Anonymous Said:

what if

 i tried to be funny and it backfired miserably

hetalia is violently antisemitic and racist

saw a meme in one of my dreams last night that had confucius but he was a catboy and it said "catnip got me acting unwise"

It's 3:31 in the AM and I'm probably delirious, but I feel like this was an omen

pete wentz, frantically shuffling paperwork at fall out boy headquarters: why aren’t the youth relating to our merch?? what is it that they want? memes???? emojis?????? MORE COMIC SANS???????? WE’RE LOSING TOUCH WITH THE YOUNG PATRICK

So you want to talk about racism in the alt music scene?

Okay. Then let’s do something constructive about it.

Note: I personally think looking toward a celebrity / rock star / influencer / fandom BNF for performative allyship is a waste of time. I think there’s a lot of nuance lost in generational and life experience gaps and I’m not going to engage in that conversation.  

What I want to do instead is focus on what I can do for myself and my local community to take active steps in making the alt music scene are more inclusive and less racist space. I’m a big believer in building up and supporting your local music scene as much as possible, so the (totally not comprehensive, but def a starting point) list I’ve curated below will reflect those core values I hold for myself.

BROADLY, QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF:

What POC artists are you listening to? Are you buying their albums? Buying their merch? Requesting their songs at your local radio station? 

YOUR LOCAL MUSIC SCENE:

When shows return post-pandemic - will you go see any local POC artists? 

Are you able to use your contacts to help these artists books shows? 

Maybe request the local music club to book certain bands? Show promoters will listen if there seems to be enough interest for them to make money on ticket sales/door fees. (You can usually google your local music venue + booking to try and find this information)

College music stations - if you’re in a college town - there’s a great opportunity to get involved (esp if you’re a student) with helping curate what music gets put in rotation.

Are you able to host a show? House shows are the ULTIMATE music scene DIY - if you’re in a position to offer up your house/space as a venue for bands to come and play, why not make a point to seek out POC artists and have them be part of the line up? 

SoFarSounds.com is another great avenue for the house show route.

Follow: To The Front DIY   

DIVERSIFY YOUR NARRATIVE:

LISTEN:

POC ALT PLAYLIST

INDIGENOUS PUNK

POP PUNK LATINO

ASIAN PUNK ROCK

READ:

Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk

The Heebie-Jeebies at CBGB’s: A Secret History of Jewish Punk

Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix

Punk Rock Hora: Adventures in Jew-Punk Land

Evolution of Modern Popular Music: A history of Blues, Jazz, Country, R&B, Rock and Rap

Violence Girl: East L.A. Rage to Hollywood Stage, a Chicana Punk Story

The Spitboy Rule: Tales of a Xicana in a Female Punk Band

Shout, Sister, Shout!: The Untold Story of Rock-And-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe

WATCH:

Racism in the Punk/Alternative Scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgekmBGt4E8

The Very Black History of Punk Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgIWDZ1xxdM

The Very Latinx History of Punk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSyo1zd9jcw  

The Asian Punk Scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZKcd8Dn0SA

Anarchy in the Philippines

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtSZt_KeiGU

Punk Jews

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c29lJ3U_A0

Your Favorite Entertainer is Problematic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Sru88ArTFw

Racism in Metal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlQ-KxS5xUs

HELP THE NEXT GENERATION OF MUSICIANS WITH DONATIONS & SUPPORT:

https://www.musicandyouth.org/opportunity-gap/

https://www.colorincolorado.org/booklist/music-kids-hispanic-heritage

https://www.harmony-project.org/

http://www.musicunites.org/

https://icyola.org/

https://www.musicforallseasons.org/who-we-serve/youth-at-risk/ (New Jersey!!)

https://www.latinoartsinc.org/

https://aimusic.us/new-student.php

https://www.rcmusic.com/learning/learning-through-the-arts/indigenous-programs

Or Google your city + “youth music programs” or “youth after school programs” and volunteer / donate / support!

they are beautiful wow

anyways, japanese imperialism is not a thing of the past and still exists today. japanese propaganda is in the little things, and to end it you have to recognize them. stop glorifying the rising sun flag. pay attention to how japanese media treats its korean characters as opposed to the white ones. be on your guard when anyone or anything implies that japan is in any way superior to other asian countries. above all, listen to and support any poc who has been affected by japanese imperialism.

If this gets

500,000 notes by the time I turn 21, (07/07/2021) I will get a TUA tattoo