# what the fuck is a crusty these days?



## Primitive (Jul 13, 2015)

I hate to death this term has been thrown around so much and now pretty much takes on the meaning of practically anyone whos a dirty kid with a dog who dont consider themselves a hippy or a dead head. there was a time that crusty meant someone who listened to crust punk and was part of that scene and/or culture. Imagine people calling themselves metalheads who dont listen to metal, or a deadhead who cant name one greatfull dead song. I mean seriously... crust punk started as anarcho-squatter punks who were into metal. But couldnt identify with the meaningless fantasy lyrics about satan. So they played their own style of thrash metal, fusing it with anarcho-punk and building a culture of resistance with it basing it strictly in radical anarchist politics and outlook, and taking the diy ethic even further. squatting has certainly always been a part of crust culture since it started in the mid-80's with antisect and amebix. But the whole point of it seems to be lost, which was radical politics and crust punk/dbeat/grind/anarcho-punk etc. I dont mean to sound like some scene nazi, but for fuck sakes if youre gonna call yourself a crusty, at least be into the music and what its about. The original point was to radicalize something that was taking youth by storm in the 80's and 90's which was metal. And creating a specified culture of resistance with it. I also must note gg allin and everything he stands for goes against everything that is anarchist. one thing no one should ever do is where a gg allin patch and call themselves a crusty or anarchist. Which ive seen way too much of. Advocating rape, child abuse, sexism, and racism is a no go obviously as far as thats concerned so fuck gg allin and his name shouldnt even me mentioned in the same sentance. Neither is it "cool" and "crust" to do heroin. Anarchism and crust go hand in hand, obviously anarchists are about bieng smart and tactical, something that kills of people like flies should be fought against not embraced. If you wanna commit suicide at least make a political statement out of it. Haha. But the point is how can you be a crusty if you arent even into crust, its kinda the whole point right?


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## Mankini (Jul 13, 2015)

I don't know enough about the scene or the music to say. But it seems like you're focusing on intellectual appreciation of political standards. Whereas maybe there's a sizable contingent who care nothing for politics or ideals and are just into a scene to 'party'...Which mindset I think is common amongst any group of young people. So I guess you have to look for the contingent that reads more and drinks and drugs less. I'm a nihilist but i'm also in my 30s and my musical tastes are old-school punk (Patti Smith, etc.), Chopin, Bach, Goa trance...Perhaps what one could do is share certain thinkers with people who might appreciate them...The Wretched of the Earth is palatable for a lot of people...And Steal This Book...


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## Primitive (Jul 13, 2015)

The whole point is to mix the two really, which ive seen done extremly well. And thats how it once was. Nazi boneheads do the same thing, with mixing music scenes and politics into one atmosphere. Bad example maybe... but maybe not if you think about. Say i call myself a nazi skinhead and listen to all the wp bands but say "well im not into the philosophy" like wtf? Theres few scenes that are created to be strictly based on the mix of philosophy/politics whatever you wanna call it. But crust punk which goes hand in hand with anarcho-punk is certainly one. However the political aspect isnt even the biggest point, sure if you get into the music its up to you how you interpret the lyrics and how serious of an impact they have on your life or how much you identify with it. But the biggest point is at least be into crust punk if youre gonna call yourself a crusty. All politics aside. It just blows my mind how the term is now used to describe people who arent even remotely into the music even.


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## Mankini (Jul 13, 2015)

LOL People who are into WP music but not the philosophy!! "Yeah man. Ummm I'm teaching yoga next Thursday. Cant make it to the rally." "But hey, you know the original Aryans were from India, right?"


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## Primitive (Jul 13, 2015)

Bring your black girlfriend to the wp show... and reacting to their opposition with "dont push your politics on me pal, im just into the music"


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## Mankini (Jul 13, 2015)

Everybody else brings strudel to the potluck: you bring latkes and organic hummus..


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## Primitive (Jul 13, 2015)

And of course... rainbow colored condoms. Haha!


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## Corinne (Jul 13, 2015)

i agree. labels are lame anyway. why fit yourself into a box when being original is so much more fun


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## Mankini (Jul 13, 2015)

Skinhead:"Hey Fucker. Did you peruse that Mein Kampf first edition I lent you?"...."No...But David Hasselhoff' s the man! Am I right?!"


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## Primitive (Jul 13, 2015)

I understand you're point. However what if our originalities about one another provide commonalities to unify and organize under our own labels? Ahhhh....


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## Mankini (Jul 13, 2015)

People always want to revert to tribalism. Tribe calls out to the human soul for some reason.


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## Primitive (Jul 13, 2015)

Oh yeah definitly. Its because humans are social creatures, numbers and unity are strength. Bonding together with unifying cultures/philosophys/traditions is certainly the strongest weapon of survival. Of course im an anarcho-primitivist myself and see a great need for this.


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## Mankini (Jul 13, 2015)

There needs to be a state just for us. Yuppies are needed because they offer Panera Bread and Starbucks for us to Dumpsta....But they must be kept on a tight leash. Not in an Authoritarian way...But more like the Morlocks and the Eloi.


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## Primitive (Jul 13, 2015)

I halfway want to reply with a serious post about how living segregated from this modern industrialized civilization wont last because their colonialist demands would eventually cause them to expand onto wherever that is and whipe it out. But i see what you did there was what you humans refer to as "comical social commentary". Lol


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## Mankini (Jul 13, 2015)

No, no; Please respond w/ serious commentary. I prefer to live around the ultra-rich because the pickins are so good. Plus I've found that their enclaves offer security and well-paid labor because they don't have any proletariat to exploit. When one is squatting in their own backyards the Bourgeois have less awareness of you than a Great White does of the little remora that stick to his sides. Thus the effect of their territorial expansion is negated.


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## Primitive (Jul 13, 2015)

Well the silicon valley is supposed to have one of the best economys in the world, but there are still ghettos here, still poverty, but still extreme high rent costs.


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## Mankini (Jul 13, 2015)

Hell Yeah. That whole corridor is ripe for revolutionary conquest. I use Google Maps a lot to scope out new green swaths to camp in and look for work. I thought, try to live in Pacifica or Half Moon Bay and commute into Palo Alto or Menlo P. for work. I grew up in Salinas and spent much time squattin in Marin so I know that area well. <3


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## Durp (Jul 13, 2015)

Go to a place called Petersburg in upstate NY. That place has been pretty anarchist since way back with the individualist anarchists. No sheriff or law around because they cut the budget for the town and eliminated in. Cool people there may be some cool punk houses but idk if you would have to be vetted or if they are open. They are now in their 30s a lot of them and no longer have a tolerance for bull shit. There are loads of fests around the region, I'm sure you would meet some cool folks. I sort of miss NY, but then I don't haha.


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## mymotherisafish (Jul 13, 2015)

Agreed! Maybe I shouldnt care about this, but it always annoys the hell out of me when I run into kids who refer to themselves as "crusty" but look at me with blank stares when I mention even the most basic or well known crust punk bands. I really shouldnt give a shit what other people think of themselves as, but in this case it bothers me. Crust punk is SERIOUS BUSINESS YO


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## Andrea Van Scoyoc (Jul 13, 2015)

Love this post.

I abhor labels. The concept of needing to fit in has always escaped me.

I've never wanted to conform, let alone, fit in.

And I never have, I'm happy to say.

If you ask me what I am, I'll tell you that I'm a "Bohemian."

Ask me what a "Bohemian" is and I'll tell you, a free thinker (a _true_ free thinker, not the so-called 'free thinker' with herd mentality) a non conformist, someone who flauts the norm and has the courage to do things _their own_ way.

My mode of thinking has never made me popular, but I'm sure you can guess my thoughts on that.


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## alainawhocares (Jul 14, 2015)

I thought a crusty was one of those crusty little dried up puss balls that happen when you get a new piercing! Oops.


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## Mankini (Jul 14, 2015)

Andrea. There is no need to conform. That concept is introduced to us at a very young age: the schools inculcate it into us as children. Because schools need to control children, they teach them regimentation. That regimentation is then continued and developed through organized sports....later, employers and govt want regimentation. I remember reading a guidebook to the AT....Why should here even be a guide to the AT?! That experience is supposed to be liberating...???....Anyways, the author recommended doing it from South to North; because "Most people do that and there must be a reason." That comment infuriated me...When I arrived on Angel Island in San Fran Bay, a ranger was there to meet me and told me there was no free camping on the island. Now I understand restrictions like that because I don't want to disturb fragile conservation areas or archaeological sites...But later a Park Ranger there refused to share the local WiFi password...Which made me think their deal is control, more than anything else...Even in natural settings, these PooButtz wanted to establish control. ???...Absolutely infuriating. I'll go as far as I have to, to evade control and its associated mindset. And so social groups evolve into cliques; and cliques develop fashions...these fashions determine group membership. Thus, nowadays, cyclists enjoy wearing spandex: I have been a cyclist all my life and have never owned spandex...???...Country Western fans wear Country Western clothes...and call themselves "Cowboys"...??....Tight pants do not make one a 'Cowboy'...anymore than spandex makes you Lance Armstrong.


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## Andrea Van Scoyoc (Jul 14, 2015)

voodoochile76 said:


> Andrea. There is no need to conform. That concept is introduced to us at a very young age: the schools inculcate it into us as children. Because schools need to control children, they teach them regimentation. That regimentation is then continued and developed through organized sports....later, employers and govt want regimentation. I remember reading a guidebook to the AT....Why should here even be a guide to the AT?! That experience is supposed to be liberating...???....Anyways, the author recommended doing it from South to North; because "Most people do that and there must be a reason." That comment infuriated me...When I arrived on Angel Island in San Fran Bay, a ranger was there to meet me and told me there was no free camping on the island. Now I understand restrictions like that because I don't want to disturb fragile conservation areas or archaeological sites...But later a Park Ranger there refused to share the local WiFi password...Which made me think their deal is control, more than anything else...Even in natural settings, these PooButtz wanted to establish control. ???...Absolutely infuriating. I'll go as far as I have to, to evade control and its associated mindset.




Preach it!

But...remember...it's Andy...not Andrea.

Calling me, "Andrea" makes me feel like I'm talking to my parents.


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## ThePapayaBandit (Jul 14, 2015)

I think the term crusty gets thrown around a lot because the style of patched up clothing and dreads is popular in the travelling community even with people who know nothing about the crust scene.


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## Bizarre Odor (Aug 8, 2015)

Whenever you talk about labels the chance of becoming completely dogmatic may happen, but for the most part I agree with the OP. The whole reason myself and many others started traveling was for ourselves and what I thought was a radical act. I think this whole argument can be extended to the broader traveling community and its intentions being not radical at all and instead being this gross group social nihilism sped up by alcohol drugs and complacency that is boring as fuck to participate in and observe and no better then the mainstream social organizations that we all hate anyway. Most kids I meet anymore on the road are completely fine with settling for just being a fuck up, and I haven't even been on the road for that long compared to some others. 

Whether it is within the crust subculture or something else, we really need to encourage each other not to be fucking dumbasses.


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## Primitive (Aug 21, 2015)

A short summary of this i just thought of: crust punk is not just another term for "dirty kid", and just cause you're a dirty kid, doesn't make you a crusty kid!


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## Mankini (Aug 21, 2015)

What are the components of each identity? How do they differ?


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## Primitive (Aug 21, 2015)

Crustys are PUNKS, and are into crust punk bands, d-beat, grind, etc. among a long list of other related and often unrelated genres, no crusty only listend to crust, thats one cool thing about it. Alot have been getting into black metal these days for example. Doesnt mean you even gotta be a traveler, ride trains, or even live on the streets at all. Its just something that's been associated with the cultures history. Its more than just a music culture, but none the less it is a music culture. Music being the whole foundation and beggining of it all.


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## Primitive (Aug 21, 2015)

Im not gonna say "this or that makes you a crusty" but certainly if you dont know who amebix, doom, disrupt, or dystopia are, you are surely not a crusty.


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## Mankini (Aug 21, 2015)

Oh Cool man. I'm into Green Day, Offspring, Maroon 5 as well. Maroon 5 has definitely gotten edgy in the past 3 years.

Check out the "Moves Like Jagger" track. Definitely some old school like, GG Allin influence there.


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## Primitive (Aug 21, 2015)

Well you can be into whatever you want really, fucking brittney spears and shit, the whole point is crust is a music sub genre. And if people are gonna call themselves crusties, at least get into the music first.


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## Mankini (Aug 21, 2015)

I was just kidding. Theres a segment in American Psycho where the main character talks about Genesis and Huey Lewis as if they were absolute geniuses.


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## Primitive (Aug 21, 2015)

Doesnt mean you cant be into a hundred other styles. Ive been getting heavily into listening to and playing flamenco lately myself. In fact ive become quite obsessed.


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## Mankini (Aug 21, 2015)

Well in that case, have you heard the Jonas Bros. latest?
Dude and dont talk smack about my girl B Spears.


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## Primitive (Aug 21, 2015)




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## Mankini (Aug 21, 2015)

Me gusta.


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## Primitive (Aug 21, 2015)

Mi* haha!


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## Mankini (Aug 21, 2015)




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## Primitive (Aug 21, 2015)

Or check out flo 6×8, a spanish anarchist group that uses flamenco song and dance as public protest.


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## Mankini (Aug 21, 2015)

I'm in CO right now.....Gettin exposed to all manner of crazay shit. Colombian Venezuelan Peruvian.


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## Primitive (Aug 21, 2015)

Not bad. Salsa music is what thats called.


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## Mankini (Aug 21, 2015)

They stay up all nite on the rooftops here blasting it. Love Love.


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## Primitive (Aug 22, 2015)

Hell yeah!


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## roguetrader (Nov 27, 2015)

I'm from the UK and was part of the original crust punk scene in the late '80's - we were into bands like Doom, Extreme Noise Terror, Electro Hippies, Hellbastard, Amebix, Antisect etc. All of these bands are descended from Crass lyrically and Discharge / Motorhead musically.... Primitive is correct 'crust punk' was a very specific thing - most of us were vegan and heavily into animal rights, politically we were @narchists and if there was a demo on we were fuckin there... (someone once commented 'you're anti bloody anything except your bloody selves' : this was exactly right ! RESIST ! OPPOSE ! )............... and then a shit festival band called The Levellers came along and pretty much overnight 'crusty' referred to any drop out bum with dreadlocks, combat boots, and a dog on a string. whatever there politics. and whatever their fucked up state - as Primitive said no 'real / original' crust punker would have a habit on the old Fleetwood Mac - heroin was for fools in the inner cities - next thing you know half the people you meet on the road have got the 'Bristol flu' and 'could I borrow a tenner like NOW please ?'......... I can see lots of parallels between the UK travelling scene of the 80's and 90's and the dirty kid scene in America - will try and do some posts on the subject


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## Hillbilly Castro (Mar 15, 2016)

JimH1991 said:


> Go to a place called Petersburg in upstate NY. That place has been pretty anarchist since way back with the individualist anarchists. No sheriff or law around because they cut the budget for the town and eliminated in. Cool people there may be some cool punk houses but idk if you would have to be vetted or if they are open. They are now in their 30s a lot of them and no longer have a tolerance for bull shit. There are loads of fests around the region, I'm sure you would meet some cool folks. I sort of miss NY, but then I don't haha.



Dude do you have any more info about this? I am from upstate and have hitched thru rt 2 a number of times but never stopped there because it looks totally unassuming like a random upstate town. I am about to be working on an upstate radical network that links communities all over the state, especially rural. I am heading up there soon anyway perhaps ill just hang around town a few days.


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