March 2009 Editorial

"Every cheap hood strikes a bargain with the world and ends up spending money on a sofa or a girl" -Joe Strummer

 

Well here we are in March. The old saying about this month is that it comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. Here in Southern California the only expression about the weather that is really applicable might be "Endless Summer," but I have always liked the imagery of someone or something entering an arena like a ferocious predator and then leaving sheepishly. Where ever you go and whatever you do you will find people who try to dominate everyone around them until something happens that knocks them on their ass.

When I was in college I worked at the local YMCA as a youth counselor. There was a kid there named Tommy (not his real name actually) who had a condition which left him with limited mobility in his lower body. As a result he walked on crutches most of the time. Anyone who has ever been a kid could tell you the cruel nature of school yard bullies and on a few occasions Tommy's condition made him the target of mistreatment from his peers. On one such occasion he was hanging out at a park after school and was approached by a group of kids. One of them started calling him names and Tommy finally lost his cool and got in the bully's face. When Tommy was pushed by his peer he responded to the gesture with a strong right hook which knocked his opponent out.

What the group of bullies had not considered was the fact that since Tommy walked on crutches he had built up his upper body strength significantly so while he had some difficulty walking he had no difficulty knocking someone out with one punch. Following that incident he never had any more problems at the park. One can only imagine how much it must have sucked for the kid who had been bullying him to come back to the same park next day after he had his ass handed to him by Tommy. In like a lion, out like a lamb.

We run into kids all of the time at shows who are just getting into Punk rock and think that they have to prove themselves to everyone else by starting problems. Whether they are picking fights, drinking until they puke, or tagging bathrooms, they make sure that everyone notices them. It may take a week or it may take a few years, but almost all of them end up learning their lesson one way or another with time. The best thing that we can do is ignore them and let natural consequences set in. They will mess with the wrong person one day and get their head kicked in or get grounded by their parents when they come home hung over. Either way they will get over themselves and hopefully find a positive way to get noticed.

Big Wheel's vibe is generally that we try to deal with negativity by not dealing with it at all. We could use our energy to call people out, but we find that the best way to get our message across is to give all of our attention to the things that we like and people who are doing their best to make their name in the scene by adding something rather than acting out.  Bands who write solid songs and play shows for the love of the music will find that we are more than happy to cover them. Those who dwell in negativity will get mentioned in passing at best.

 

-Ditch-
Asst. Editor