Be Punk
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all right here’s the deal i’m a punk
all right punk’s not good it’s not bad
just what i am i’m a punk
and you know what the world needs more
of us that needs more punks and i’ll
tell you why we need more punks you know
punks are people and people that
actually know who they are
that’s the first rule but funny thing is
there are no rules there’s no rules to
punk
punk is nothing except for who i am who
i want to be
who i am today you know what that might
change tomorrow and that’s the thing
it’s fluid it changes so you know what
let me change for a second
hairs up hair down still a punk
black white red yellow still a punk
the thing about punks is you still know
who you
are who am i today i’m a doctor
i’m a punker what does that really mean
what does punk really mean
is it really just about being who i want
to be it really is
because you know what there’s boxes and
people get put into boxes
all the time and guess what punks do we
think outside the box
a box confines us a box keeps us in and
we want to be
let out let your freak flag fly just be
who you are
be the person you want to be today
because you know what that’s
so you got to think about how punk
started punk started because it was a
i don’t know it was a change it was a
change in the way that music was
actually being
you know played to the individuals out
there punk stripped it down it didn’t
take those
large solos and those big arena you know
rock anthems that were being played and
made them into simple
stripped down three chords everybody in
your face
angry at the world music and the thing
is
music is what makes the world kind of
spin around in its own way and it lets
us express
ourselves in a way so we can say hey
here’s who i am here’s what i stand for
and punk took everything looked at it
and punched it in the face and said
here’s what we are we stand for this we
stand for being individuals
standing up for what we believe in that
may be against what everybody else
believes in
people want to put things down on punks
and say this is what you are
and we say nope this is who we are we’re
our own individuals we are
the people that we want to be
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so the community who are the punks i
mean i’m a punk
you’re probably a punk but don’t even
know it but there’s lots of punks around
us that you might not even realize they
don’t have to have
spikes in their hair or you know pins in
their face
punks basically stand up and they say
i’m doing things
differently once again i’m thinking
outside of the box
so you got people like elon musk you may
not like him
but that guy thinks outside the box
that’s pretty punk
you got people like rosa parks who said
enough is enough
i’m not standing for this i’m gonna sit
in fact and this is pretty pumped
because you’re not going to tell me
where i consider what i can do
or john lewis who marches across a
bridge
and says you can’t stop me because we’re
going to overcome because
that’s pretty punk so you can find
multiple examples of people in the
community
that are punk that you may have never
thought about but think about it
all the punks do and the simple things
they have is they have a rebellious
spirit in their mind
they think of ways to make change and
that’s what punks are
always about change because it’s always
a transition it’s always a change
so the reality is you know what punks
it’s might not be who you like there’s
all kinds of punks
there’s hardcore guys there’s the gutter
punks
there’s those guys that are emo there’s
all the guys who actually look at
you know skate punk and the reality is
we’re all punks together we’re in this
collective
and the thing about us no matter what
your belief is even if you don’t agree
with that person
one thing that punks always do they look
at it as a community and they always
pick each other up
you might look at the pit and realize
there’s this violent activity taking
place people
slamming into each other and from the
outside perspective it looks chaotic
but when a person goes down no matter
what their belief is
if you’re there and you’re watching
those same people on stage and you’re a
punk
you pick that person up and that’s
community that’s what punk really is
it’s community it’s a community of
individuals that are together who are
all
separate but actually together because
they all believe in
themselves and they have the ability to
express themselves
and when one goes down we pick them up
the pit
you’re down we pick you up
so when you’re out there in a community
and you’re looking for what you got to
do
say you see individuals blocking traffic
say you see that there’s folks out there
that seem to make your day
get thrown off in some way well they’re
being punk
they’re standing up for what they
believe they’re being who they need to
be
so instead of actually trying to take
them down
pick those people up from the pit give
them a hunk give them away but remember
pick them up you don’t have to agree but
just pick them up
so really how am i a punk you know
so there’s all these boxes people want
to put you in
they want to actually box you in and say
you have to be this type of person
so i always wanted to be a doctor i
happen to be a physician
but i also have to plan a punk rock band
at the same time
and you know it’s actually pretty cool
that i have the opportunities
to play in bands
and do whatever i want it’s
me being me and not doing what you
expect me to be
if they say well you’re this
african-american guy and you can’t be in
a punk band
or that you’re in a punk band you can’t
be a doctor
the question is why can’t i do what i
want to do
i want to be me i want to do what i want
to do if i want to walk on these rocks
and take a chance i’ll take that chance
and if i fall
it’s me falling it’s me falling on my
own terms me making my own risks and
taking them
and not doing the safe thing that you
think i should do
that’s being punk why do you have to be
locked into
the same old drab mundane
nine to five buttoned up laced up
this is what you do if inside you want
to be
the tooth fairy be the tooth fairy if
you want to be the person that
writes video games you do that but you
know what reevaluate anything you’re
doing so that you can become the person
that you want to be
and that’s being punk i’m the person
that i want to be
it makes me happy and i think more punks
out there means
more happy people so we got to have more
punks
so the reality is you should be punk
i mean i can’t tell you what to do right
because if i told you what to do and you
did it then it wouldn’t be punk right
but you got to be punk it’s that weird
weird you know
dichotomy of telling you what to do and
telling you not what to do
i’m just trying to help you to be who
you are open up to be
the person that you really want to be
open your mind up be more free
think outside of the box make yourself
more happy punks are more happy look at
me i’m happy
you should be happy too so you got to be
punk
so punk’s a constant reevaluation of who
you are
who you want to be one day you may be
that person that flies the freak flag
the next day you may not
but that’s on you to actually find the
punk inside of you
and let it out punk’s a fluid transition
always it’s never static it’s not
something that’s rigid
punk is fluid like everybody in the pit
moving around in circles
listen to that tune that gets you moving
punk is
always going to be in flux
always for change looking for change in
the world
around you and personally for you
that’s what punk is it’s change and
we’ve always got to make some changes
so it’s time for me to be punk
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oh
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when you see someone you know
you