So what is 'Punk' anyway?

Music is more than just something to listen to when your bored. Music is many peoples means of influencing changes, for better or for worst, in the society. Hippies support peace. rap promotes treating women poorly, and dealing drugs. And so on and so forth. But many people are confused, and slightly scared when it comes to trying to figure out what punk music supports. Punk, in my oppinion, supports and anti-establishment sentiment, a tendancy to attract minority groups, but mostly it provides the freedom for someone to be themself. Many people believe that to be a punk you have to wear the huge leather jackets, have the shor dyed hair, and the huge studded belts, but these are actually just stereotypes of the pop culture idea of what punk is. The popular definition a punk rocker is a crazed, liberal, selfish, adolescant, violent, alchoholic, drug addict who enjoys beating up younger less popular kids, and acting like an asshole just to piss people off. But in fact the true definition of a punk rocker is far from what I just described. So then why do so many people think that that definition is true... well....... because it has been marketed so damn well. Violence, sex, and drugs sell! It's that fucking simple! It's easier to sell a playboy magazine to a thirteen year-old than a candy bar. So when the clothing companies and record labels heard about this they decided to market the idea that punk was a massively innapropriate, and completely controversial type of lifestyle. The sad part is... IT WORKED! To this day that false definition has stuck. What punk really is, is an anti-pop culture lifestlye. If everyone wears black, the punks wear rainbows, and when everyone wears rainbows the punks wear black. The reason that I define myself as a punk, is because of the Buddhist proverb that goes "Perfection is imperfection." My interpritation of this proverb is that it is imperfect to be perfect, and is in fact, impossible, and unatural. Therefore, society as we know it is definetely not perfect, and is in fact far from it. So whatever the conformist members of society believe to be correct is most likely, not correct at all. So being punk is actually just the questioning of EVERYTHING. When Bush says lets all go to war, fist get your own damn facts, don't just listen to him because he's Bush. If you end up being anti war, great, if you end up being pro war, great! It doesn't fucking matter what the outcome is, the point is having the satisfaction that you checked the math, and made up YOUR mind. That is my oppinion on the anti-conformist movement of punk rock, I hope that I've inspired someone, just remember to question my opinnion before you make up your mind.