January 3, 2018; and here I am, walking into a gas station in rural New York while visiting my fiancé' family, sporting my favorite old shitty jacket with a crudely drawn Crass logo on the left side of the chest, and "FIGHT WAR // NOT WARS" written on the collar.
I have received some interesting looks during my time here. Despite not being far from NYC, my appearance seems to startle people of this small community. I have an interesting look, yes, but it is not as far out there as some may imagine. And here I am, in a Cumberland Farms, in my camouflage pants, green and black boots, my afore mentioned jacket, and a beanie with unkempt hair sticking out of all angles, half tied back and half dyed.
I am getting coffee when a middle-aged construction worker approaches me and questions me about my jacket. To my surprise, the man(whom had a slightly hidden British accent) seemed to know exactly what the Crass logo was, and what it stood for.
We exchanged a few words before the man bluntly asked me why I cared about the logo in this day and country; inferring something along the lines of it being outdated and irrelevant to wear it in 2018 America.
This is not the first time I've been presented with this issue. People who had lived through the movement then love to question the modern-day 25 year old and what significance it holds to them; under the assumption it is a fashion statement.
I find it rather contradictory to the ideologies of that movement and somewhat immature to make said assumptions. I've talked to many an old punk that believes the symbol represents what they went through at that time and how Crass affected their younger lives. But the messages that era promoted are just as relevant now as they were then, in my opinion.
I responded to the man in the Cumberland Farms' questioning with another, rather childish, question : why not? I had just read a very immature, egotistical tweet from Trump this morning about who was going to "push the nuclear bomb button" first; him or Kim. I pointed to the two snake heads on the logo and explained that I thought the power trip between the two painted a vivid picture of the possibility of not two sources of power destroying each other; rather that these two authoritarian nations were about to destroy the world IN their efforts to destroy each other. I pointed out that the Christian church has been playing a large role in issues concerning sexual orientation choices and the violence it has caused, among many other current issues.
The Union Jack, I must admit, does not hold any immediate significance to me. And I openly admitted that to him, knowing he was curious given his accent. I pointed out that it was pure American laziness; that I recycled a logo rather than try to create one more relevant to this country. But whatever.
That was a lot of words to say something relatively unimportant. But I feel the logo still represents so much that is wrong in our world and unfortunately always will. People love to criticize the adoption of symbols from time periods/geographical locations in this day and age, but why not? If the issues haven't died then why suppress those who fought against them? To spread their message. I find it selfish and contradictory to criticize others on issues such as this.
There is my rant. Here is my jacket. Remember to treat others with love and respect, unless they fail to do so. Have a nice day.
