Because as an adult, you can simply choose whether to use drugs/alcohol and it’s not a big part of your identity like it was as a teen.

We found out acid is all fun no downside

This is the first time I have ever heard the term. I think.

A lot of straight edge teenagers either lose their edge (leave alternative subcultures) or quit going straight (start using psychoactive substances). That said a lot of punks wind up sober and at that point can be considered straight edge.

So where are they? The sort of places alternative folks gather when not consuming substances. They’re at an anarchist books to prisoners program, or food not bombs, maybe one is in the band at a small punk show you’re going to. Hell maybe it’s even one of your coworkers.

Subcultures are really easy to see in high school because teenagers often don’t like to code switch and they’ve got little filtering. Add in that its easier to be sober when you’re a teenager and it feels rebellious and like you’re saying fuck you to the man. Meanwhile at 30, especially if you’re deep in alternative subcultures, you’ve probably learned the demons your friends are trying to drown in whiskey. You may have friends who had the whole Pat the Bunny arc. Loudly announcing your sobriety and acting like it’s super cool is one thing at 16 and another thing when someone you know just fell off the wagon.

Oh also as adults a lot of them are more annoying about being vegan than being sober.

So does straight edge strictly refer to not doing drugs? If that’s the definition, then I’m a straight edged person… Hell, I don’t even drink and I work for a Scottish company where all my co-workers drink like fish.

I’m not religious, it has just always seemed dumb to me that people felt they needed to be inebriated to have a good time. Maybe this is just the normal for them so they don’t know any different? But doesn’t that seem pretty stupid? Anyways, I was stubborn in college and resisted peer pressure and by the time I didn’t care anymore, I just never saw the need to start drinking (or doing drugs). But I’m not here preach, I don’t really care what you do as long as it doesn’t affect me (i.e. drunk driving).

I’m a CTO for a midsized company. I have three kids and I’ve been happily married for over 25 years. Between my friends, there are more people who don’t drink than those who do, but at work I’m definitely the oddball… But I’m also old enough that I don’t really give a shit what other people think so I’m perfectly happy going along and being the guy who doesn’t drink.

Drugs are such a chore. You try them, then you get addicted to them, then you end up in an endless pursuit of extra money to keep funding the addiction in addition to all of your other basic survival expenses. It’s a maniacal existence. From what I’ve observed. And I’m not interested in any of that maddening mayhem.

Call me straight-edge if you need to label everything. But I’m not interested in labels either.

I was agreeing with you cause I haven’t really seen or used my straight edge since high school. Here I am thinking I don’t even have a ruler. Then I read the comments. I guess it’s not the literal straight edge.

I knew two straight edge kids in highschool. They both died of overdoses shortly after highschool.

I’m not really into punk scenes or anything similar, but I feel like most young people now that would be straight edge are not adopting the aesthetic because they’re more conservative.

Maybe once you grow up you become first a Sober person, then a Teetotaler.

Davey Havok is still out there, somewhere

Used to go to the Cuckoo’s Nest.

They’re still around. I see them at hardcore shows

They grew up

I mean they may not know what straight edge means, but there are a shit-ton of people who don’t do drugs or alcohol…