I've been straight edge for almost 5 years now. I was 14 years old when I first encountered straight edge, and to be honest the kids who exposed me to Edge sucked. They had closed minds and clenched fists. It was elitism that drove them. They broke over time, one by one they quit being edge. Honestly, I've never had any desire to drink or do drugs at any point in my life. There was a time before I learned more about SXE that I thought it was just about being a dick. I feel like a lot of peoples encounters with SXE has been that way. For a life philosophy that's about personal choice we present ourselves in pretty fascist ways sometimes. In short, I became Edge out of default.
What can we do to change that impression? I believe that if we gave more teenagers a choice and a haven from the pressures of substance use they would take it. We need role models who promote positive change not violence or ignorance.
