i was straight edge for a very long time until about two years ago. for that matter, i was also a fundamentalist christian. definitely on the left wing of that crowd, what with the veganism and anti-militarism, etc., but christian all the same.

and let me say, as a person who is very clearly prone to extremism (one could argue that having anarchist tendencies w/in christianity is quite extreme), i can't believe anyone would be so shallow as to say that being straightedge and hanging out with kids who drink doesn't work.

but then i remember those kids. they were the straightedge kids that i didn't hang out with. instead, i was going to the bloomington house and hanging out with all the dirtbags, drinking rootbeer and watching them get drunk on mint juleps of squirt and listerine. i remember one kid in particular telling me that he believed that he was better than someone who drinks. i was straightedge then, but that was about the time i wrote that kid off as an idiot.

i have friends who have family histories, biological tendencies, and very real issues around alcohol and substance. for them, i don't blame them. straightedge makes sense to them, and it's a personal decision that is very positive for them. those are the kids i still hang out with even though i drink now, because they'll give me the time of day and they're worth being around.

at the end of the day, people are people. when we start drawing lines in the sand and say what kinds of people we will and won't hang out with, we miss out on really valuable and educational human experiences. that doesn't mean that i ever want to drink one of those homemade mint juleps, but i do want to try and be a friend to as many people as i can regardless of the things they do that i don't do.

and i like my brake. i'm kind of absent minded sometimes, so it comes in handy.