THE GOBLIN NEWSLETTER 91

One of the things I really like about Punk & other subcultures is that they are mantles that anyone can discover & adopt. The subcultures aren’t something you’re born into, you find them & they just fit, frequently they are like finding a missing puzzle piece. Simultaneously they are incomplete, requiring a host culture to continue. Like the Xenomorph they take on the characteristics of their host culture, but the essential trappings of the subculture are obvious. With Punk there is a simultaneous attack on & love for the host culture. It’s why original New York, England & Los Angeles Punk movements are so different from each other & yet they are still all Punk. Catholic Punks have a Catholic understanding of Punk. Protestants have a Protestant understanding of Punk. Jews have a Jewish understanding of Punk. Etc. You have the same thing with each generation of Punk, the first Punks frequently arguing that Punk didn’t exist, it was just what they were doing. As much as I love Punk, I might like the Taoist nature of that attitude more. Ultimately, when you break it down, the pursuit of the true, the real involves a lot of talking or writing, but it is not able to be described in words in the end. We can just go around it & try. The following generations of Punks were able to see the presentation, however that was, sensationalist media, movies, zines, video games, whatever. But, the Punks being reactive, have exaggerated intergenerational conflict. Because of this any meaningful community building in Punk only lasts for four years tops before it is washed away by cycles of burnout, bridge burning & a new naive generation that hasn’t seen these cycles yet. It’s very much like any cultural cycle, just on fast forward. So, Punk makes more sense as a personal philosophy that way. Still, I believe that culture should be a thing you can discover, adopt & do on your own without having inherited it from your family. In this way there is no real cultural ownership, it’s all about cultural practice.