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Conservative Punks for Bush
"A punk for Sir Dubya himself- and proud of
the messages that came with the picture of President Bush."
Listen
to this Commentary!
By Enrique Rivera
Who says the Republican Party is not inclusive? Even some punkers,
those kids with tattoos, spikes and attitude are backing President
Bush for re-election. Youth Radio’s Enrique Rivera reports from New
York City, site of the GOP convention.
ENRIQUE
When you think of a punk at the Republican National Convention in
New York City right now, you might think of someone like 19 year old
Andrea.
ANDREA (on tape)
I travel, I may not shower all the time. I got hairy armpits and legs.
I have, like, the whole spikes and studs and patches.
ENRIQUE
Andrea is angry about the Bush Administration’s education policy,
and came to protest in the streets of New York, in typical punk fashion.
NICK (on tape)
I got a framed portrait of the President right there.
ENRIQUE
And then there’s 23 year old Nick Rizzuto, on the opposite end of
the punk spectrum. For his job as a sales assistant in New York city,
he goes to work covering up his ten tattoos with a button-down shirt.
And he still lives with his parents. But what really sets Nick apart
are his political views. A punk for Sir Dubya himself- and proud of
the messages that came with the picture of President Bush.
NICK (on tape)
“To Mr. Nicholas Rizzuto, Thank you for your loyal commitment. I’m
looking forward to working with you for a great Republican victory
in New York this year.”
ENRIQUE
A few years ago, Nick founded a website called “conservativepunk.com”
as a safe haven for like-minded punks. The site’s filled with pro-Bush
op-eds, message boards ranting about Michael Moore, and a cartoon
page poking fun at John Kerry and Bill Clinton. Nick says when the
site first launched, he got dozens of e-mails each from both his punk
brethren and their arch-nemeses- like the guy who recently wrote him
saying you can’t be both a punk and conservative.
NICK (on tape)
Of course that idea is outrageous in some respects and you might feel
bullied. It comes back to the idea of a conservative punk being equivalent
to a Black Klansman. This is the mentality here.
ENRIQUE
Nick says that mentality is what bugs him. The idea that anyone can
dictate what a punk is and isn’t. He says some of the godfathers of
punks, like Johnny Ramone of The Ramones, were hardcore Republicans.
To Nick, the key characteristic of a punk is individuality. Nick’s
been following the convention, and he’s looking forward to hearing
what the President has to say tonight. He knows some punks protesting
in New York this week, like 21 year old Peter, take offense when they
hear about the website.
PETER (on tape)
Maybe these are the people who became a punk to just piss people off.
So to further that, they’re like “Ooh, not only will we piss everyone
off, but we’ll piss other punks off by saying we’re conservative.”
NICK (on tape)
I didn’t create the website with the express purpose of trying to
piss people off, or trying to one-up other punks.
ENRIQUE
Whatever Nick was trying to do when he first started out, has now
grown into the beginning of a community. And every hit to the website
is strengthening the relationship between two groups that might never
have had a first date on their own.
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