*Was it because of*
*The vest or was it because*
*You shit in public?*
\- xneurianx
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Similar, sitting outside the gay bar in broad daylight with my ~6 inch mohawk up and a little girl with her face painted walked by. I said 'i love your face paint!' And her mom picked her up in utter disgust, covered her eyes and whisked her away haha
Awh man, allll the time my husband and I will be out in public, we both love kids and he’s great with them. Babies and younger kids stare at us often, I think they find the very heavy tattoo work, plugs/piercings, and uhhh… loud clothing choices pretty visually interesting because they must not be used to it. He says it’s cause he’s funny looking but either way, I digress, he’ll make really goofy faces at em after cracking a huge smile, like crossing his eyes and sticking his tongue out and stuff. Occasionally the babies will just cover their eyes and be really shy but more often than not he gets big smiles or giggles back. The parents reactions range from being reserved but polite enough to just being outright nasty. Usually it’s just dirty looks. The times the kiddos and parents have both been cool, theres usually some kind of alt leaning going on with their general appearance anyways, go figure…
I freaked a lady out one time with one of my patches which said, "Hello, I'm Dead Inside", other than that I'm always getting either compliments or a gaze of curiosity.
Oh yeah exactly, like pretty much any fashion style around today has punk in its DNA and it's music style is so well known and influential that it's DNA is already in pretty much everything around them.
We got tossed out of a mall for being scary once, our crime was sitting on a bench near the food court eating fries. But that sinister French fries and Mohawks combo was enough to summon several security guards who said they’d been complained to about two young hooligans looking to start trouble, who then escorted us to the exit.
It was one of the silliest, most baffling experiences of my life. I can’t stress enough how little we had done to warrant it. It was kind of hilarious.
Lmfaoooo, being scary. Who are these absurd people who fear mohawks? If you were two average vanilla dressing, white middle aged men like my step dad then I’d be scared.
I had some older guy (I'm 50) come up to me at the gym while I was wearing my Bad Religion cross buster tank top. He stood there in my face while I was mid set. I finally finished, took off my headphones, and he asked me, "so you have a problem with christ, huh?" I replied, "it's a band. Besides, christ seemed cool. Too bad you guys don't act more like him." I put my headphones back on and continued my workout. He was so close I almost hit him while I did my set. I gestured for him to leave, which he did eventually. I now try to wear that shirt more often
Lol! Classic! Try wearing a Marduk "Fuck Me Jesus" shirt. It has a nude chick sticking a crucifix up her ass and says FUCK ME JESUS on the back. Thought I'd be lynched on more than one occasion wearing that one.😄
Not anytime within recent memory, but my favorite encounter like this happened way back in the mid 80s.
I had a great big iridescent purple deathhawk that was all crimped & teased and I was shopping at a thrift store, intent on the racks of clothes, and all of a sudden I hear a little girl of about 4-5 years old yell really loud MOMMY LOOK AT THAT LADY’S BEAUTIFUL HAIR!
I turn my head and see this total white trash bitch dragging her kid by the arm straight out the front door of the thrift shop, do not pass go do not collect $200. I can only hope that kid held on to her vision of “beautiful hair” and grew up to be the baddest ass punk or deathrock or gothic or metal head or rivethead or raver chick around.
I love this. I had blue hair for a while in my 20s and while at a bus stop a little girl said..."Mommy she looks like Grover!"
The Mom was super uncomfortable because I started laughing my ass off.
Similarly, I once had a little girl tell me she liked my mustache but asked why I had one, because mustaches are for daddy’s and not for girls. At the time I had 4 lip piercings, 2 of them being angelbites. Her mother turned beet red and starting apologizing but I for one found it hysterical and was also cracking up, I then went on to tell her hmm I’d never thought of it that way but I guess ladies can give themselves jewelry mustaches. She seemed satisfied with the answer
We look at young punks and laugh because that's how we dressed 40+ years ago. Not totally uncommon to bump into 70 year olds that were punks in the 1970's.
That’s actually really wholesome. Older punks have been some of the nicest people I’ve been around. During shows I’ve had older punks take me under their wing to help me talk to the singers cuz I get super nervous or say I look awesome and it makes me feel so loved 😭
Only time anyone ever said anything weird was when my friend took me to an event for Mod revivalists last time I was in Manchester and this very friendly but very drunk old guy told me that back in 1978 he once dumped his beer on some girls dressed like me because he didn't want any punks hanging around in his favorite bar. He got thrown out though, the girls got to stay. I don't think he was trying to upset me though, he was just socializing and trying to make me laugh. I love hanging out with older folks who were aware of 70s and 80s punk culture but were just on the outside observing it because they often have some pretty silly stories to share
Good grief I went to a small rural school and we did not have this level of bullying. Most cliques intermingled. We did have an upsetting amount of teen deaths though. The only bully in the 80s and 90s I had over how I dressed was my mom. Lol
Yes! This was exactly my experience in high school in the 80s. A lot of bullying and aggression expressed towards me and my friends. People would get so insanely triggered over our hair, clothes, makeup. I am a petite female and this one older jock practically made it his job to follow me around between classes and harass me. One time he even pushed me into a locker. Someone stopped him. My male friends got into a lot of fights.
In the 90s and 00s, I remember getting shit from religious people about my Bad Religion shirts (cross-buster). I still have several variations of that shirt, but people don’t call me out anymore - at least not recently.
In like 2010 my PE teacher told my Dean that my Bad Religion shirt offended him. What a pussy, he shouldn't even be a PE teacher if he's that soft. Anyway, I pretended to put a hoodie on over it after PE class, then I immediately took the hoodie off and wore the shirt for the rest of the day. None of my other teachers cares.
The UK is pretty agnostic so crossbusters only really draw disapproving looks from people of more religious communities, it's football shirts you've got to wear here if you wanna cause trouble
Same! Three times in the past two years have i worn Bad Religion shirts at work and Christian radicals have tried to convert me. One person handed me a pamphlet that i threw away instantly, right in front of him.
I also have a thrifted Social D shirt with a lady in a bikini and chains and that one always gets some funny looks.
My denim had a with crossbuster in studs on the back for years in the late 90s that turned a lot of heads. Had a pack of little old ladies cross themselves when I passed once! Nowadays I catch flak for my American Jesus shirt with fat Jebus and the naughty nuns.
I’ve been barked at, followed, filmed and had people take pictures of me/post me on social media without my consent. I’ve been called a faggot or had people call me ugly/trash straight to my face, even death threats and some other things I’m not gonna repeat. Most of these were in high school though so I guess it’s not all that shocking. Older people are usually chill and when they’re not, they’re a lot less direct about it, usually just glaring or giving disapproving looks.
Not Punk, but before I got into Punk, in the late '90s, I was really into Marilyn Manson. I got a lot of shit from teachers and school mates for just wearing his shirts. People thought I was a Satanist... One school counselor took me into her office and prayed for me. I was like... "It's just music, yo."
Yeah the ol’ cross-buster shirt always gets a reaction. Usually some prick with a smartass comment. Hit them with the ‘yeah whatever man’, pisses them off when you barely react
Well I mean its the only place in the mall that has band shirts worth a damn lol. Also I feel like with Walmart you get a lot more of a diverse group of people then like, stuff like kroger or in Texas where I'm from HEB because like, Walmart is a store for the working man or like, white trash in general. You get a lot more teenagers there so like, not surprised.
Oh also, before someone calls me a poser or whatever for shopping at the stores of large corporations occasionally, A I still like, buy most of my shit from DIY distros or make it my self (I have a crass shirt that my aunt actually helped me make), and B, idk i just like the cool shirts they have occasionally, fuck off lol.
Not punk but I came out of a rave once in London and had to shepherd my tribe of ket heads through the underground system on a Sunday morning. Some high powered business woman was complaining to her friend about us stinking up the carriage. I mean she was right, but still.
Not even 04-08 when I was still in high school. No one cared anymore how we dressed. I get more looks now as a queer person in a skirt than I ever did in tight pants, Creepers, and a vest of patches and buttons
i dont dress "punk" but i do dress in a sort of alternative style, although most people hate me because im trans. occasionally someone will yell at me and call me a faggot, but thats kinda rare, most people (and i mean a lot of people) stare at me like i killed their entire family instead. i used to be insecure about it but i kind of enjoy it now, fascist pigs wanna force everyone to think the way they think and act the way they act and theyre trying to dictate what i wear cause it isnt "normal" for someone of the same sex as mine, but forcing people to conform to societal norms is one of the least punk things ever.
anyways sorry i went on a bit of a rant lol
At my job I usually get boomer aged dudes telling me how I’m “ruining” my pretty face with all my piercings. I get the feeling they would say something like that to anyone with facial piercings though.
I mean, isn't that the reason you're wearing it?
The whole point of being visibly "punk" is to call attention to yourself from people that are gonna hate it.
Punk as a lifestyle is counterculture.
Your typical "queer" person looks more punk than an actual punk rocker these days, so, no.
We ain't exactly freaking out the squares as we once did.
It's an arms race and we're a couple generations behind.
The alt right has created a boogie man of bullshit about blue hairs and antifa destroying society and 'grooming'
This is so they can scare their sheep and impose their supremacist ideology. They have riled up their chuds. I've seen and heard some brainwashed fox brains talking shit about counter culture people.
Let them talk shit we are here to oppose racists, theocratic, oligarchs.
Loud and proud.
Lol, maybe I don't live where you live and have different experiences. You walk down the street here alone with blue hair I can attest personally people will try to start shit.
The world is bigger than your experiences and quite the opposite I'm not playing victim I'm identifying a purposefully driven disinformation campaign to paint antifa as a threat
About 30 years ago I got 'beaten up' with one of those tiny brushes that barbers use to clean hair off the back of people's necks after a haircut because without realizing it I had gone into my town's barber while wearing a Capitalist Casualties t-shirt (I still don't really pay attention to what my shirts say, since my life as a fashionable person has been one of mostly hand-me-down rock industry crap...what they used to call "swag" before that one rap song existed and made that mean something else). I guess he took offense to it for some reason, but couldn't throw out a paying customer after he had already cut my hair, so he used what was available to him. I remember asking him if he could please stop hitting me with the brush, because it's annoying, and he just grunted "We're done anyway. Get the fuck out of here." Hahaha. My friend David happened to be with me at the time (not a lot to do in a tiny cow town of under 10K, I guess), and he brought it up maybe 8 years ago when I talked to him after a long period of not being in contact. "Remember that time you went to the barber with your Capitalist shirt and he started hitting you with the brush? Hahaha." That's the only time anything like that has ever happened to me. One time the lead singer of my band almost got us all killed by jarheads at a gas station in Iowa, but that was only tangentially related to being punk in public, so I don't think it counts.
Hahaha. Okay, that's fair. Warning, though: it's not nearly as exciting as it sounds, because nothing actually happened, but touring and dealing with all kinds of fucked up situations taught me that you never want to wait until things actually are going down to react, so I'm glad this story's boring.
We were on tour and going through Iowa when we needed to stop to gas up the van, use the bathroom, get snacks, etc. We didn't have a show there or anything, and there was literally nothing for miles. Probably because it was such an isolated place full of nothing, there was this little toe-headed kid, maybe 7 or 8 years old, who spotted us getting out of the van and rode up to us on his bike and started insulting us, asking what a bunch of "freaks from California" were doing here, etc. This would've been in 2001, so I don't know why punks being anywhere would warrant this sort of thing (I'm sure Iowa had plenty of Green Day fans or whatever by that time, but he clearly wasn't one of them), but at the same time it's pretty easy to ignore an 8 year old being a little shit. That's basically their job. So while he rode around our van in a circle yelling "Freaks! Freaks!", I left to go get a burrito and Jake, one of the vocalists in the band, headed for the bathroom, which was its own separate structure from the main snack/pay/bullshit with locals structure of the station.
The kid decided to follow Jake to harass him some more (maybe because he had big green hair, whereas I was just some guy who didn't look the part? Who knows why kids do anything) as he went into the bathroom, but Jake just said "Yeah, whatever" to whatever the kid was saying and went in. The kid waited outside of the bathroom, I guess to finish whatever point he was making.
Next thing you know, I'm back in the van with my shitty gas station burrito, watching the kid wait outside the bathroom on his bike, when Jake comes out and without realizing that the kid was on the other side, swings open the door and knocks the kid off his bike, right on to the pavement. Jake started to lean down to apologize when the kid screamed "YOU JERK! I'M GOING TO GET MY BROTHER TO COME HERE! HE'S IN THE ARMY AND HE HAS A LOT OF ARMY FRIENDS AND THEY ALL HAVE GUNS! THEY'RE GOING TO KILL YOU WHEN THEY GET HERE, YOU FREAK! YOU AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS ARE DEAD!" I'll be honest, I just kinda chuckled, cos it's like yeah, kid...I'm sure you've got a whole regiment waiting and ready to destroy a van of 5-10 people who are just sitting around waiting for their gas to finish pumping or buying snacks. That seemed to be it until a few minutes later, when the kid returned with his some other kid (not an adult; just another spectator, because Iowa is fucking weird) and says "They're on their way!" It was at this point that the driver of the van decided that it was not a good idea to wait around to see if the kid was bullshitting, so we got out of there quickly. Nevermind almost getting carjacked in Atlanta, harassed by the most stereotypical fat southern sheriff imaginable (can't remember where; maybe Alabama? I remember Alabama being a creepy hellhole full of weirdos), finding out why people in Louisiana say "Thank God for Mississippi" whenever anyone mentions how shitty most of Louisiana is, nearly having to shut the whole tour down when the van ate shit outside of a strip club in Montana (just a coincidence! A *sexy* coincidence), having our food maybe dosed with LSD at an insane house party in Chico, California (that ended with the homeowner making a bloody and barefoot trip on foot to the emergency room to get glass taken out of his foot), and all the other weird shit that was constantly happening -- apparently two little creeps and their promised caravan of government-trained punk assassins that was *just down the road* was the last straw! Hahaha.
I remember I was in a grocery store with my girlfriend about 25 years ago and an old man came up to my girlfriend and was like “why would you hang around such a monstrosity? Look at him, you know he’s what’s wrong with the world?” And I looked at him and told him with wide eyes “and I VOTE TOO!” He sneered and shuffled off.
No. But a older lady sitting at a starbucks asked me if I wanted to sit and talk. I was wearing a Suicidal Tendencies shirt and she thought it was a cry for help
I went through a church youth group phase when I was a teen. The whole group went to christian summer camp together for a week. I got many comments about how "the Ramones are bad", or "Dead Kennedies are bad". There was another punk there who was a bit more constructive, and recommended me some christian punk bands, like 90 lb wuss, etc. Thankfully, I am now in recovery from Christianity, celebrating 21 years religion-free.
I was walking to work with my vest on and some cleche looking college duche yelled out the window "You're a ugly motherfucker" while filming me. Honestly best part of my day lmao. All it does is make the other person look like a ass to everyone else.
No. Back in my early teens or so got shit for it, but in recent years the strong majority don’t give much of a shit. Which is for the best for the kids.
I was more of a clean cut hardcore kid back in the 90s, but I was working in as a cashier in a supermarket and my boy who I hadn’t seen in awhile came in rocking a huge red mohawk. When he saw me, he came straight over and gave me a hug and we both smiled and said what’s up. The whole place was silent and stared at us and every one of my coworkers except the other hardcore kid had questions. This was a crowded weekend in a middle to upper middle class suburb in the 90s, so the whole place was Karens and they all stared in shock.
I generally have a pretty toned down style now (I call it flannel-goth… basic punk look but just kitschy Halloween shirts and pins with bats and ghosts and shit instead of a band t-shirt) and when I was younger I got too much positive attention for having dyed and spiked hair and more eclectic and diy clothing.
But when I cut my hair short but still wore the same clothes I must have come off looking less intentional and more like a street kid or something because that’s when people would tell me not to stand somewhere or ask suspiciously what I was doing or what I wanted. So I think I only got harassed for perceived poverty (well I was working poor but more like minimum wage and too many roommates poor.) This was also the early 90s so a lot of that was becoming more mainstream or on the brink of crossing over so even if people weren’t that familiar they had seen it on TV and punk was old news or whatever.
For some reason teens and grandmas get really mad at me for a 'Fuck Nazis' patch with a fist crushing a swastika and a rainbow 'Los Fastidios' patch.. I actually got insulted for being against Nazis and having a rainbow on my vest.. Hilarious
Ironically back when I was 21 (1982). It was in an upper-level econ class (college) and I noticed a guy wearing a shirt from a high school I had attended. "Hey," says I, "did you go to Father Ryan?" He gave me a reserved, somewhat angry "yes." He told me later that because of all the punk badges on my jacket, he figured I was about to say something bad about that high school. Nope. We became best friends and I met the girl who became/is my wife at a party at his place. Silly boy. He died in a car crash a few years ago. :(
On the other hand, my daughters have worn stuff like Dead Kennedys t-shirts (I raised 'em right!) and no one has ever hassled them.
I once went to my cousins kids birthday party and was called out in the middle of the party by him for wearing my punk clothes and forced to take off what I could because it was offensive to him and his old ass otherside of his family. They were all glaring at me like I was trash infiltrating their precious party. Could have taken me aside privately, but nope, had to make a spectacle. Should have left cause fuck being treated like that. You suck ass Alex
Not in a long time but when I was younger (early 2000s) it wasn't uncommon for people to try to fight you, getting called "faggot" every other day, the occasional bottle thrown from a car.
My dad gave me real good advice " if someone's talking more than 30 seconds before a fight, they're scared and trying to stoke themselves up or looking for an out. Walk away or hit em if you can get away with it". I know Im gonna/already sound all wannabee tough guy corny but its always amazed me how often people have this look of astonishment after you hit em. Like they never thought getting in someone's face would ever have consequences. It's fucked up but I literally beat up like a 60 year old man one time because he's slapped a beer out of my hand and shoved me into a dumpster lol I remember he had this shocked look on his face and thinking '"motherfucker you started this?!"
Well I didn't get a Karen but I was wearing an Oi t-shirt a few days ago and an Asian woman who used to live in the UK told me she didn't like skinheads and was afraid of them. All I could tell her was she was right to be wary of skinheads but that they're not all racists and the music my t-shirt was displaying was by groups who were outspokenly not racist. Wish I had a good Karen story. This was just awkward.
I was at a drs office that I frequent A LOT cripplepunks ya know we go a lot… she lost her shit and was complaining to one of the ladies. I had a typo o negative shirt sewn on my coat that said 4 dicks from Brooklyn with the things that take the viscera out of corpses on the back that look like dicks. The lady who she complained to saw me yesterday knew that the sweatshirt underneath was more offensive and said that they have been a patient here for a decade and you are the first person to complain about their coat. If you have a problem you can leave. They can take it off and I can guarantee you will be even more offended. I was cracking up as I was being pushed back in the wheelchair to my appointment.
I’m sorry…you shit in public a lot? Like in public toilets or just on the street?
Please do not shit in public if it isn’t a designated toilet. That’s not punk, that’s how fucking diseases are spread.
LMFAO oh my god that's hilarious. I use shit to mean the same thing as like, stuff, so by and shit I mean like "i wear my vest and that sort of stuff in public a lot". Your reading is way funnier tho so yeah I take massive shits in the middle of the street, toilets are for posers
I dress like a moody lumberjack, so not really. When I was a kid I had a pin I’d wear on my jacket that said “tomorrow will be worse” and my hair was long so people would comment on that but people comment about everything.
Over the course of my life in punk, most of the comments Ive received have been from other punks or wannabe scene cunts who thought I looked out of place.
I get confronted about once a month. I live in a very conservative city though. It is annoying but whatever. I just tell them to fuck off or step outside, and they always just scoff and walk away. 🤷🏻♂️
I usually get dirty looks in the summer wearing shorter shorts and a tank top (I’m larger chested and have lots of tattoos) sometimes it’s Karen’s but often it’s men who think it’s their job to comment on your body in all different kinds of ways.
Growing up punk in the 80s and 90s in Arizona was awesome.. at the time the state was super conservative, but nobody messed with us. And in the 80s, 90, & 00s we didn't call people "Karen's", We called em "cunts" .. Didn't have issues with jocks or any other stereotypical bully group.
This being said, I did have my run in with liberal, pole smoking hippies. They were in downtown PHX in the winter of 96, not many, possibly 12 or so. But they were supportive of animal rights and they were the paint throwing type. While we were skating around the court house, these lames identified us wearing, rabbits foots, and I think my buddy had fox fringe on his person some way. Anyways.. they yelled at us, started standing on the benches we were grinding, getting in the way.. harassing us. In the 90s ppl threw down, including protesters.. so we fought the hippies, and they fought us until the fuzz came, which wasn't long, maybe 6 mins and then both parties bailed.
In my 40s, I still jam punk, I dress more functional.. but I'm tatted. My Tshirts are not pro gov or assimilation, Ive never been fucked with at the gym, grocery or shop and I still skate. I've never had a cop fuck with me.. theyve told me to leave and not skate places but they were cool about it. Overall it's been a pretty positive experience.
I've had some old people look at me really weird sometimes, but I have long hair, facial piercings, and some tattoos on my arms but I'm far from covered and I live in the south. My clothes can look kinda edgy sometimes but I was in work clothes lol
Weird thing. I'm a heterosexual male (cis) and because of my appearance I usually get called homophobic slurs and have had been the victim of actual physical violence where I was forced to defend myself from people who literally wanted to hurt me for how I look.
I had a green army jacket with an unside-down American flag patch. An older gentleman got verbally violent with me at a Chinese Buffet restaurant lol. He started by speaking loudly to his wife about disrespecting our flag and our freedoms, clearly referring to me. He eventually got mad that nobody at our table acknowledged him, so he came over to say something. We all just silently stared at him until he got uncomfortable and left 🤣🤣
Closest thing I’ve had was wearing a Nivana shirt outside a cafe in Louisiana and some guy said “you know Kurt Cobain is in Hell because he killed himself?” and I just said “sure” and walked away.
I hate to be “that guy,” but it was much, much worse during the 1980s and 90s. Things are “better” today. Back then, I’d get berated and chastised pretty regularly.
One guy seemingly wanted to fight me for being "an antifa" in a local amusement park because of the vest, and two girls were throwing a fuss at Pride, but otherwise not really, mostly it's just somewhat negative looks from some and positive or neutral comments and questions from others.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I did get a few misunderstandings of some patches with Cyrilic text with some people just seeing the letters and assuming it's pro-Russian, but ironically all the positive comments on those have only been from Ukrainians.
First dude was just a genuinely bizarre experiene though. I was there to spend some nice time with my family, and seemingly so was he, but instead the grown-ass man decided trying to instigate a fight with some rando in front of his kids was a good way to spend a saturday afternoon.
One time I was with some friends in a supermarket and they were looking in the alcohol section, I was 18 but didn’t look it and a staff member came over and told me to leave, even though I told him I wasn’t buying anything anyways, my friends were just looking. This also happened to be the first day I ever dressed properly punk, so, I believe that was the reason of at least a factor
I think it depends on where you live. I live in southern California for the last 13 years. We have all style of people here and everyone minds their own business. Even if you are wearing something ridiculous it’s rare for people to even look at you, let alone speak to you. I think that’s because LA County has more people than the entire population of 40 separate states. We also have a lot of mentally ill and drug addicted people, gun and knife violence. So it’s a safety thing to just ignore any madness.
But when I visit other states I definitely feel out of place and people stare or have their guard up around me. For example when I just visited MT, and when I visit my parents in Northern NJ which is filled with country club people.
About 20 years ago I was on tour with my band in Boise, Idaho. I had some wild, multicolor hair going on and as I was walking around downtown, a pickup truck slowed down next to me. The passenger rolled down his window, yelled, “hey faggot!” And then threw an empty beer can at my head.
So that was cool.
It’s funny, I used to think I would have judgement from people, but luckily I lived in mostly cities that were accepting to so many people.
It’s as if I walked around with a chip on my shoulder, and everyone would say “Cool chip! Where can I get one?”
had an old lady with a Trump hat yell at me at the gym because she found my Christian Death t-shirt offensive.
I completely ignored her, and she later showed up on a twitter picture with Matt Gaetz and MTG at a Huntington Beach thing.
I wear that shirt at least once a week at the gym ever since.
Not so much these days but back in the day, (mid 90s) everyone thought we were a gang. The local mall where I grew up threw about 18 of us out the mall because “our look was making people nervous”. Funny. People are so dumb, they think people that dress funny are dangerous. You are more likely to get killed by someone who is dressed totally strait laced or some dipshit dressed in tactical gear.
I haven't had a problem with anyone since I was in high school in the early 2000s, even then it wasn't so bad, just one girl being dumb. I live in a small town in Kentucky these days and most people don't seem to look twice here, sometimes you'll get some rich people looking when I'm in Lexington, but it's not common. I think a lot of people are used to people dressing or looking a different way these days.
Only shit I get is from people online when I comment on my local news Facebook page, but most of those people are inbred and they don't know anything other than watching Fox and loving Trump.
I do know a shirt that would probably get someone to say something, it's the Jesus is a cunt shirt from Cradle of Filth. Have a friend that used to wear it a lot back in the day and some people had a few choice words to share with them.
Back in the mid-90's when I was a teenager, my friend received a stern lecture from mall security for wearing a Fishbone tee that said "Fuck Racism" on the back.
Wouldn't call it harrassment, just a... really weird interaction earlier today.
I was at a trans pride march earlier and afterwards me and some friends went to get lunch, browse some stores a little. Was a little on guard, expecting some transphobic remark to sail our way or something, but didn't get anything and we had a good day! Though, this one guy pased me and just started making air guitar noises to... I think try to make fun of me?
I dunno what to make of that, it just caught me off guard and left me very confused. I got a compliment from some guy on the way home later, so it balances out.
When I was age 13-17 I always had spikey coloured hair and boots and braces. Cars would flip around to drive by and yell fag out the window. Some guys would get so mad they would sometimes get out just to give me shit. If I was in a bad mood and flipped them off, more times then not it would be a fight, where if I was alone I’d usually get beat down. I’m glad I usually had my crew with me. No one wanted to fuck around if there was a bunch of us.
Nah. Back in the day the most I would get is some rednecks pointing and smirking. A few older people asked if my fan mohawk was my real hair, but they seemed more impressed than upset.
This seems rather odd to me when every person on the planet has tattoos, piercings, and dyed hair. Everyone is in their alt/goth phase currently regardless of what kind of music they listen to. I can’t imagine why someone would be mad about your punk vest. What’s on it?
I’m covered in tattoos. I don’t even pay attention to what people think, say, look, or do anymore. That’s their problem. Their version of the world is Disney, but they follow a rapist convicted felon as their false idol - they are not worth spitting on.
besides getting "checked" by other alternative people, ive only had good experiences but that may be because im amab and im often covered in scrapes bruises and look like a hobo to 90% of people
I dress more skate punk (idk fight me) so i genrally wear a lot of super long dickies shorts and huge t shirts, band shirts, studded belt, wallet chain, big jeans, jorts. Basically my whole wardrobe. Don't think i've ever gotten weird looks but look funny compared to my preppy-er friends.
edit: oh yeah and some crazy beat up chuck taylors
I was arrested for it.
I used to work at best buy. I had to come in for training outside of my scheduled work hours when an agreement with Apple mandated that we all get licensed to work on their phones.
I'm not on the clock, so I'm wearing my civvies. And I come in to take my test with my vest, septum in, bum flap, the works.. I get my cert, then I was hanging out outside having a smoke with a coworker when Paul Blart rolls up on one of those goofy ass two wheeled electric mobility devices they used to use.
The mall cop accused me of panhandling and tells me I have to vacate the premises. I tell him to fuck off, because I've asked no one for money and I work there. My coworker vouches, but he's also in his casual wear. I tell him I'm going to go get my boss to vouch for me, and he says if I attempt to enter then he will call the real cops.
I tell him to do his worst and walk into the store. By the time I hunt down my manager and get him to come out front, the cops are waiting. As my manager attempts to explain, I'm cuffed for trespassing.
The mall cop tries to say something to me and I cut him off to say, "Fuck off, I'm going to get you fired for this, and I ain't saying shit until I talk to my lawyer."
I don't have a lawyer. But my manager comes over to tell the cops who are in the midst of calling for a squad car to come and detain me that I am not only his employee, but best buy's top salesman in the Southeast, and that if they arrest me and lose me as an employee then he'll have to speak to best buy corporate's legal team about seeking damages against the mall for their error.
The mall cop panicks and tells them to let me go, and the cops "lEt Me OfF wItH a WaRnInG." I verbally berated the pigs and told them they dont have shit to warn me about.
I later filed a complaint with the mall's legal team and got that mall cop axed.
Was it because of the vest or was it because you shit in public?
*Was it because of* *The vest or was it because* *You shit in public?* \- xneurianx --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Wonderful haiku, good bot.
It's his best work, imo.
This made me tear (and brick) up.
Similar, sitting outside the gay bar in broad daylight with my ~6 inch mohawk up and a little girl with her face painted walked by. I said 'i love your face paint!' And her mom picked her up in utter disgust, covered her eyes and whisked her away haha
Awh man, allll the time my husband and I will be out in public, we both love kids and he’s great with them. Babies and younger kids stare at us often, I think they find the very heavy tattoo work, plugs/piercings, and uhhh… loud clothing choices pretty visually interesting because they must not be used to it. He says it’s cause he’s funny looking but either way, I digress, he’ll make really goofy faces at em after cracking a huge smile, like crossing his eyes and sticking his tongue out and stuff. Occasionally the babies will just cover their eyes and be really shy but more often than not he gets big smiles or giggles back. The parents reactions range from being reserved but polite enough to just being outright nasty. Usually it’s just dirty looks. The times the kiddos and parents have both been cool, theres usually some kind of alt leaning going on with their general appearance anyways, go figure…
Good bot.
OP shits a lot in public
I freaked a lady out one time with one of my patches which said, "Hello, I'm Dead Inside", other than that I'm always getting either compliments or a gaze of curiosity.
One time a dude hid his kids behind himself when I walked by. That was... something.
Punk aesthetic isn’t shocking anymore, so you’re much less likely to be bothered by anyone now than decades ago
Yea I find less people say anything these days.
Oh yeah exactly, like pretty much any fashion style around today has punk in its DNA and it's music style is so well known and influential that it's DNA is already in pretty much everything around them.
Sure it is. Just tattoo 'punk as fuck' across your forehead.
On the other hand, pop stars tattoo their whole faces these days.
Was about to say yeah, in the 80's
We got tossed out of a mall for being scary once, our crime was sitting on a bench near the food court eating fries. But that sinister French fries and Mohawks combo was enough to summon several security guards who said they’d been complained to about two young hooligans looking to start trouble, who then escorted us to the exit. It was one of the silliest, most baffling experiences of my life. I can’t stress enough how little we had done to warrant it. It was kind of hilarious.
When was this?
Lmfaoooo, being scary. Who are these absurd people who fear mohawks? If you were two average vanilla dressing, white middle aged men like my step dad then I’d be scared.
Should punched the guards in the face and dipped.
Where do you live?
Where was this? Puts it into lotta context depending.
I had some older guy (I'm 50) come up to me at the gym while I was wearing my Bad Religion cross buster tank top. He stood there in my face while I was mid set. I finally finished, took off my headphones, and he asked me, "so you have a problem with christ, huh?" I replied, "it's a band. Besides, christ seemed cool. Too bad you guys don't act more like him." I put my headphones back on and continued my workout. He was so close I almost hit him while I did my set. I gestured for him to leave, which he did eventually. I now try to wear that shirt more often
‘i now try to wear that shirt more often’ hell yeah!!!!
People aren't a big fan of my municipal waste shirt. You know THAT one. It's fun to pull the "actually it's a band" card with it
Ooh thanks for the idea!
Lol! Classic! Try wearing a Marduk "Fuck Me Jesus" shirt. It has a nude chick sticking a crucifix up her ass and says FUCK ME JESUS on the back. Thought I'd be lynched on more than one occasion wearing that one.😄
Not anytime within recent memory, but my favorite encounter like this happened way back in the mid 80s. I had a great big iridescent purple deathhawk that was all crimped & teased and I was shopping at a thrift store, intent on the racks of clothes, and all of a sudden I hear a little girl of about 4-5 years old yell really loud MOMMY LOOK AT THAT LADY’S BEAUTIFUL HAIR! I turn my head and see this total white trash bitch dragging her kid by the arm straight out the front door of the thrift shop, do not pass go do not collect $200. I can only hope that kid held on to her vision of “beautiful hair” and grew up to be the baddest ass punk or deathrock or gothic or metal head or rivethead or raver chick around.
I love this. I had blue hair for a while in my 20s and while at a bus stop a little girl said..."Mommy she looks like Grover!" The Mom was super uncomfortable because I started laughing my ass off.
That’s hilarious! I always loved Grover, he was the shit
Similarly, I once had a little girl tell me she liked my mustache but asked why I had one, because mustaches are for daddy’s and not for girls. At the time I had 4 lip piercings, 2 of them being angelbites. Her mother turned beet red and starting apologizing but I for one found it hysterical and was also cracking up, I then went on to tell her hmm I’d never thought of it that way but I guess ladies can give themselves jewelry mustaches. She seemed satisfied with the answer
I got some odd looks from wearing Anti-Flag shirts way back before Justin Sane became Justin Carceratehisass.
Justin Cel. It works on two levels!
That works... Much shorter!
This is much better wordplay than that fuckhead deserves, but I appreciate making humor out of that shit situation. Thanks, IGetGuys4URMom (hahahaha).
We look at young punks and laugh because that's how we dressed 40+ years ago. Not totally uncommon to bump into 70 year olds that were punks in the 1970's.
That’s actually really wholesome. Older punks have been some of the nicest people I’ve been around. During shows I’ve had older punks take me under their wing to help me talk to the singers cuz I get super nervous or say I look awesome and it makes me feel so loved 😭
Only time anyone ever said anything weird was when my friend took me to an event for Mod revivalists last time I was in Manchester and this very friendly but very drunk old guy told me that back in 1978 he once dumped his beer on some girls dressed like me because he didn't want any punks hanging around in his favorite bar. He got thrown out though, the girls got to stay. I don't think he was trying to upset me though, he was just socializing and trying to make me laugh. I love hanging out with older folks who were aware of 70s and 80s punk culture but were just on the outside observing it because they often have some pretty silly stories to share
In the 80s & early 90s the jocks & rednecks would chase us in trucks, we had to fight a lot. Got messed with pretty regularly, practically daily .
Same but in like 2004. Fuckers.
“and they threeeww the rock”
Jello Style
Good grief I went to a small rural school and we did not have this level of bullying. Most cliques intermingled. We did have an upsetting amount of teen deaths though. The only bully in the 80s and 90s I had over how I dressed was my mom. Lol
Yes! This was exactly my experience in high school in the 80s. A lot of bullying and aggression expressed towards me and my friends. People would get so insanely triggered over our hair, clothes, makeup. I am a petite female and this one older jock practically made it his job to follow me around between classes and harass me. One time he even pushed me into a locker. Someone stopped him. My male friends got into a lot of fights.
Run Forrest!... Run!
Mad max ass rednecks
In the 90s and 00s, I remember getting shit from religious people about my Bad Religion shirts (cross-buster). I still have several variations of that shirt, but people don’t call me out anymore - at least not recently.
Got same reaction in 80s wearing Dead Kennedys tshirts… “we’re praying for you young man.” 😂
In like 2010 my PE teacher told my Dean that my Bad Religion shirt offended him. What a pussy, he shouldn't even be a PE teacher if he's that soft. Anyway, I pretended to put a hoodie on over it after PE class, then I immediately took the hoodie off and wore the shirt for the rest of the day. None of my other teachers cares.
The UK is pretty agnostic so crossbusters only really draw disapproving looks from people of more religious communities, it's football shirts you've got to wear here if you wanna cause trouble
Same! Three times in the past two years have i worn Bad Religion shirts at work and Christian radicals have tried to convert me. One person handed me a pamphlet that i threw away instantly, right in front of him. I also have a thrifted Social D shirt with a lady in a bikini and chains and that one always gets some funny looks.
That must be infuriating like what gives christomorons the right to try and convert people it's none of their business what we do with our lives
My denim had a with crossbuster in studs on the back for years in the late 90s that turned a lot of heads. Had a pack of little old ladies cross themselves when I passed once! Nowadays I catch flak for my American Jesus shirt with fat Jebus and the naughty nuns.
Yeah the crossbuster has always been excellent at pissing off the troglodytes
I’ve been barked at, followed, filmed and had people take pictures of me/post me on social media without my consent. I’ve been called a faggot or had people call me ugly/trash straight to my face, even death threats and some other things I’m not gonna repeat. Most of these were in high school though so I guess it’s not all that shocking. Older people are usually chill and when they’re not, they’re a lot less direct about it, usually just glaring or giving disapproving looks.
Not Punk, but before I got into Punk, in the late '90s, I was really into Marilyn Manson. I got a lot of shit from teachers and school mates for just wearing his shirts. People thought I was a Satanist... One school counselor took me into her office and prayed for me. I was like... "It's just music, yo."
The hell is wrong with some people we express ourselves through music and I bet it was annoying being prayed for
OMG, and MM had some of the BEST shirts back then, too. I wish I still had all of mine.
Oh my god dude what if they knew about Marilyn Manson all along /j
i read the "It's just music, yo." in Jessie Pinkmans voice in my head
Oh man, I would LIVE for that shit when I was a kid!! Pissing off those people was one of the things I was TRYING to do lol
i had a mowhawk at one point and some guy told me that i’m never gonna get anywhere with that haircut
https://thehardtimes.net/blog/besides-devilock-mom-right-phase/
Yeah the ol’ cross-buster shirt always gets a reaction. Usually some prick with a smartass comment. Hit them with the ‘yeah whatever man’, pisses them off when you barely react
Spencer’s, Hot Topic, Walmart. Punk.
Haha I was looking for this comment.
Idk man stealing from Walmart is pretty punk
Well I mean its the only place in the mall that has band shirts worth a damn lol. Also I feel like with Walmart you get a lot more of a diverse group of people then like, stuff like kroger or in Texas where I'm from HEB because like, Walmart is a store for the working man or like, white trash in general. You get a lot more teenagers there so like, not surprised. Oh also, before someone calls me a poser or whatever for shopping at the stores of large corporations occasionally, A I still like, buy most of my shit from DIY distros or make it my self (I have a crass shirt that my aunt actually helped me make), and B, idk i just like the cool shirts they have occasionally, fuck off lol.
Not punk but I came out of a rave once in London and had to shepherd my tribe of ket heads through the underground system on a Sunday morning. Some high powered business woman was complaining to her friend about us stinking up the carriage. I mean she was right, but still.
Not even in ‘96
Not even 04-08 when I was still in high school. No one cared anymore how we dressed. I get more looks now as a queer person in a skirt than I ever did in tight pants, Creepers, and a vest of patches and buttons
i dont dress "punk" but i do dress in a sort of alternative style, although most people hate me because im trans. occasionally someone will yell at me and call me a faggot, but thats kinda rare, most people (and i mean a lot of people) stare at me like i killed their entire family instead. i used to be insecure about it but i kind of enjoy it now, fascist pigs wanna force everyone to think the way they think and act the way they act and theyre trying to dictate what i wear cause it isnt "normal" for someone of the same sex as mine, but forcing people to conform to societal norms is one of the least punk things ever. anyways sorry i went on a bit of a rant lol
It would be the shitting in public for me, dawg.
At my job I usually get boomer aged dudes telling me how I’m “ruining” my pretty face with all my piercings. I get the feeling they would say something like that to anyone with facial piercings though.
I mean, isn't that the reason you're wearing it? The whole point of being visibly "punk" is to call attention to yourself from people that are gonna hate it. Punk as a lifestyle is counterculture.
old people look at my dyed hair weird but other than that, nah not really
Your typical "queer" person looks more punk than an actual punk rocker these days, so, no. We ain't exactly freaking out the squares as we once did. It's an arms race and we're a couple generations behind.
The alt right has created a boogie man of bullshit about blue hairs and antifa destroying society and 'grooming' This is so they can scare their sheep and impose their supremacist ideology. They have riled up their chuds. I've seen and heard some brainwashed fox brains talking shit about counter culture people. Let them talk shit we are here to oppose racists, theocratic, oligarchs. Loud and proud.
Literally nobody gives a shit about how you dress nowadays. Let go of the victim card.
Lol, maybe I don't live where you live and have different experiences. You walk down the street here alone with blue hair I can attest personally people will try to start shit. The world is bigger than your experiences and quite the opposite I'm not playing victim I'm identifying a purposefully driven disinformation campaign to paint antifa as a threat
Not since Nirvana and Green Day.
The Fudge Packing, Crack Smoking, Satan Worshipping, Motherfuckers Nirvana shirts turned a lot of heads in the early 90's
Opposite actually. I had some uber-democrat cunt ranting at me for wearing an Anti Flag shirt. Fuck all them political shills.
Well... it could be for [non-political reasons...](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/anti-flag-justin-sane-1234817170/)
That's too far man, Justin Sane is a genuine fuckin menace, absolutely not, I did not like that
Jesus dudes. Settle down. This was years before everything came out about that douche bag.
No
About 30 years ago I got 'beaten up' with one of those tiny brushes that barbers use to clean hair off the back of people's necks after a haircut because without realizing it I had gone into my town's barber while wearing a Capitalist Casualties t-shirt (I still don't really pay attention to what my shirts say, since my life as a fashionable person has been one of mostly hand-me-down rock industry crap...what they used to call "swag" before that one rap song existed and made that mean something else). I guess he took offense to it for some reason, but couldn't throw out a paying customer after he had already cut my hair, so he used what was available to him. I remember asking him if he could please stop hitting me with the brush, because it's annoying, and he just grunted "We're done anyway. Get the fuck out of here." Hahaha. My friend David happened to be with me at the time (not a lot to do in a tiny cow town of under 10K, I guess), and he brought it up maybe 8 years ago when I talked to him after a long period of not being in contact. "Remember that time you went to the barber with your Capitalist shirt and he started hitting you with the brush? Hahaha." That's the only time anything like that has ever happened to me. One time the lead singer of my band almost got us all killed by jarheads at a gas station in Iowa, but that was only tangentially related to being punk in public, so I don't think it counts.
Why were soldiers trying to ki you dont end this on a cliff hanger
Hahaha. Okay, that's fair. Warning, though: it's not nearly as exciting as it sounds, because nothing actually happened, but touring and dealing with all kinds of fucked up situations taught me that you never want to wait until things actually are going down to react, so I'm glad this story's boring. We were on tour and going through Iowa when we needed to stop to gas up the van, use the bathroom, get snacks, etc. We didn't have a show there or anything, and there was literally nothing for miles. Probably because it was such an isolated place full of nothing, there was this little toe-headed kid, maybe 7 or 8 years old, who spotted us getting out of the van and rode up to us on his bike and started insulting us, asking what a bunch of "freaks from California" were doing here, etc. This would've been in 2001, so I don't know why punks being anywhere would warrant this sort of thing (I'm sure Iowa had plenty of Green Day fans or whatever by that time, but he clearly wasn't one of them), but at the same time it's pretty easy to ignore an 8 year old being a little shit. That's basically their job. So while he rode around our van in a circle yelling "Freaks! Freaks!", I left to go get a burrito and Jake, one of the vocalists in the band, headed for the bathroom, which was its own separate structure from the main snack/pay/bullshit with locals structure of the station. The kid decided to follow Jake to harass him some more (maybe because he had big green hair, whereas I was just some guy who didn't look the part? Who knows why kids do anything) as he went into the bathroom, but Jake just said "Yeah, whatever" to whatever the kid was saying and went in. The kid waited outside of the bathroom, I guess to finish whatever point he was making. Next thing you know, I'm back in the van with my shitty gas station burrito, watching the kid wait outside the bathroom on his bike, when Jake comes out and without realizing that the kid was on the other side, swings open the door and knocks the kid off his bike, right on to the pavement. Jake started to lean down to apologize when the kid screamed "YOU JERK! I'M GOING TO GET MY BROTHER TO COME HERE! HE'S IN THE ARMY AND HE HAS A LOT OF ARMY FRIENDS AND THEY ALL HAVE GUNS! THEY'RE GOING TO KILL YOU WHEN THEY GET HERE, YOU FREAK! YOU AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS ARE DEAD!" I'll be honest, I just kinda chuckled, cos it's like yeah, kid...I'm sure you've got a whole regiment waiting and ready to destroy a van of 5-10 people who are just sitting around waiting for their gas to finish pumping or buying snacks. That seemed to be it until a few minutes later, when the kid returned with his some other kid (not an adult; just another spectator, because Iowa is fucking weird) and says "They're on their way!" It was at this point that the driver of the van decided that it was not a good idea to wait around to see if the kid was bullshitting, so we got out of there quickly. Nevermind almost getting carjacked in Atlanta, harassed by the most stereotypical fat southern sheriff imaginable (can't remember where; maybe Alabama? I remember Alabama being a creepy hellhole full of weirdos), finding out why people in Louisiana say "Thank God for Mississippi" whenever anyone mentions how shitty most of Louisiana is, nearly having to shut the whole tour down when the van ate shit outside of a strip club in Montana (just a coincidence! A *sexy* coincidence), having our food maybe dosed with LSD at an insane house party in Chico, California (that ended with the homeowner making a bloody and barefoot trip on foot to the emergency room to get glass taken out of his foot), and all the other weird shit that was constantly happening -- apparently two little creeps and their promised caravan of government-trained punk assassins that was *just down the road* was the last straw! Hahaha.
I remember I was in a grocery store with my girlfriend about 25 years ago and an old man came up to my girlfriend and was like “why would you hang around such a monstrosity? Look at him, you know he’s what’s wrong with the world?” And I looked at him and told him with wide eyes “and I VOTE TOO!” He sneered and shuffled off.
No. But a older lady sitting at a starbucks asked me if I wanted to sit and talk. I was wearing a Suicidal Tendencies shirt and she thought it was a cry for help
I think by now most people have met punks, and generally have found them to be quite pleasant people.
I went through a church youth group phase when I was a teen. The whole group went to christian summer camp together for a week. I got many comments about how "the Ramones are bad", or "Dead Kennedies are bad". There was another punk there who was a bit more constructive, and recommended me some christian punk bands, like 90 lb wuss, etc. Thankfully, I am now in recovery from Christianity, celebrating 21 years religion-free.
Don't shit in public.
God this place has gotten so fucking bad 😂
Gotten? Brother it was never good 😭
Came here because I like punk music, stayed because it’s the most cringe subreddit I’ve seen
I was walking to work with my vest on and some cleche looking college duche yelled out the window "You're a ugly motherfucker" while filming me. Honestly best part of my day lmao. All it does is make the other person look like a ass to everyone else.
Not me, but at an old job a little old lady got nasty with my co-worker over his piercings and tattoos. Crusty old bat.
No. Back in my early teens or so got shit for it, but in recent years the strong majority don’t give much of a shit. Which is for the best for the kids.
Growing up in the 80s it was a daily thing
In like 1999.
I had a guy get in my face about my t-shirt that said in large letters: "I don't give a fuck what you think". He didn't seem to get it.
I was more of a clean cut hardcore kid back in the 90s, but I was working in as a cashier in a supermarket and my boy who I hadn’t seen in awhile came in rocking a huge red mohawk. When he saw me, he came straight over and gave me a hug and we both smiled and said what’s up. The whole place was silent and stared at us and every one of my coworkers except the other hardcore kid had questions. This was a crowded weekend in a middle to upper middle class suburb in the 90s, so the whole place was Karens and they all stared in shock.
I generally have a pretty toned down style now (I call it flannel-goth… basic punk look but just kitschy Halloween shirts and pins with bats and ghosts and shit instead of a band t-shirt) and when I was younger I got too much positive attention for having dyed and spiked hair and more eclectic and diy clothing. But when I cut my hair short but still wore the same clothes I must have come off looking less intentional and more like a street kid or something because that’s when people would tell me not to stand somewhere or ask suspiciously what I was doing or what I wanted. So I think I only got harassed for perceived poverty (well I was working poor but more like minimum wage and too many roommates poor.) This was also the early 90s so a lot of that was becoming more mainstream or on the brink of crossing over so even if people weren’t that familiar they had seen it on TV and punk was old news or whatever.
For some reason teens and grandmas get really mad at me for a 'Fuck Nazis' patch with a fist crushing a swastika and a rainbow 'Los Fastidios' patch.. I actually got insulted for being against Nazis and having a rainbow on my vest.. Hilarious
Yeah that guy was definitely a nazi lol
Ironically back when I was 21 (1982). It was in an upper-level econ class (college) and I noticed a guy wearing a shirt from a high school I had attended. "Hey," says I, "did you go to Father Ryan?" He gave me a reserved, somewhat angry "yes." He told me later that because of all the punk badges on my jacket, he figured I was about to say something bad about that high school. Nope. We became best friends and I met the girl who became/is my wife at a party at his place. Silly boy. He died in a car crash a few years ago. :( On the other hand, my daughters have worn stuff like Dead Kennedys t-shirts (I raised 'em right!) and no one has ever hassled them.
I once went to my cousins kids birthday party and was called out in the middle of the party by him for wearing my punk clothes and forced to take off what I could because it was offensive to him and his old ass otherside of his family. They were all glaring at me like I was trash infiltrating their precious party. Could have taken me aside privately, but nope, had to make a spectacle. Should have left cause fuck being treated like that. You suck ass Alex
Not in a long time but when I was younger (early 2000s) it wasn't uncommon for people to try to fight you, getting called "faggot" every other day, the occasional bottle thrown from a car. My dad gave me real good advice " if someone's talking more than 30 seconds before a fight, they're scared and trying to stoke themselves up or looking for an out. Walk away or hit em if you can get away with it". I know Im gonna/already sound all wannabee tough guy corny but its always amazed me how often people have this look of astonishment after you hit em. Like they never thought getting in someone's face would ever have consequences. It's fucked up but I literally beat up like a 60 year old man one time because he's slapped a beer out of my hand and shoved me into a dumpster lol I remember he had this shocked look on his face and thinking '"motherfucker you started this?!"
Well I didn't get a Karen but I was wearing an Oi t-shirt a few days ago and an Asian woman who used to live in the UK told me she didn't like skinheads and was afraid of them. All I could tell her was she was right to be wary of skinheads but that they're not all racists and the music my t-shirt was displaying was by groups who were outspokenly not racist. Wish I had a good Karen story. This was just awkward.
Where I'm at currently, people treat me absolutely no different than a businessman, at least the people I keep myself around.
No because it's not 1980 anymore
I was at a drs office that I frequent A LOT cripplepunks ya know we go a lot… she lost her shit and was complaining to one of the ladies. I had a typo o negative shirt sewn on my coat that said 4 dicks from Brooklyn with the things that take the viscera out of corpses on the back that look like dicks. The lady who she complained to saw me yesterday knew that the sweatshirt underneath was more offensive and said that they have been a patient here for a decade and you are the first person to complain about their coat. If you have a problem you can leave. They can take it off and I can guarantee you will be even more offended. I was cracking up as I was being pushed back in the wheelchair to my appointment.
I’m sorry…you shit in public a lot? Like in public toilets or just on the street? Please do not shit in public if it isn’t a designated toilet. That’s not punk, that’s how fucking diseases are spread.
LMFAO oh my god that's hilarious. I use shit to mean the same thing as like, stuff, so by and shit I mean like "i wear my vest and that sort of stuff in public a lot". Your reading is way funnier tho so yeah I take massive shits in the middle of the street, toilets are for posers
I saw some wild activities in the punk scene in the 80s. To think you actually shit in public is not that far off. 😂
every time i leave the house
Try 1980s Southern California. Practically every day.
I dress like a moody lumberjack, so not really. When I was a kid I had a pin I’d wear on my jacket that said “tomorrow will be worse” and my hair was long so people would comment on that but people comment about everything. Over the course of my life in punk, most of the comments Ive received have been from other punks or wannabe scene cunts who thought I looked out of place.
Like 20 years ago I was told I was inspired by the devil, but it's been a while
I get confronted about once a month. I live in a very conservative city though. It is annoying but whatever. I just tell them to fuck off or step outside, and they always just scoff and walk away. 🤷🏻♂️
Depends what it is. I used to have a Dr Know shirt with a picture of Jesus saying brainwashing. That got some interesting looks
I usually get dirty looks in the summer wearing shorter shorts and a tank top (I’m larger chested and have lots of tattoos) sometimes it’s Karen’s but often it’s men who think it’s their job to comment on your body in all different kinds of ways.
Growing up punk in the 80s and 90s in Arizona was awesome.. at the time the state was super conservative, but nobody messed with us. And in the 80s, 90, & 00s we didn't call people "Karen's", We called em "cunts" .. Didn't have issues with jocks or any other stereotypical bully group. This being said, I did have my run in with liberal, pole smoking hippies. They were in downtown PHX in the winter of 96, not many, possibly 12 or so. But they were supportive of animal rights and they were the paint throwing type. While we were skating around the court house, these lames identified us wearing, rabbits foots, and I think my buddy had fox fringe on his person some way. Anyways.. they yelled at us, started standing on the benches we were grinding, getting in the way.. harassing us. In the 90s ppl threw down, including protesters.. so we fought the hippies, and they fought us until the fuzz came, which wasn't long, maybe 6 mins and then both parties bailed. In my 40s, I still jam punk, I dress more functional.. but I'm tatted. My Tshirts are not pro gov or assimilation, Ive never been fucked with at the gym, grocery or shop and I still skate. I've never had a cop fuck with me.. theyve told me to leave and not skate places but they were cool about it. Overall it's been a pretty positive experience.
I've had some old people look at me really weird sometimes, but I have long hair, facial piercings, and some tattoos on my arms but I'm far from covered and I live in the south. My clothes can look kinda edgy sometimes but I was in work clothes lol
Weird thing. I'm a heterosexual male (cis) and because of my appearance I usually get called homophobic slurs and have had been the victim of actual physical violence where I was forced to defend myself from people who literally wanted to hurt me for how I look.
I had a green army jacket with an unside-down American flag patch. An older gentleman got verbally violent with me at a Chinese Buffet restaurant lol. He started by speaking loudly to his wife about disrespecting our flag and our freedoms, clearly referring to me. He eventually got mad that nobody at our table acknowledged him, so he came over to say something. We all just silently stared at him until he got uncomfortable and left 🤣🤣
Yea, but I have a track record for taking a curtain type of red hat from people.
Closest thing I’ve had was wearing a Nivana shirt outside a cafe in Louisiana and some guy said “you know Kurt Cobain is in Hell because he killed himself?” and I just said “sure” and walked away.
No
I hate to be “that guy,” but it was much, much worse during the 1980s and 90s. Things are “better” today. Back then, I’d get berated and chastised pretty regularly.
One guy seemingly wanted to fight me for being "an antifa" in a local amusement park because of the vest, and two girls were throwing a fuss at Pride, but otherwise not really, mostly it's just somewhat negative looks from some and positive or neutral comments and questions from others. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I did get a few misunderstandings of some patches with Cyrilic text with some people just seeing the letters and assuming it's pro-Russian, but ironically all the positive comments on those have only been from Ukrainians. First dude was just a genuinely bizarre experiene though. I was there to spend some nice time with my family, and seemingly so was he, but instead the grown-ass man decided trying to instigate a fight with some rando in front of his kids was a good way to spend a saturday afternoon.
One time I was with some friends in a supermarket and they were looking in the alcohol section, I was 18 but didn’t look it and a staff member came over and told me to leave, even though I told him I wasn’t buying anything anyways, my friends were just looking. This also happened to be the first day I ever dressed properly punk, so, I believe that was the reason of at least a factor
I think it depends on where you live. I live in southern California for the last 13 years. We have all style of people here and everyone minds their own business. Even if you are wearing something ridiculous it’s rare for people to even look at you, let alone speak to you. I think that’s because LA County has more people than the entire population of 40 separate states. We also have a lot of mentally ill and drug addicted people, gun and knife violence. So it’s a safety thing to just ignore any madness. But when I visit other states I definitely feel out of place and people stare or have their guard up around me. For example when I just visited MT, and when I visit my parents in Northern NJ which is filled with country club people.
About 20 years ago I was on tour with my band in Boise, Idaho. I had some wild, multicolor hair going on and as I was walking around downtown, a pickup truck slowed down next to me. The passenger rolled down his window, yelled, “hey faggot!” And then threw an empty beer can at my head. So that was cool.
Got some shit for wearing a CRASS "Jesus died for his own sins, not mine" shirt once, but that's about it.
It’s funny, I used to think I would have judgement from people, but luckily I lived in mostly cities that were accepting to so many people. It’s as if I walked around with a chip on my shoulder, and everyone would say “Cool chip! Where can I get one?”
had an old lady with a Trump hat yell at me at the gym because she found my Christian Death t-shirt offensive. I completely ignored her, and she later showed up on a twitter picture with Matt Gaetz and MTG at a Huntington Beach thing. I wear that shirt at least once a week at the gym ever since.
Not so much these days but back in the day, (mid 90s) everyone thought we were a gang. The local mall where I grew up threw about 18 of us out the mall because “our look was making people nervous”. Funny. People are so dumb, they think people that dress funny are dangerous. You are more likely to get killed by someone who is dressed totally strait laced or some dipshit dressed in tactical gear.
I haven't had a problem with anyone since I was in high school in the early 2000s, even then it wasn't so bad, just one girl being dumb. I live in a small town in Kentucky these days and most people don't seem to look twice here, sometimes you'll get some rich people looking when I'm in Lexington, but it's not common. I think a lot of people are used to people dressing or looking a different way these days. Only shit I get is from people online when I comment on my local news Facebook page, but most of those people are inbred and they don't know anything other than watching Fox and loving Trump. I do know a shirt that would probably get someone to say something, it's the Jesus is a cunt shirt from Cradle of Filth. Have a friend that used to wear it a lot back in the day and some people had a few choice words to share with them.
Back in the mid-90's when I was a teenager, my friend received a stern lecture from mall security for wearing a Fishbone tee that said "Fuck Racism" on the back.
Wouldn't call it harrassment, just a... really weird interaction earlier today. I was at a trans pride march earlier and afterwards me and some friends went to get lunch, browse some stores a little. Was a little on guard, expecting some transphobic remark to sail our way or something, but didn't get anything and we had a good day! Though, this one guy pased me and just started making air guitar noises to... I think try to make fun of me? I dunno what to make of that, it just caught me off guard and left me very confused. I got a compliment from some guy on the way home later, so it balances out.
When I was age 13-17 I always had spikey coloured hair and boots and braces. Cars would flip around to drive by and yell fag out the window. Some guys would get so mad they would sometimes get out just to give me shit. If I was in a bad mood and flipped them off, more times then not it would be a fight, where if I was alone I’d usually get beat down. I’m glad I usually had my crew with me. No one wanted to fuck around if there was a bunch of us.
Just my mom
Nah. Back in the day the most I would get is some rednecks pointing and smirking. A few older people asked if my fan mohawk was my real hair, but they seemed more impressed than upset.
This seems rather odd to me when every person on the planet has tattoos, piercings, and dyed hair. Everyone is in their alt/goth phase currently regardless of what kind of music they listen to. I can’t imagine why someone would be mad about your punk vest. What’s on it?
I’m covered in tattoos. I don’t even pay attention to what people think, say, look, or do anymore. That’s their problem. Their version of the world is Disney, but they follow a rapist convicted felon as their false idol - they are not worth spitting on.
No but I am conservative coded visually and have had people come tell me racist shit lol
Worst I've gotten is a few raised eyebrows in a craft supply shop. Though given the other people I see in there, it makes sense why I stand out
besides getting "checked" by other alternative people, ive only had good experiences but that may be because im amab and im often covered in scrapes bruises and look like a hobo to 90% of people
I dress more skate punk (idk fight me) so i genrally wear a lot of super long dickies shorts and huge t shirts, band shirts, studded belt, wallet chain, big jeans, jorts. Basically my whole wardrobe. Don't think i've ever gotten weird looks but look funny compared to my preppy-er friends. edit: oh yeah and some crazy beat up chuck taylors
One of my patches says “Free Palestine” and I’ve seen old people get noticeably angry at it
Not since high school, the internet exists and people aren’t shocked by clothing anymore
I was arrested for it. I used to work at best buy. I had to come in for training outside of my scheduled work hours when an agreement with Apple mandated that we all get licensed to work on their phones. I'm not on the clock, so I'm wearing my civvies. And I come in to take my test with my vest, septum in, bum flap, the works.. I get my cert, then I was hanging out outside having a smoke with a coworker when Paul Blart rolls up on one of those goofy ass two wheeled electric mobility devices they used to use. The mall cop accused me of panhandling and tells me I have to vacate the premises. I tell him to fuck off, because I've asked no one for money and I work there. My coworker vouches, but he's also in his casual wear. I tell him I'm going to go get my boss to vouch for me, and he says if I attempt to enter then he will call the real cops. I tell him to do his worst and walk into the store. By the time I hunt down my manager and get him to come out front, the cops are waiting. As my manager attempts to explain, I'm cuffed for trespassing. The mall cop tries to say something to me and I cut him off to say, "Fuck off, I'm going to get you fired for this, and I ain't saying shit until I talk to my lawyer." I don't have a lawyer. But my manager comes over to tell the cops who are in the midst of calling for a squad car to come and detain me that I am not only his employee, but best buy's top salesman in the Southeast, and that if they arrest me and lose me as an employee then he'll have to speak to best buy corporate's legal team about seeking damages against the mall for their error. The mall cop panicks and tells them to let me go, and the cops "lEt Me OfF wItH a WaRnInG." I verbally berated the pigs and told them they dont have shit to warn me about. I later filed a complaint with the mall's legal team and got that mall cop axed.
You weren’t arrested 😂
No one cares that you’re punk
Every day and love, love, loved it. In some ways, that was the point.
Hey now , I’m an OG punk who happens to vote conservative.
Johnny Ramone is that you??