This content originally appeared on Go Make Things and was authored by Go Make Things
This morning while I was taking my dog to the groomers, the song Violence by Rise Against came on my playlist.
And I started crying.
Are we not good enough? Are we not brave enough?
Is the violence in our nature just the image of our maker?
Are we not good enough? Are we not brave enough?
To become something greater than the violence in our nature?
Are we not good, good enough?
Or is it all a dream?
The violence
I’ve been listening to punk music for 30 fucking years.
I grew up during a time when holes in the ozone were a real, existential threat to humanity. And we came together and fixed that shit.
Matthew Shepard was murdered when I was a teen. Being gay or trans was a punchline in shows and movies. Now gay marriage is legal.
We were taught about Emmett Till as if it was ancient history when I was a kid. But if he wasn’t murdered because some shitty white woman lied would be 85 years old right now. He was younger than my grandpa!
My parents lived through segregated schools and people hurling racist slurs at Ruby Bridges, just six years old at the time.
So much violence.
The healing
In my lifetime, things got objectively better. Not good, but better.
We fixed the hole in the ozone. Gay marriage is illegal. Jokes where the only punchline is “man dressed as woman” feel gross and tacky.
I have the privilege of living and working and learning with people who look differently than me and come from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures.
Not good, but more good than when I was a kid.
Until it wasn’t.
The slide
As an adult, I’ve watched so many of the hard-earned victories of the past backslide.
Environmental protections rolled back. Trans people demonized. Immigrants and anyone with a hint of melanin in their skin afraid to go outside because secret police might kidnap them or actual police might kill them on camera and get away with it.
Trump is a symptom, not a cause.
He has power because so many people look at him—mean, stupid, greedy, selfish, abusive, dripping in loser energy—and see themselves.
Covid broke something in my country.
Previously “apolitical” neighbors started acting like being asked to wear a mask to keep others safe was akin to tyranny. Formerly trusted organizations like the WHO and CDC overtly lied to people.
My neighbors, my neighbors, only caring about themselves.
And so I cry
When Rise Against asks…
Are we not good enough, are we not brave enough, to become something greater than the violence in our nature?
I cry.
Because it feels like for all of the fighting and all of the progress, a few bullies can rile up a mob and take it all away.
An honest examination of how we got here would reveal that the mob was able to get riled up in the first place because their basic needs weren’t met, and we never made the deep systemic changes needed to ensure that wasn’t the case.
Which side are you on?
It’s odd how some folks look at that and go punk and fight to make the world better, while others go fascist and blame “the other” and hurt people.
I can’t figure out how that happens, but I suspect neurodivergent folks are overrepresented in the punk community, and our innate righteous sense of justice leads us there.
ADHD makes you better, in other words.
So…
I usually end these on a positive note. Best I’ve got today is “don’t stop fighting.”
And if you liked the song Violence, Rise Against has a beautiful acoustic rendition as well.
This content originally appeared on Go Make Things and was authored by Go Make Things
Go Make Things | Sciencx (2026-05-27T14:30:00+00:00) Crying to punk. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2026/05/27/crying-to-punk/
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