This is a piece James Morris wrote about his opinion on war, the way things were/are going in the hardcore scene and several other things that bother him. Social Justice and downset. and the changing of these names is also covered.

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James Morris

"Do you know what War is, son?" He asked.
"Mmph...what." the boy replied, not interested in what the old man had to sya. He had learned some time ago that when his father started up like this it was easiest to just nod and feign with one syllable agreements.
"Well...war is sort of like...our cleansing process. You see, mankind needs to conquer. It's in our blood boy, we need to hurt others. We gotta have hate. It's good. Conflict is good. Now in war, we try to kill as many people on the other side as possible. It preserves our dignity not to mention freedom." His child had nodded and grunted something as he continued to focus on what was on the TV.
The father continued. "It's bloody and it's cruel. Hell, even innocent women and children are killed. Butcha know what? That's the price for freedom, junior. And it's a soldier's honor to die in battle for his country. This country." He went on. "My daddy fought for it, I fought for it, and you know damn well I expect you to do the same..."
The boy yawned, "Whatever you say Pop."

What I propose is War. Not War for land or monetary gain. It is however a War for 'Freedom.' Freedom of thought, Freedom to think for ourselves. We have given this Freedom away. It seems that we are so caught up in living up to various images. Images put forth through popular culture and media that we have forgotten how to think for ourselves, to make up our minds as inividuals. We must fall into a clique. Others think for us. From every TV, billboard, magazine, and radio station we are being told how to dress, live, eat, hate, love, and basically how to feel as humans. The more others have control over our decisions and actions, and the easier we let them take those decisions from us, the emore we fall asleep to the fact that subteley we are lulled into a mindless state of submission.

From peer pressure we accept fashion in order to identify with ourselves as being part of something. A trend. A style. A whatever. From clothing to music, to drug use and our "rebellion" against "the norm." Most of it is fashion, not something we find for ourselves, but a trend. Handed down and reinforced by each of us. For each other.

I fall victim to this all the time. I am a perfect hypocrtie. I let people think for me all the time, it's easy. I don't have to use the time or the energy. It's much easier to ride the wave of popular opinion than it is to stand up and ask "What am I doeing? and why? What do I think is best?" I just follow. I must remain cool. So who is to blame? Me. Us. There's no way in hell that we can be totally free of the influence of the media or of each other. We succumb to it unknowingly simply because of the fact that we are social beings. We need to be accepted by our peers. Therefoe we setle into various groups with common themes, styles and ideas. These groups are largely influenced by the media and popular culture. Are the ideas and images being put forth who we really are? Or are we them because everybody else is?

As the youth, we have the need to rebel against what we were told to us by the "Establishment" i.e. our parents, teachers, etc. We need to find out own identity. This is where we fool ourselves. We try to do things our own way, a nw way. And in turn, all we do is create another establishment of norm where others think of us and tell us how to live. Isn't that exactly why we rebelled in the first place? Therefore we defeat our original purpose.
Example: The marijuana resurgance. Something that symbolizes rebellion and the supposed freeing of the mind has become a marketing tool and now is being used to sell shirts and records because it's cool.

What really are we rebelling against? and are we doingit because everyone else is? Or beacause we believe in it. When I say war, I'm not talking about a physical conflict. I don't mean violence. The opening storywas written to make two points. The first being my effort to set the tone for this editorial, in that in calling for a war of consciousness, knowledge leads to action. The core of what I'm saying here is this: True security comes from being content with yourself from the inside out, not the outside in. For me, part of this security comes from my faith in God. You could say "that's just as bad as having faith in the media or the government" but then again this is my opinion.

I struggle to not take hold in all the things TV, most music and popular culture portay security to be. Not that these things have any positive value, they do. It's up to you to be the filter. All I'm saying is always ask why. Because a mindless generation is an easy thing to manipulate and there's plenty of people and organazations counting on your mindlessness to make their profits. It's what corporate America is based on. Always ask why. Who is pushing what on me. Educate yourself. For such an alternative generation that is so concerned with environment, personal freedom, human rights and the myriad of other causes we rally under. Truly freeing our minds should not be overlooked as a pertinent goal. Education is the most dangerous weapon you can possess.

These notions are nothing new. The point is fundamental: Think For Yourself.
I am mostly writing this for my own good. It's a forum to organize my thoughts and collectively present them on paper
I just see so many trends today, so much blindness under the guise of being presented with an option, we are eager to swallow. What are we really ingesting?
So you could say that this is all well and good but then how come downset signed with a major label if you don't want to become a marketing tool for the industry and end up a fad or something to be heard just because it's popular and not because it has something to say?

We signed with Mercury Records because we see an opportunity to get our message out on a larger scale then if we stayed an underground hardcore band. The integrity of this band is still as strong as it ever was and it's up to us to keep it like that. We would be making the same music if we weren't signed. True, we could become a marketing tool and the label's aim is to sell a lot of records. And theywould love it if we became the next big thing because they would make a lot of money. So would we. That is secondary. What is primary is the message. I know it sounds cliched but that's why we've always been here, even when we were an underground band; Social Justice. Our songs are about meaning something. We are not a prefabricated band that suddenly popped up because this type of music became popular. We changed our name because it was the end of an era. And the music we were doing was starting to receive corporate interest. The name Social Justice is something that needs to remain in the underground.

Thank you for reading this and taking the time to hear me out. If you see something I'm not, or if you have something to say in regards, please write.

SOCIAL JUSTICE - "I refuse to lose" EP
Pretty interesting record by this unknown band from Las Angeles. Standard metal mosh structure, vocals with a hip-hop-ish feeling. Actually, the second song is more hip-hop than hardcore. It's about selfishness, I think. The fourth song is a cool cover of "Burning fight" by INSIDE OUT. Lyrics about gang lifestyle, religion and god. Religion seems to be growing in the hardcore scene. I wonder why? (FA)
(Geen Records, Francesco De Jorio, Via Manciati 14, 35020, Padova, ITALY)

Album review from Maximum R'n'R 128

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