Karl Buechner (Earth Crisis/Freya) defends Straight Edge

Victory has provided a statement from former Earth Crisis vocalist Karl Buechner's after his appearance on Fox News' At Large with Geraldo Rivera. Buechner appeared on the program in order to provide a perspective on straight edge contrary to the recent classification of the lifestyle as a "gang."
Also of interest are recent features from Reno Gazette Journal and Salt Lake City Weekly.

You can click Read More for the statement.

Karl Buechner (Earth Crisis/Freya):

On Sunday night, Fox News broadcasted a story on violent incidents
involving Straight Edge youth in Utah and Nevada. I was one of the guests
in the discussion. In Salt Lake City two Straight Edgers were sent to
prison for the murder of a teen they killed in a fight. In Reno, the
police arrested Straight Edgers for beating kids with bats, and they have
classified Straight Edge as a gang. The screen was split four ways: with
Geraldo, the father of the murdered teen, a police officer from Reno and
me. In my interview I said Straight Edge has existed for 25 years, there
are tens of thousands of believers who are law abiding, productive people
who live clean lives and that the movement is worldwide. I went on to say
that it was disappointing to me that the media only seems to come around
with the cameras in the rare event that something negative happens,
meaning that these violent incidents are basically a footnote to the
overall Straight Edge story. As to this particular sad story, I maintained
that beating someone up over an issue of disrespect is throwing your
entire life away - it's a tragic end on both sides. After four years of
high school you will never see these people again.

From the onset the idea was pushed that the fights happened because the
Straight Edge kids attacked drinkers or smokers and I am very doubtful
that it was the reason. Straight Edge is now classified as a gang in the
states of Utah and Nevada as a result of these incidents. The police
officer agreed with me that 90% of all Straight Edge people are peaceful
and law abiding.

In my past experience, when journalists have taken the time to explore
this subject in depth, the resulting coverage has been very even handed.
When a film crew from CNN did a story on my former band Earth Crisis and
the Straight Edge scene, they were with us for three days and that
documentary came out crystal clear. The same for my interviews on MTV's
anti-alcohol special "Smashed", ABC News and 48 Hours. It is important to
point out in fairness to the Geraldo program that the topic was only
covered for 5-6 minutes. I think it deserves a closer look.

Straight Edge is defined as a lifetime commitment to abstain from alcohol,
tobacco, drugs and promiscuity. It has changed thousands of lives for the
better, steering young people clear of many of society's problems."