermons on the evils of society and how they are morally superior for not contributing to these problems. Just because you adopt a certain lifestyle it does not make you an inherently better person. You are the same as a person who actively chooses to use drugs or alcohol. You have both exercised your right to choose how you want to live.

I admire your courage but what I don't admire is your attitude. Live and let live. Make your choice and do not condemn others for the choices they have made. Remember, as hard as this may seem, everyone is not like you. What is offensive to one is perfectly acceptable to another. When you see people drinking or don't like a person because they partake of these activities, leave your soapbox at home. Would you want someone preaching to you that they are better simply because of the lifestyle they lead? Is that rich kid with all the money better than you because of his lifestyle?

sXe is nothing more than a lifestyle along with countless others. You are not better than others and in fact degrade yourselves when you start to preach or believe yourself superior. Realize others have the right to choose just as you had the right. Intolerance breeds ignorance.

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