Conservative Punk

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Conservative Punk is a website which voices conservative views of its contributors, who assert that they are speaking to a conservative part of the punk subculture. The term may also describe any person in the punk subculture with conservative viewpoints.

1 History
2 Criticism
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Nick Rizzuto, an employee at a New York City rock radio station, believed that classicly-liberal, open-minded and Libertarian leaning punks were under-represented in the movement, and in order to create a forum for like minded people, built the website www.conservativepunk.com. Created partially in response to the high-profile, lock-step and politically orthodox New-Left website Punk Voter (created by NOFX lead singer Fat Mike), the website received significant press coverage during the 2004 Presidential Election. It became popular and includes contributions from well known people such as Talk Radio personality Andrew Wilkow and ex-Misfits singer and Gotham Road frontman Michale Graves, who believes that punk is Youth culture's version of Thatcherism.

The popularity of ConservativePunk.com, as well as the further acceptance of the ideology and ethic, has spawned a number of imitators, such as forum GOPunk.com, Lefty Destroyer (no longer online), and the blog PunkVoterLies. Notable punk rock icons like Johnny Ramone, guitarist for The Ramones, have espoused Republican values for years, including positive comments at the 2002 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions.

[edit] Criticism

The idea of being a "conservative punk" has been doubted by critics, citing (among other things) the anti-establishment ethos of the punk ideology. Followers such as columnist Robert Jones have dismissed this charge, stating that their "conservatism is our rebellion against the senseless rebellion of a selfish bunch of pampered children who shed more tears for four unfortunate protesters at Kent State than they did for the 58,000 even less fortunate American troops who died in Vietnam," distinguishing conservative punks as a Generation X, as opposed to Baby Boomer, led movement.

Critics have even referred to Rizzuto as a "crank" and leader of many poseurs who do nothing but smear punk's otherwise good name, but Rizutto responded in a Guardian interview, with the newspaper noting that many supporters consider him to be a "voice of a formerly silent minority."