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COLUMN: “We are a product of the culture we surround ourselves in” by Keith Dador

By on May 4, 2017

We are a product of the culture we surround ourselves in | Keith Dador

We are a product of the culture we surround ourselves in.

In my case, as well as my general circle of friends and acquaintances, that culture has been based on music. Punk rock, hardcore, and everything related to that subculture. No matter how abrasive, shitty, or scary the music that blasted out of our speakers was, CONTENT was still king. One band infamously said that we educate ourselves through our magazines, through our lyrics, through our music, through the support of one another. Refused shouted educate, resist & take control.
We are the product of the subculture we have chosen. While some have dropped out or opted for other paths, those who stayed because of the content and ideas have in some way or another integrated it to the things they do. It does not make them better human beings than anyone else, but it teaches them to speak out when something is wrong, to be vocal about inequalities, injustices, and things that need to be called out. Punk and the DIY ethic has taught a lot of these people to take action to destroy unnecessary conventions and harmful practices, and more importantly create solutions or better outlets in their own capacities. 

In this age, it’s unfortunate that social justice and the pursuit of this, on the streets, in action, and at the least, through personal voices on social media has been put in a derogatory light. It’s ridiculous how being vocal about issues have been frowned upon. Isn’t it supposed to be that if you see something wrong, you speak against it? In our case, if it hits close to home, especially in music, we definitely call it out. Screw your false respect and brotherhood. These people who cannot handle criticism don’t deserve it.

Punk rock and hardcore has taught us never to be complacent. To be responsible to educate ourselves and our circle. If you see this as “pangungupal” or as being assholes, then it’s sad that you can’t see past that. We live in a beautiful world that has a lot of things to be fixed. Everytime we decide to just stand by and watch, damaging ideas slowly creep into popular consciousness and become acceptable. We have good intentions with the ruckus we raise. We hope to connect to like-minded individuals. More importantly, we hope to connect to those we call out and instigate intelligent discourse and come out with learning a thing or two.

It will be always more than music.

Content is king. Speak out. Never be content by mediocre standards. Arm yourselves with the right ideas. Let this be your sword, this will be your armor. As Greg Bennick said “we are the tortured and insane, disillusioned and mundane, unknown and unnamed, desperate and enslaved, and we want something more”

Keith Dador
Keith Dador feels his life is composed of cameras, cats, coffee, and cycling. He sometimes teaches at a multimedia school, runs Catnip Studios, and plays in Legarda.

https://www.facebook.com/legardawallofnoise/

UniteAsia.org is an underground Asian music news website created for the sole purpose of supporting our own world. We support all bands and genres HOWEVER we do not support nor have any sympathy for homophobic, racist, sexist rhetoric in lyrical content or band material. UNITE ASIA!
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