I'm high so here's another thing
I don't fucking care if you listen to every punk band the earth has to offer, or of you dress like the apocalypse is nigh:
PUNK IS, AT ITS CORE, ABOUT BEING ANGRY AT SYSTEMS IN PLACE THAT HURT PEOPLE! AND TRYING TO LESSEN THAT HURT BY DESTROYING THAT SYSTEM. BY ADDENDUM, HELPING THOSE HURT BY THE SYSTEM IS ONE WAY TO DEFY SAID SYSTEM AND THAT PART SHOULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN.
So if the cishet girl with hottopic and a Taylor swift album is voting in every election she can and you are not, then she is more punk than you are. And by extension, you can't even begin to be punk if you actively try to discourage voting irl or on social media.
Like I won't gatekeep a swifty if they are doing their part in their community and trying to be a kind person, but if you don't care about your fellow human then you aren't punk, you are just an asshole and it wont take long for you to lash out at the people in need. Reminder that conservatives are made, and we are all hurt in some way.
And this isn't to say that punk shouldn't have biting and smashing and all the rage a wronged man can muster, it should, but if all you do is punch homophobes then you end up with very few queer people getting back on their feet enough to protect themselves, or better yet, fight with you.
[Gif of a black woman with a large afro saying "Vote, bitch!" End./]
