Kill the Poor

Kill The Poor

"The things that will destroy us are: politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity; and worship without sacrifice." - Mahatma Gandhi

Punk rock music and the culture associated with it, has always stood for taking a stand against oppression, self expression, and non-conformity; this culture encapsulates the ideology and progression of my life. The raw, and unadulterated energy of the music associated with punk culture influenced my life at a very young age. Uncensored and controversial, punk rock culture represented a way of life that and views that coincided with whom I was becoming as I entered adolescence. The fast-paced and abrasive music provided an escape from the stresses of adolescent life, with lyrics that often screamed of the same frustrations that were felt by me and others in the cultures. Punk rock culture provides a multitude of different outlets for my untraditional views in life, music, art, mainstream oppression, politics and corporate corruption; The ability to escape these frustrations gave punk rock culture the illusion of being a sanctuary from a world built on conformity, and an escape from the persecution that would be experienced for deviating from the social archetypes of adolescence mandated by society. This culture also gave me the ability to have freedom of expression, political opinion, and appearance.

While no longer at the foreground of my life as it was during adolescence, I can still trace how the integration of punk culture has helped shape the confidence in personal expression and lifestyle choices, in addition to encouraging a lifelong drive to continuously expand my knowledge of political and corporate corruption, and instilled a balanced perspective from social conflict. Embracing punk rock culture was met with staunch resistance from both my parents, and society as a whole, just as it was...