Another reason to be glad George Bush is leaving the White House -- it will make the punks happy:
One reading of the shift in punk attitudes is that new punks are not averse to working within the system in order to promote their cause. But faith in a world that youth can define and influence has receded with the policies of the Bush administration, and contemporary punk culture seems laden with anxiety. It seems to have little patience for global change and instead seeks to affect the immediate community, whether through such organizations as the Bike Project or through subversive organizations as the Urban Hearts Collective. Neither aims to truly affect national and global politics with the same fortitude as Critical Mass or Food Not Bombs.
While an authentic-seeming punk may be growing harder to find in Bloomington, it still exists within the promotion of a different sort of community values. It will be interesting to notice the shift in punk culture when Bush leaves office.
I thought nothing was sadder than an old hippie who just couldn't let go. But have you seen some of the 40-year-old punks that are around these days? Not pretty.
