A 15-year-old skater in a confrontational and sparring spirit approached an older punk. The young one spoke, apparently meeting this guy for the first time in a scrutinizing manner with a twist of an East Coast surfer dialect, “Are you or aren't you?” “Am I or am not what?” the older punk said, sort of smugly but puzzled... “Straight edge!” he answered in a matter-of-fact way. “Well,” said the punk, “I don't drink, and I really don't smoke or smoke pot or anything, but I don't know ...I really don't label myself as ‘straight edge',” he said a little righteously and maturely. “That's way lame!” said the skater, abruptly ending the inquisition and laughing at himself while walking off. “This”, I thought, “is what killed straight edge, and at the same time, this is what made it grow into an enormous subculture worldwide- a punk attitude with conservative principles”.
