Talk:Minor Threat

Guilty of Being White
If anyone has the book A Tribal History of Hardcore (or something like that, it may be Hardcore: A Tribal History, I don't remember for sure) please insert a quote or two from Ian about his intentions with "Guilty of Being White". I know the book talks about it, but I don't have the book anymore (I got it from a library and I no longer have access to it). Although the article mentions that Ian denied any racist meanings, I think that unless someone says exactly what it was about, people might be suspicious. Usually when someone denies racism in a situation like that I don't believe it unless they explain why. And in case anyone's wondering, the song was about how Ian grew up in a largely black area and was often beat up for the crimes of his anscestors (and probably fellow whites at the time too). He wrote it as an attack on all racism (and no, he isn't some kind of nazi just saying "oh the blacks are being racists". A good quote to put in would be the one where Ian is saying he is upset to see people in almost completely white areas of Europe taking the song as an anthem. He says they obviously don't understand what it's about when they say the song changed their lives. So if anyone has the quotes, put them in because I don't and I would need a source for something like that. Thanks.

Just to help out the following is the quote from the book:

"Guilty of being white is a song I wrote growing up in DC, being part of the minority - the white population. It drove me crazy- people would beat the shit out of me or rob me 'cause I was white.  We had a history class talking about slavery and after the class a couple of guys just knocked the shit out of me.  It was right around the time roots was on.  I got beat up because I was the 'massa'.  People were judging me on the colour fo my skin so I wrote what I thought was a really direct anti-racist song-."

The quote goes on but I dont know much about copyright law etc so I dont want to go on. It is in the section "Guilty of being white" in the book American Hardcore a Tribal history by Steven Blush if anyone wants to look it up. I have heard that Ian has described neo-nazis picking up on the song as 'disapointing' (hardly a strong stance of anti racism there) and he has been challenged over the song by some of the members of MDC (the interview is on the net somewhere its too late for me to be bothered finding it right now) On the subject I read on the 'black punk' webside that Skeeter (of Scream who is black) sang an ironic version of the song once. I also read that Ians family were a fairly liberal one whose local church used to hold same sex marrages and talks by members of the black panthers.

Either way Ian could have chosen a better way to express his frustration of being the target of racsim in his youth than the frankly stupidy titled one he did.


 * I think "crimes of his ancestors" or even "fellow whites" might be a little overblown; it's just about being in a white minority in an otherwise black area of D.C. siafu 16:54, 13 July 2005 (UTC)


 * To set the record straight, Ian grew up in a predominantly white part of DC and went to a majority black school (Wilson). Black Wilson students misbehave to this day, hence the recently increased police presence at the school; all you have to do is ride the Redline south from Tenleytown around 3 pm on a schoolday to see it.  Fans of hearing the word "Nigger" will particularly enjoy their trip.


 * I think there's also a good quote somewhere in the interviews here:, or the links. He has explained it a few times...

merge to First two 7"s on a 12"
Hi. I added a few tags to the individual songs of the group. It would be nice if someone who knows about the group and cares about the organisation of content could do these mergers. Thanks. Pascal.Tesson 21:01, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

AfD on Minor Threat songs
A group of articles on songs by Minor Threat are up for deletion. You may be interested in adding to the discussion. --Switch 14:33, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

Failed GA
As of 13 October 2006, I am making a speedy failing for this article to reach Good Article status, per WP:WIAGA, because of the following fatal reasons: If all of those matters above have been fixed, this article can be renominate it again. Cheers. &mdash; Indon ( reply ) &mdash; 11:10, 13 October 2006 (UTC)
 * 1) This article is totally unsourced. Please provide your reliable sources according to WP:CITE to support the three pillars of Wikipedia: neutral point of view, no element of original research and verifiable. I've put a template in this article for editors to fill in their references. Please do not consider it as discouraging.
 * 2) All of the images used are copyrighted and no fair use rationale given. Please provide images suitable for Wikipedia, per WP:ICT, or give fair use rasionale, per WP:FAIR.

Typo?
I'm not sure what this bit should be, but I don't think it parses as it is: ...which was brought out such iconic groups as... Danguyf 10:40, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

...And Out Come The Wolves
Shouldn't Rancid's album cover for ...And Out Come The Wolves be mentioned? 65.185.191.51 03:06, 29 October 2006 (UTC)kickasskat
 * It is on the article for First two 7"s on a 12", I don't know that it needs to be here. Maybe it should though, in the appropriate place. Maybe a section on cultural impact, including Major Threat, the SXE subulture and homages like that? --Switch 10:28, 29 October 2006 (UTC)
 * I think a section on the long-term legacy and impact of the band would be a good idea. The Rancid album cover would be a notable example of the legacy. Straight edge would also be a good sub-section here. Wall Screamer (talk) 20:33, 29 June 2013 (UTC)

Early Years
Under early years one user added the "guilty of being white" issue, something that probably should not be in "early years" as it has little to do with the band's history in the form it is now. I propose that it either be rewritten to include the reasons why the song was written (in an interview MacKaye explains that in his youth he was beat up just for being white) and how it ties in to the bands youth, or that it be moved/removed. --Lserven 22:09, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

Take down the Straight Edge statement
This sentence "Minor Threat's song "Straight Edge" became the eventual basis of the straight edge movement, while the band often professed their own "straight edge" ideals." doesn't make any sense. If you click on the citation you will read an interview where Ian MacKaye frankly distances himself from it. He says IN THE CITATION that straight edge is JUST A SONG and that he does not participate in such a movement. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 162.40.241.146 (talk) 19:09, 13 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Several reliable sources including Robert T Wood's articles, American Hardcore: A Tribal History, and Our Band Could be your Life state this. Iam Mckaye has stated that he never meant to start a movement but he has never denied that Straight edge took its name from the song or that it influenced the lifestyle. --Guerillero &#124; My Talk   19:23, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

More on straightedge and sourcing
Is there any source whatsoever for the bit about SSD fans--or any straightedgers--swatting beer bottles out of people's hands at shows? I mean, I used to hear those stories too, but it just reminds me too much of the never-confirmed story of protesters spitting on soldiers returning from Vietnam...everyone seemed to be sure it happened to their co-worker's wife's nephew or whatever, but without a source it's just hearsay in the service of promoting a caricature. 66.162.203.18 (talk) 17:50, 1 August 2012 (UTC)oldpunkrocker
 * I'm guessing there's an interview somewhere that makes reference to it. Perhaps American Hardcore has something in there? For the time being, however, I added a Citation Needed tag. Wall Screamer (talk) 18:30, 30 June 2013 (UTC)

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