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Over the edge: 'clean-living' teenagers harass a rival

by Matthew Campbell
Washington

Their parents should be delighted. Some members of the Straight Edge, one of America's fastest-growing youth movements, even avoid casual sex, saving all their energy for rock concerts and vegetarian food.

An increasingly militant wing has come to dominate the movement, however, to the extent that Straight Edgers are accused of trying to impose their moral standards on others by regularly beating up strangers who drink or smoke.

Vegetarian extremists in Utah have firebombed leather stores and a McDonald's restaurant, causing £1.5m worth of damage in three years. Police in Salt Lake City refer to hardliners in the organisation as "suburban terrorists".

"It's a huge problem," said Michelle Areiaga, a gang specialist in Salt Lake City who emphasised that it was caused by a small minority. "This movement had the potential to be a very positive thing. But that has not happened."

The movement, an offshoot of punk rock culture, began in New York in the early 1980s and has grown all over America. The Ohio branch has developed such a reputation for brutality that it has come to be known as the Hate Edge. Its members use skateboards to hit smokers they encounter on the street over the head.

The Straight Edge is particularly well represented in Utah - encouraged, perhaps, by the state's Mormon religion, which shuns alcohol. In Salt Lake City, bleach-haired teenagers wielding chains and canisters of Mace gas cruise around looking for smokers and drinkers to harass.

One youth had an "x" carved on his back by Straight Edgers who caught him smoking marijuana. The movement adopted "x" as its symbol because this is the letter that some club bouncers stamp on the hands of customers too young to drink.

The growing popularity of the group has prompted resistance. A small rival gang called Smoke More Pot has been set up by skateboarders in Utah, sparking skirmishes in Salt Lake City.

The FBI has also begun to show an interest in the Straight Edge, as its militants ally themselves with the shadowy Animal Liberation Front to target the fur, leather and fast-food trades.

"The problem," said a police source, "is that these kids are becoming a lot more offensive than the evils they claim to be fighting."

Next page: Inside Los Angeles - Christopher Goowin

Next page: Inside Los Angeles - Christopher Goowin