堅硬的外皮 矛盾的內核

In 1980， a Washington DC hardcore punk band called Minor Threat released some music whose message and inspiration would begin a new movement in youth culture.

Instead of singing about thenaughty government and how unpleasant everybody is， Minor Threat's frontman， Ian MacKaye， chose to write songs about the pressures of youth culture. On Minor Threat's first album was a song entitled Straight Edge ， whose lyrics describe the band's approach to drugs.

I'm a person just like you

But i've got better things to do

Than sit around and fuck my head

Hang out with the living dead

Snort white shit up my nose

Pass out at the shows

I don't even think about speed

That's something I just don't need

I've got the straight edge

——Straight Edge， by Minor Threat

In their most simplistic forms， the ideas behind straight edge are summed up in the words of \"Out of Step\". Minor Threat did not do anything they considered addictive or to be bad for them， physically or mentally. They did not require a metaphoric crutch in order to get through life.

The straight edge ideals of Minor Threat， and fellow straight edge bands such as Gorilla Biscuits and State of Alert， promoted freedom of thought. Some people make these ideals out to be stringent \"anti-fun\"， but there are no actual rules. The lifestyle is entirely down to the discretion of those who choose it. Ian MacKaye became so agitated with people's misinterpretation of \"Out Of Step\" as a list of rules， that Minor Threat re-released it with the words \"this is no set of rules， I'm not telling you what to say or do...\" spoken during an instrumental section.

Minor Threat soon developed a cult following of like-minded individuals， who called themselves \"straight edgers\" and were distinguished by a black \"X\"worn on one hand. The black \"X\"， now a sign synonymous with straight edge (which is often shortened to \"sXe\")， is said to have originated in the Washington club scene. Many punk and rock shows were \"all age\"， so even children were allowed in. However， to prevent underage kids buying alcohol， they were marked with an \"X\" on their hand in permanent marker at the door.

Straight edge people of all ages began marking their hands with a black X， to distinguish themselves from the rest and as a mark of their ideals.

Straight edge has now become， to some people， more than just a way of describing their lifestyle. To them， it is a label - you've either got the edge or you haven't. If you slip up， you're found drinking alcohol for example， then you run the risk of being shunned by an \"elite\" group who will no longer accept you as straight edge. Others think that to be straight edge， you must also wear certain types of clothes， and like only one particular type of music. What was once a name for individual thinking and a way to avoid hurting yourself and others has， in some places， become the very thing that the philosophy once challenged.

Another group of people have taken straight edge to their choice of food， too. Vegans are a large section of the straight edge subculture， prompted by bands such as Earth Crisis. While veganism isn't part of the established straight edge lifestyle， it is often associated with it. Straight edge Vegans say that this is because once you begin to study what you put into your body， veganism is a logical progression from the choices you make in being straight edge.

Other people take the \"no drugs\" aspect so far that they do not take any medication (arguably a very silly idea， indeed) and others abstain from even moderately addictive substances such as tea and coffee.

Straight edge offers teenagers an opportunity to break out of the destructive cycle of peer-directed sensibility， and enables them to realise that they have the ability to control their lives and a responsibility to look out for those around them. The ideals of the philosophy have been partly tainted by the narrow-mindedness of a few individuals， but the ideals themselves are still viable.

1980年，華盛頓特區一個名為小兇兆的硬核朋克樂隊推出了一些歌曲，其所傳遞的信息和靈感掀起了一個年輕人的新文化運動。

小兇兆樂隊的主唱伊恩·麥克凱耶并沒有在歌曲中抱怨政府是多么地無用，也沒有提及大家是多么地不快樂，而是以年輕人文化中存在的一些壓力為主題創作了一些曲子。在小兇兆樂隊的第一張專輯中，有一首名為《直刃》的歌曲，闡述了該樂隊對毒品的態度。

我像你一樣是個普通人，

但是我找到了更好的事情可以做，

而不會無所事事地荒度時日，

也不會和那些行尸走肉在一起混沌一氣。

我不會用鼻子吸食那白色的毒品，

以致昏死在演出中。

對于可卡因，我甚至連想都不想，

那種東西，我根本不需要，

因為我有我的直刃!(直尺坐標精神，

象征認定目標就朝著一個方向努力，

堅持再堅持的人生態度)

——《直刃》小兇兆樂隊

“直刃”背后的思想，用最簡單的語言可以總結為“步調不一致”。小兇兆樂隊的人從來不做任何能使人上癮的，或有害于他們身體和精神的事情。他們不需要比喻意義上的“拐杖”才能生活下去。

小兇兆樂隊以及其他一些崇尚“直刃”精神的樂隊，例如Gorilla Biscuits和State of Alert，都倡導思想的自由。有些人將他們的目標錯解成嚴苛的“反娛樂”，但實際上，“直刃”并沒有什么規則。那些做出選擇成為“直刃”的人，個人的生活方式完全取決于自己。人們將“步調不一致”錯解為一系列的條條框框，對此麥克凱耶十分不安。于是小兇兆樂隊在重新推出這首歌的時候，在歌曲的奏樂部分添加了一些旁白：“這里并沒有什么規則，我并沒有告訴大家應該說什么或者做什么……”

小兇兆樂隊很快就有了一批具有相似思想的崇拜者，他們自稱為“直刃人”，并在一只手上標有黑色的X記號以區分于其他人。黑色的X現在已經成為“直刃”的代名詞了（“直刃”經常縮寫為“sXe”），據說這個標志起源于華盛頓的俱樂部。很多朋克及搖滾樂演出都是沒有年齡限制的，所以小孩子也可以參加。因此，為了防止未成年人買酒喝，俱樂部就在入門處用洗不掉的染料在他們的手上標上X的記號。

由此，各個年齡段的“直刃人”都在自己的手上標上了黑色的X記號，以區分于其他人，并表明他們的理想。

現在，對于一些人來說，“直刃”已經不僅僅用來描述生活方式了。對于他們來說，這是一個標簽——你屬于這個群體，抑或在其之外。如果你稍不留神，比如說，被人發現在喝酒，那么你就冒著被一個“精英”群體排斥其外的風險，他們將永遠不接受你為“直刃”一族了。還有一些人認為，要成為“直刃”的成員，你必須穿特定樣式的服裝，喜歡特定類型的音樂。因此，這個原本倡導個性思維，避免傷害自己和他人的名字，現在在一些地方，反而成為這一理念曾經反對的事物了。

還有一些人將“直刃”思想貫徹到他們對食物的選擇中。“直刃”的亞文化中包括了一個很大的群體，那就是素食主義者，像Earth Crisis等樂隊就是這種文化的倡導者。盡管素食主義并不是“直刃”原本生活方式的一部分，但它還是經常與直刃相聯系。“直刃”的素食者稱，這是因為一旦你開始研究吃進身體里的那些東西，素食就是“直刃人”所做出的各種選擇中合乎邏輯的進步。

還有一些人，將“拒絕毒品”這一理念貫徹得如此之深，以至于他們不吃任何藥物（實際上是一種非常愚蠢的想法），另外一些人把具有輕微上癮性的一些東西，例如茶和咖啡都戒掉了。

“直刃”給青少年們提供了一個機會，讓他們打破對同齡人壓力敏感的枷鎖束縛。讓他們意識到有控制自己生活的能力，并有照顧周圍人的責任。盡管一些人的狹隘思想部分地玷污了這種理念的目標，但是這些目標本身仍然是切實可行的。

倒譯如流

out of step

這里指的是與當時的娛樂文化（例如吸毒、酗酒等）步調不一致。

拐杖

這是硬核朋克一個老套的說法，將毒品和酗酒等比喻成支撐生活的拐杖。

★編輯：譚添夏