Ian MacKaye - Straight Edge Philosophy

Straight Edge Philosophy

The song "Straight Edge" was written by MacKaye for his band, Minor Threat and was released in 1981 on Minor Threat's self-titled EP. It was a song that described his personal life free of the "drugs" and the self-destructive idea of "sex as a conquest" which served as a part of the "sex, drugs and rock'n roll" banner originating as a rebellion in the 1960s—smoking, drinking, and drug use. The song came about through MacKaye witnessing his friends abusing alcohol/drugs and acting reckless. He decided early on that it was not the lifestyle for him, having never fit in with it. MacKaye's main goal was to fight against the people around him that abused substances. His decision to abstain from substances began to influence youth culture as Minor Threat gained popularity through numerous live shows and through sales of the song on their EP. Although to MacKaye the song did not represent a philosophy or a movement, over time people adopted the philosophy of the song and many bands began to label themselves straight edge, founding the straight edge movement. Although straight edge is not explicitly supportive of vegetarianism, MacKaye has stated that he is a vegetarian because he regards it as a logical progression of his straight edge views. He follows a strict vegetarian or vegan diet.

Although "Straight Edge" gets the most attention, MacKaye wrote other songs with Minor Threat describing his clean lifestyle as well, most notably "Out of Step (With the World)," in which he said "I don't smoke. I don't drink. I don't fuck. At least I can fucking think." "In My Eyes" is also at least partially about his philosophies, with lines such as "You tell me it calms your nerves; you just think it looks cool."