
Thought Blog Ep. 1
By Nick Ruiz
Punk in corporate’s clothing
From jazz to metal
Sax, red and black to long hair and to the relinquishing of slacks
My parents, teachers, and bosses instilled the rebel spirit in me from the jump
People in positions and appearances that demand everything related to compliance on the surface
Antithetical authority, we must dissent
All the music that went against the grain of our culture and marked the shift in generations
In high school we played Killing In The Name Of, meanwhile
My brother told me that The Chronic CD we blasted as kids was from our mom
Hip-Hop is still polarizing even being a major part of pop culture. Metal is still referred to as “devil music”
Punks never die, they adopt a collar and play it a little cooler. Tucked under the surface is that old
We went from public controversy of classic music to having it as background music in stores
Professional with a touch of wild heart
We played NWA and Korn at work
We have since continued the commitment of raging against the dehumanizing aspects of a job
A little bit of chaos here and some unorthodox action there
When given the reins, I resolved that I would follow their example of wild but compassionate
Work is a box where most of us feel we have to sand off our personality in exchange for the customer service mask. A “professional.”
There is a great deal of room for us to express ourselves and make connections
It is also necessary as we are not perpetual motion machines. We’ll burnout if we spend all day in a rigid environment
Rebelliousness is best served unpredictably
The setup- The Chronic and Tupac
The greatest trick a punk ever pulled was making the system believe they gave up.
A commitment to punk is a commitment to the people; an antidote to the graying of our identities
The sterilized environments.