Oh, I've heard the term plenty. But I tend to stay away from kids who actually use it to describe themselves. I don't really consider myself straight edge simply because if the opportunity comes up, and I feel like drinking, smoking weed, etc. I'll do it. Not out of habit, it's just that I don't restrict myself. However, I don't do it often at all.

And Savage, I sort of know what you mean about drinking being "Pending," up until college I was unsure of whether I'd do it or not. I never considered pot and alcohol [well mostly pot] as these bad, degenerate things. But I was never really tempted to do it either, it was basically "whatever." Then I went to college, where this stuff is easily available, and there's absolutely no peer pressure whatsoever - I've noticed after middle school, peer pressure isn't as much of a big deal as some people may think it is, in fact people went out of their way when I first drank and smoked pot to make sure I really wanted to do it. I was curious so i tried it, nothing serious, and that clinched it for me - that alcohol and drugs [well, atleast pot] are not these big phantom temptations I learned about in middle school.

Yeah, what they told us in school is part of it. I shy away from anything "bad" or "wrong," and back then, it was. It stuck. Now that I'm responsible enough and have seen plenty of it, I see nothing wrong with it. I've just built it up into this huge thing for years.

I usually drink for one reason, to get drunk. Now I know thats not really the right reason and all, but hey, it's what I do. I smoke aswell, probably more than what I should, and probably a stonger strength than what I should too.

Though weed, haha. No way. If hell froze over and it was the end of the world, I'd still despise the shit. I fucking hate it. I've never tried it in my life. Aswell as other drugs, as in pills, gas, etc. Fucking stupid shit. I can't stand it all. As far as drugs go, I'm the cleanest person you'll ever meet. I don't know what it is hey, but I just can't stand it. Weed, I've got more of a hatred of that shit than anything else, though. I've lost so many friends and a few girlfriends over that shit, and even though I get the "I can't control their life and what they do with it" bullshit, it killed me to know they were doing it.

Actually... That's pretty much why a lot of us do it. It's not that you get drunk, it's how good your intoxicants are.

I've never agreed with the framing of alcohol in society. It's almost become some sort of "necessary" social convention which is seen as something you need to grow into liking for "maturity," and where abstaining from it is perceived as something negative. If you don't drink, you're "tight" or "straitlaced" or whatever. Sorry, I don't see alcohol as anything remotely necessary or desirable in my life for any purpose whatsoever, and I don't consider myself of a childish or prudish mindset. I simply don't see any functional or recreational purpose to drinking alcohol. No, I don't see myself as "better" than those who do drink, but I also don't want any stigma from others for choosing not to drink.

I guess what I am trying to say I wish there wasn't meaning applied to whether you do something banal like drink alcohol. You either you do or you don't. You either play baseball or you don't. You either wake up at 5am or you don't. You either do HobbyXYZ or you don't. Do these things have any inherent value either way? No. Why should consuming or not consuming some beverage be any different? It makes no sense to me.

so THAT's the reason you've never had sex.

From an existential point of view, yes your actions do matter - your actions define who you are. In addition, we DO live in a society does puts considerable weight and pressure on drinking. I personally don't think less of someone who doesnt drink but there is a world of peopel who will judge your actions whether or not you like it. While I can see why you are upset at the "labels" set up my others, it is hard to change the way certain actions are framed. Both sides (straight edge and not), face stigma. I don't think it should matter either way but thats just my personal view.

This is so contradictory it's unbelievable. You admit to using alcohol (A drug, by the way) for the sole purpose of getting drunk, but then you completely abhor all manner of other drugs, even though alcohol is a lot worse than the main one you listed. Ha.

Buddy, you can't say alcohol is worse than weed. All drugs have the same purpose, some can cause more harmful effects, but they're all there to do the same thing. If anything, they're the same.

Like I said,
Dunno what it is, but anything other than alcohol or cigarettes, I can't stand. Call me contradictive, I don't really care. Could be the fact that I've seen alot more people fucked up from the wrong drug or an overdose, or just from being a long-term druggo, than what I have from alcohol. Don't know.

Obviously you don't know much about drugs.

And you don't know much about alcoholics either.

I can understand that you've seen peoples lives ruined on drugs, but can you strongly justify your own alcohol consumption under the terms you have laid out? I mean, if you honestly have not seen others who have ruined their lives on alcohol than you are jaded. Certainly one is legal and another is not but your point of view on the matter does not make any sense to the reader. Could you elaborate on your thoughts and choices? I am interested to hear.

Hyde basically said what I wanted to say already, but what I'm trying to get at is you base the safety of a drug on some arbitrary law a country has imposed upon them. That's neither safe, nor intelligent.

It is absolutely worse than weed.

Straight Edge is just a lifestyle based off those Punk rocker ideals. I wouldn't define myself as Straight Edge, but I do have those Straight Edge characteristics. I just call myself "Clean" or "Mister Clean" because I don't smoke, drink and do drugs. I personally find all that useless in my life and only gets in the way of achieving something greater. I'd rather keep myself healthy and focused rather than act on stupidity and get into trouble.

I don't smoke, drink, or do drugs, and I am vegetarian. I made a conscious decision to avoid meat partially because of how disgusting I find factory farming, but mostly because I just don't like meat that much...drugs I avoid mostly because I'm just not that interested in them, though having seen alcohol's effects on a couple of my friends doesn't make me want to start drinking either. I even abstain from sex, mostly I have no sex drive at all, so that probably doesn't count.

I don't really think that any of that makes me straight edge, though. I don't avoid those things because of some sort of higher moral standard, and at the same time, I don't consider people who drink or smoke to be less than I am. The whole movement just seems silly to me, honestly.

I guess by definition I am a straight-edge. No alcohol, no drugs, no tobacco, no caffine, no sex, no swearing, no class-skipping, no fights.

My parents would be fine with drinking and swearing but I chose not to myself. I guess its more of, I've not done it for this long, ill see how long I can last.

Oh yeah, I love meat, so Im not straightedge there. Mmm...meat...

My parents brought me up in a Conservative household, and their rules just stuck I suppose. I haven't really been given the chance to "get out there" and try whatever I'd like, and honestly, I don't plan on doing it even when I do have that chance.

So yes, I guess I am striaght-edge. No caffine, no drugs, no smoking, no swearing, no sex, no alcohol, and I eat meat very rarely.

How lovely. =) :juggler:

I drink and had done drugs a bit in the past. It was OK, but basically wastes money which is why I stopped. That, and the rediculous joke that the government has on the "war on pot drugs". The possibility of getting jail time for consuming something less harmful than alcohol didn't do much for me.

Same thing happened with me though. The large group of High School friends I had have now been divided into two groups over the past 5 years, the group who's OK with drugs and the group who isn't. I float between the two since I have nothing against or for drug use. However, when the one girl in the non-drug group found out I smoked pot she flipped on me. Her reasons against pot were that 1) I was uncool if I smoked (no, seriously), and 2) my future will be ruined. Needless to say I found her reasons pretty funny.

Though at this point I'm drug free and not drinking much. The effects these things give just isn't worth the money and risk to me.