22 August 2007

Clubs and Counter-Culture

| Jazz
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People are cliquey, have odd ideas and tend to like to associate with like minded individuals with common interests. When some of these people get together they form bands, political parties or gangs with stupid tattoos.

Others, like the Ulysses Club, a motorcycle club where you need to be 40+ to join as a junior member and whose motto is “Grow Old Disgracefully”, are quite happy to take the mickey out of themselves.

Another such group is a fledgling luncheon sub group/amalgamation of the Canberra MX5 club and the Canberra Model Aircraft Club tentatively named SOFT DOC (Sophisticated Old FarTs Dinning Out Club).

Others groups tend to take themselves more seriously. I discovered yesterday not only a Punk counter-culture but that there are members of said group in Canberra. Bearing markings from a bad Vin Diesel film, followers of the Straight Edge life style are hard core punks who abstain from grog, smoking, other drugs (including caffeine) and some even to the extent of meat and sex (I’m assuming individually and/or together).

Let us know what else is out there, from the light-hearted to super-serious.

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You can’t go past Canberra’s Rat Patrol Oz – an anarchist collective of bicycle-modifying beer drinking funsters. Check them out at http://www.rat-patrol.org/RPOz/RatPatrolOz.html

A particularly Canberran one that I’ve heard of is SNOG.

Joe Canberran11:48 am 22 Aug 07

“No, but they used to have overseas working holidays to the middle east….” – Thumper

That was a 1000-800 years ago or so wasn’t it. I understand they started the scheme again recently.

i was asked if i was ignorant or apathetic. i said i didnt know and dont care.

Atheists try too hard. Become an apathist like me.

Joe Canberran11:09 am 22 Aug 07

According to the wiki link Straight Edge is “(deemed both counter culture and subculture)”

I’d say the choice of post title was just due to it rolling of the tongue better 🙂

‘clique’

The correct term you should be using here is sub-culture.

Counter-cultures rejected traditional norms and values, and adopt their own i.e. cults like the Raeleons or just plain old hippies; as opposed to sub-cultures who usually contiue to operate with tradational societal norms and values.

Of course this all becomes blurred if you start considering it from a marxist-feminist contstruct, where traditional paradigms are superseded by a humanist, liberalist framework.

;-P

There are a large number of clandestine groups who congregate after dark in Canberra’s forests. They usually meet weekly to lurk in the forest for a couple of hours with their mountain bikes. In between chatting and checking out each other’s bikes, they occaisionally ride on the single track trails. These night gatherings cuminate in a mass orgy of mountain biking, which includes riding throughout the night as part of this 24 hour event.

Absent Diane10:20 am 22 Aug 07

There is slowly forming a nice little group of atheists who go out for a laidback drink and chat irregularly – I will post info on next gathering for anyone interested when I get the time to organise another.

Joe Canberran9:54 am 22 Aug 07

schmerica – never heard of it. Are they light-hearted of super-serious?

Christianity.

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