NGC Blog

Live Blogging for the Mars Phoenix Lander.

2008-05-09T13:55:57Z

	Greg Chapman
	Research

On May 25, 2008 NASA’s Phoenix Lander will enter the Martian atmosphere and land on its polar ice-cap into investigate Mars’s past and to help further determine whether life on Mars can or has ever existed.

NGC Blog's Greg Chapman and Matt Zymet, along with scientific experts will be live-blogging that night with reaction and commentary about the lander. It should be one of the most unique perspectives of Mars that we have been able to see to date. So please join us the night of May 25th and submit your questions to us ahead of time for a better chance for them to be answered by our experts.

Also take our poll question as to whether you think that life exists on Mars.

Programming update: Inside a Cult

2008-05-05T18:55:35Z

	Greg Chapman
	Research

Viewers that caught the premiere of Inside a Cult on April 23 can testify to the stunning footage that was shown of the Strong City Cult and its leader Michael Travesser. Travesser and his followers are in the similar vein of other cults - the teaching of one leader about a judgement day soon approaching - but Travesser poses himself as not a follower of a God, but a God himself.

It has only been two weeks since the National Geographic Channel first aired this film and yet there has already been a need to update this saga. As you will see on Wednesday's encore airing of Inside a Cult, three children that were isolated in this compound have been removed and Michael Trevesser is now wanted for questioning related to some potential unlawful actions.

I don't have the complete details, but once the update is complete for Wednesday's airing, we'll all be able to find out what is going on.

Update: It's national news now.

Want to learn more about China? National Geographic has you covered.

2008-05-01T21:06:47Z

Learn all you need to know about China's Geography, country facts, and a brief history overview China is pushing architecture to its limits, while the world watches to see if they will finish everything on time. If you are in the Washington D.C. area, the National Geographic Museum has the Visions of China photo exhibit until July 13. The exhibit profiles China's people, places, and booming infrastructure. Videos: Polution problem in China? More photos and wallpapers to click through

China Revealed

2008-04-29T22:22:17Z

Its in the papers. Its on cable news. Its the topic of conversation. China. Over the last couple of years the world community has begun to see China as not only a growing financial powerhouse, but one that is beginning to have a growing influence around the globe.

We all want to learn more about this culture and where it is headed. Beginning on Sunday, the channel will begin its profile of China by airing a night's worth of programming related to the leader in the East. The night will also feature the premieres of The Great Wall at 9p and The First Emperor. Thats not all. Wednesday night we will focus on what we can expect from the Olympics this summer when we profile the Beijing Olympic Stadium at 9p and The World's Largest Casino at 10p.

The Great Wall

Sunday, May 4 at 10p et/pt

First Emperor

Sunday, May 4 at 10p et/pt

Researching the darkest days of WWII

2008-04-25T14:13:57Z

	Rebecca Erbelding
	Researcher, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

I work with new and incoming collections at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Most people react to this with surprise-"The Holocaust ended more than sixty years ago—is there really anything left to collect?" Absolutely. We are continually adding new collections—an average of 400 a year, ranging from microfilm to documents to personal items—and are actively seeking new material that can enhance our knowledge of the Holocaust. This is a critical time. Holocaust denial is on the rise and the eyewitness generation is disappearing. These collections will act as the voices of the survivors, liberators, and witnesses when they are no longer with us.

Photos

Preview Video

Nazi Scrapbook From Hell Premieres Sunday, April 27 at 9p

In December 2006, I received a letter. I get lots of letters and emails and phone calls from people who have material they would like to show us. My colleagues and I respond to everyone who contacts us—we are able to tell the donor whether we would be interested in a particular collection, provide them with information, or can help them find a more suitable museum if their items lie outside of our scope. I responded, and within weeks Karl Hoecker's photo album of his experiences at Auschwitz from May 1944 to January 1945 arrived at the Holocaust Museum.

We now have photographic evidence of the life of SS officers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Especially chilling is that these photographs were taken during the final months of the camp’s operation when the staggeringly massive Hungarian deportations (437,000 Hungarian Jews arrived at the camp in a span of 55 days, about 80% of whom were murdered upon arrival) were arriving. I had no idea that anything like this existed. It makes me wonder what else is out there. What do people have in their attics, in their garages, stuffed in file cabinets and forgotten? Are there more Auschwitz albums?

Karl Hoecker's album was almost lost to history. Our donor (who found the album after the war and requested anonymity) passed away a few months after donating the photographs. If he had not contacted us when he did, the album might have gotten thrown away, unnoticed in a pile and lost forever. But it wasn't. One of the many things I hope people think about after watching "Nazi Scrapbooks from Hell" is that items they have in their homes might have value. Museums help preserve and protect collections from deterioration and most importantly, can make these collections available to those wanting to learn more about the past. Thanks to our anonymous donor, Karl Hoecker's photograph album, and with it the only known photographs of Josef Mengele (and other infamous SS officers) while at the camp and the last known images of wartime Auschwitz, were saved. But I still wonder what else is out there, and I always love getting my mail every day.

Click here to find more information about donating a collection to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Click here to learn more about Karl Hoecker's photograph album

Nazi Scrapbook from Hell Q&A

2008-04-22T19:08:58Z

	Greg Chapman
	Research

I had the chance to sit down with Producer Erik Nelson from Creative Differences and Nat Geo Channel's Senior Vice President of Programming Michael Cascio and talk about this Sunday's premiere of Nazi Scrapbook From Hell. The film uncovers a part of the Holocaust that was once thought to be unrecorded, but thanks to Washington D.C. Holocaust Museum and Erik's work there is now documentation and photographic evidence of what life was like behind the fences of the death camp at Auschwitz. This film profiles a series of contrasting photos - one series portrays the banality of evil, while the other profiles the horror of life behind the wire.

For More Related to Nazi Scrapbook from Hell:

Show Profile

Photos From the Scrapbook

Nazi Scrapbook From Hell Premieres Sunday, April 27 at 9p

Greg: What was it like for you personally being part of unearthing such a unique historical artifact?

Erik: The artifact was donated to the USHMM, so, it existed and was being analyzed well before we began the film. Our contribution to the scholarship and the on-going analysis was the forensic history work that placed Hoecker on the killing ramp.

Michael: The photographs existed - and were discovered - independently of National Geographic, but we were fortunate that our producer had the expertise to react quickly to the discovery of the photos and suggest that we build a program around them. We are also grateful that the Holocaust Museum allowed us to use the photos to educate a wide audience about this latest piece of evidence of the worst atrocity in contemporary history, the Holocaust. Greg: What was your first reaction when you first looked at these photos? Erik: Not so much shock at the banality of evil, but shock at the NORMALCY of evil. It looks like they are all enjoying a typical day at the office, when what they were really doing was killing thousands of men, women and children daily, and routinely. That routine is what this album and film is all about. Michael: To me, the photos are perplexingly normal. The fact that these Nazis were simply taking a break from their job - killing millions of Jews - and enjoying life just a stone's throw from Auschwitz is just too weird for words.]]> Greg: Why do you think it took so long for this album to be exposed? Erik: The donor kept it as a souvenir of his time in Germany, so, he probably didn't realize its value to history. Greg: The film mentions how a number of these photos humanize the commanders and guardsmen at the camps - how did this influence you when you were putting this film together? Erik:Well, Charlie Chaplin once said about comedy, "if what you doing is funny, you don't have to be funny doing it". A corollary here is, if what you document is horrific, you don't have to be horrific doing it. So, no scary music, no breathless narration pounding home the evil, just the images, speaking for themselves, in their own innocently menacing voice. Michael: The "humanization" causes viewers to think: They don’t look evil, so how could this happen? How could they be so frivolous with death all around them? It raises some fundamental questions about human nature, and the peculiar circumstances that led to the Holocaust. Greg: "Monsters at play and monsters at work" - A very strong, yet fitting statement about this scrapbook. How psychologically draining was it for you to study all these photos when some are humanizing and others terrifying? Erik: The album is a direct link across decades to the hearts and minds of the killers -- and that link is a two way one. The images get in your head, and you are forced to see these killers as the human beings that they thought they they were-- and that is not the way that anyone prefers to see them. Michael: I was simply blown away when I saw these photos put in the framework of what was actually going on at Auschwitz – the torture, beatings and the horror of the gas chamber. Greg: Some of the models of the camps and crematoriums that are included in the film and the details jump off the screen; how surreal was it for you to film all of the horrors that encapsulate this topic? Erik: Being alone, in the Holocaust Museum, late at night, filming the astonishing model and diorama of the Auschwitz gas chamber and crematorium was more than surreal, it was transporting to a place and time where nobody wants to go. I felt the ghosts were in the room with us, and it was intensely discomforting. Michael: The details are almost always moving. In this case, even more so – because of the photos bring a fresh perspective, new evidence and context. The decision to use the model was a stroke of brilliance and necessity: There are no known photos of the gas chambers and crematoria in action. Without the model, we would have had to resort to other techniques, including re-creations or movie versions of the Holocaust, which would have cheapened the authenticity of the program. Greg: Why did you decide to make this film? Erik: The Holocaust has been documented many times, but, these images force the viewer to look at this tragedy from a different perspective -- that of the perpetrators. This scrapbook doesn't let the viewer off the hook, doesn't allow the viewer to compartmentalize and dismiss what happened as something that is ancient history. By allowing the images to speak for themselves, without overtly imposing the editorializing of the filmmaker, it puts the viewer in a position were they have to grapple with what William Faulkner wrote; "The past isn't dead. It isn't even past". Greg: What is the one thing that you would want our viewers to take away from this film? Michael: We’re not that far removed in history from the Holocaust, yet I suspect there are viewers who are not that familiar with it. This is, frankly, a program to reach out to viewers who may need a reminder about this tragic chapter in modern history. We also wanted to show how the power of still photos can bring history – and its horror – to life. We’re able to use new technology to analyze the photos, and help piece together more details about Auschwitz, and give viewers a modern view of this tragedy.

Preview: State of the Planet 2008

2008-04-18T18:12:28Z

State of the Planet 2008 premieres Tuesday, April 22 at 9p et/pt. And Greg Chapman poses the question - What do you think is the most pressing issue for our global climate today? Let him know what you think by clicking here.

National Geographic Channel Presents Earth Day 2008

2008-04-17T22:33:51Z

Tuesday April 22 is Earth Day 2008. All over the world people will be discussing how to make an environmental difference in the world. National Geographic is no different, in fact the National Geographic Society have been stewards in this effort for decades. Tuesday night the channel will be airing a program called State of the Planet 2008. This program will address the stage that the global climate is currently in and where it is all heading. It chronicles the ups, downs and the progress that the global community has made over the past year. Tune in and you will be sure to learn something new that you haven't heard before. Click here to view videos related to our environment, global consumption, and climate change.

NGC Blog's don't miss shows for the week of April 14

2008-04-14T15:20:05Z

This week the channel brings out an eclectic grouping of documentaries for all of you to check out. Some will be compelling and some will defy the logic, but regardless of topic the shows will give you a point view that makes you feel like you are the one exploring and investigating. From the humanitarian crisis in Darfur shown in The Devil Came on Horseback to defying the logic of engineering in an Ice Hotel in Oslo, Norway, this week's slate of shows is sure to feed you information that will satisfy your curiosity need.

Don't Miss...


Explorer: Inside the Body Trade
Tuesday, April 15 at 10p et/pt

Man-Made: Ice Hotel
Thursday, April 17 at 8p et/pt

The Devil Came on Horseback
Friday, April 18 at 10p et/pt

Planet Carnivore: King Bear
Saturday, April 19 at 9p et/pt

Human Footprint - Our Driving Imprint

2008-04-11T21:47:10Z

Thanks to Henry Ford, we’ve become an auto nation. The car has transformed the landscape. It has enabled us to work in one place and live someplace else. Although our nation has only 5 percent of the world’s population, we have 30 percent of the world’s cars. We shape our lives around the car. We’ve built freeways and cities for it. Life without it is unimaginable. But life with it comes at a cost. Cars are complicated machines, requiring natural resources and high technology to manufacture. Human Footprint not only looks at the footprint of one person’s lifetime of driving, but also looks at the actual footprint of a typical American car. A driving nation: - The average American will own an average of 12 cars in a lifetime. - We each drive an average of 11,000 miles a year — that’s 627, 000 miles in a lifetime — which is 25 times round the world. - On that journey, we’ll use 31,350 gallons of gasoline — enough to fill three large fuel tankers. - The 200 million cars that drive on America’s roads and highways will be replaced roughly every 17 years. - Americans use a quarter of the world’s oil, and it takes half of that to fuel all of our cars — that amounts to 10.5 million barrels of oil every day. - The United States also pumps half of the world’s carbon dioxide fumes into the air each year. - The family car can contribute to nearly six tons of carbon emissions a year, and over a driving lifetime this adds up to 360 tons for each vehicle on the road. - If all the vehicles in the United States were a nation, their combined carbon footprint would be the fifth largest of all the countries on earth. Where do our cars come from? Did you know the parts of your car may have travelled farther than the complete car will ever drive? ]]> What we do counts, so how can we each make a difference? - In the United States, if all motorists were to shift from their current vehicles with internal combustion engines to cars with hybrid engines like the Toyota Prius or the Honda Insight, gasoline use could be cut in half. - If you can afford a hybrid, stopglobalwarming.org says you can save 16,000 pounds of CO2 and $3,750 a year. You don't even have to give up your SUV! Human Footprint airs this Sunday beginning at 9p et/pt

Blogging Live: Inside Straight Edge

2008-04-10T02:49:16Z

Good Evening Everyone - Thanks for joining in for a conversation tonight. We Have Producer David Smith and Associate Producer Lindsay Wile lined up for a good, opening, and productive conversation about a culture in America called Straight Edge. Thanks for joining look forward to hearing from all of you....

Producer David Smith

Lets start with an easy one - What was it like filming all over the country with all different slices of sXe culture? David Smith: Filming sXe around the country showed us how diverse and multi-faceted this movement is. Also how strongly each side of Straight Edge feels about the way they approach this idea. Most importantly, though, it gave us a window into growing up in America right now -- a complex, sometimes baffling, often alienating experience. It was interesting to see an alternative in Straight Edge and interesting to see where it came from and where it seemed to be heading. There is no one answer. rob says: Thurston Moore (the narrator, of sonic youth fame) is straight edge? anyone have any credible info on that? David Smith: Thurston Moore is not Straight Edge, but he was around during the formative days of it and knows all the major players. The music scene was tightly knit. How did you determine which groups to interview? The way we found our groups and kids was organic. One thing led to another. By talking with one group we were inevitably brought to another. We started at Edge Day, outside Boston, but we knew we wanted to cover territory across the country, so we asked and we sought and we found. It was mostly a game of chance -- but with such a big, diverse subject, you just have to jump in. Obviously, we couldn't cover every side of Straight Edge, so we tried to find different groups and also how these communities were dealing with this youth movement. The internet was indispensable, too! Jim- Any bands featured in this? Lindsay Wile: The crew was able to attend Edgefest 2007 shows in Haverhill, MA, and with the help of xAFBx musicians, film a second show in Reno, Nevada. Bands featured in the film include Verse, The First Step, Have Heart, xAFBx, and xBarcadiax. What was it like for you to be filming all of these bands? Any memorable moments? David Smith: I would say the most memorable moment was watching the synchronized karate-like moves of the Reno Straight Edge show. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Almost ritual in its exactness. Sarah: Did i miss the numbers - how many people are estimated to be in straight edge? Lindsay Wile: Since its inception in the early 1980's, the movement has expanded around the globe, counting upward of tens of thousands of young people among its members. Though like any youth movement, interest in straight edge ebbs and flows, the number of kids involved fluctuates. But it is nearly impossible to count the exact number of edge kids. What was the most difficult scene to film? David Smith: Filming the Edge Day concert was tough -- tiny room packed with wildly jumping kids, sweat, feet and hands flying, temperatures up past 100 degrees and loud music! There was just no easy way to film it -- at the same time, it was one of my favorite scenes and my first introduction into the music and scene of Straight Edge. So I had a good time, even if it was physically demanding. I guess that's the point! Ken: Do you like that music? Is there any rivalry in the punk rock scene between the straight edge crowd and the more hardcore/Sex Pistols like crowd. Clearly i'm showing my lack of knowledge on punk rock - but interesting to see how involved Straight Edge is in that music scene. ]]> David Smith: Probably someone more familiar with the punk scene should answer this one! I was really impressed by the music -- by its physical quality, its urgency. It was interesting that the message of Straight Edge is delivered largely through the music. For that reason, I think there are tensions between the Straight Edge music scene and the on-Straight Edge hardcore that it grew out of. I've heard of the groups fighting each other. But I also think the music is very related and universally liked. mrm0to: Did the producers try and interview Ian Mackaye or any of the other old DC punks? Did they refuse? David Smith: We talked extensively with Ian. He did not want to be interviewed for the show, but he enlightened me on the history and his take on Straight Edge. He was a great teacher -- I can't say I was the best student! But he gave me a broad view and helped me put a lot fo what we were filing in context. I'm grateful for his input. How tense was it filming with FSU? Any friction between you and the crew with any members? David Smith: The members we interviewed made us feel safe and taken care of in their presence. They've grown up, are heading toward other goals now, and were very articulate about who they were. The tension came from the degree to which they could or couldn't talk about everything they may or may not have been involved in. How was it filming with Jeremy Nelson? I realize that you had only little time with Jeremy, but how would you characterize his transformation from once a member to a straight edge community to becoming a police officer? David Smith:I think Jeremy's transformation is remarkable for the insight it gives him to both sides of the story. I think he didn't like the way he saw Straight Edge changing and that was part of what brought him to make a different choice. But his roots are still in Straight Edge. He considers it a part of what formed him as a human being. Moving over to the law enforcement side has not been easy. Ironically, I think he gets a lot of flak from his police colleagues -- as much as he does from the Straight Edge kids he used to be with. So in a way, he is caught between the two. Lindsay, David – Any Tattoos to match the people you interviewed? Lindsay Wile: No tattoos to match, but there definitely were some cool ones. Any last minute parts of filming you want our audience to know about? David Smith:Of course we couldn't capture the entire pluralistic world of Straight Edge. But my feeling is that there is a debate that is happening within Straight Edge and within the communities where Straight Edge lives. That debate can get loud, get unreasonable, get extreme on all sides. By the end of filming all of us making the show were left with ambivalent feelings about whether or not Straight Edge deserves the labels that fly around it. Clearly the large majority of Straight Edge is a positive thing for kids. But as Ross Haenfler told us, there can be room for debate and discussion about identity within Straight Edge. That's a healthy thing. Mostly, making this film helped show me that growing up in America in 2008 is not easy. It's complex. And Straight Edge is part of that complexity.

sXe: My life in Boston

2008-04-08T20:23:06Z

	Dan Gonyea
	Student, Northeastern University

"It’s not about changing the world or protesting other people’s actions. Straight edge is about living my life in a clean, respectable way that I can be happy." - Dan Gonyea

A Friday night on a college campus in Boston is quite the experience, filled with plenty of young adults getting drunk and doing things that only their point-and-shoot cameras will remember. Every Saturday morning I wake up to the sweet silence of empty streets and solace of no lines at the supermarket; everyone is too hung over to roll out of bed and roam the campus. My choice is to have a more enjoyable and modest lifestyle for myself. I have a girlfriend, a full-time job, a curriculum I'm pursuing for a bachelor's degree, and an apartment of my own. Nights are spent either working on my webzine Future Breed, photographing concerts, playing games with my friends, or going out into the city.

When I discovered what straight edge was, it came across as quite militant and pointless. I remember having specific disdain for the kids who posted on message boards online saying, "I'm bored. Anyone want to go find some hippies on the street and beat the hell out of them?" Those posts had a lot of replies from kids who were interested. It disgusted me and seemed like a very immature scene. It was a matter of me just looking in all the wrong places.

I didn’t drink or do drugs because I had a lot of health issues and personal experiences that would make me extremely hesitant of experimenting like that. At a point in high school, the term "straight edge" seemed like a convenient way to explain to everyone my lifestyle without having to go into the personal details of "this happened" and "that happened" and all that. After my friends started getting arrested from parties, I was glad that I lived a clean lifestyle.

Boston matured my views on straight edge. There were student groups (like Hammered) at my school that focused on alternative activities for kids who didn’t want to drink and party all the time. I ran into a lot of kids at parties that I noticed weren’t drinking beer, and after a little conversation, it turned out they had a lot of similar views that I did. I went to a bunch of hardcore punk shows and began understanding what Boston’s straight edge scene was like. Older guys to middle school kids who were straight edge got along fine with those who weren’t. I did photos for these bands and became welcomed as a regular to all their shows.

Since day one in Boston, I’ve felt a lot more like a member of a community than a loner with his own beliefs. I will always be prideful that I could live differently than a lot of people yet still come out of this with the same happiness and experience. It’s not about changing the world or protesting other people’s actions. Straight edge is about living my life in a clean, respectable way that I can be happy. It’s not about being a zealot; it’s about being proud in who I am and how I live my life.

Human Footprint - Our Clothing Footprint

2008-04-08T19:55:02Z

We have clothes for every occasion — from formal dinner parties to Saturday hiking trips, each event in our lives has corresponding attire. Party dresses, shoes, handbags, suits, jackets, blouses and jeans; conservative, formal, casual or trendy — we’ve got them all. But imagine all of the clothes you will wear in your lifetime hung on one 30-foot-high wall. Human Footprint does just that. What does our lifetime closet hold? - On average, Americans buy 48 new pieces of clothing a year. - On average, each garment lasts three years. - Our need for the latest fashion has produced a $345 billion clothing business in the United States. - This means that every man, woman and child in the country spends an average of $1,000 a year on new clothes, and likely throws away 68 pounds of clothing each year. - At any given time, a man will have seven pairs of jeans — and an average of more than 25 T-shirts. - Over a lifetime a man spends $52,972 on his wardrobe. - American women own an average of 19 pairs of shoes at any one time. Washing our clothes: - The average American generates 500 pounds of laundry every year, adding up to a colossal 35 billion loads across the country. - That’s 1,100 loads every second. - All that laundry adds up to 560 billion gallons of wash water — equal to what flows over Niagara Falls in just over 11 days. ]]> What does the footprint look like for one simple white T-shirt? - It takes 528 gallons of water to make one shirt. - One-third of a pound of chemicals is also used to produce one T-shirt. - And whether you take it on vacation or not, that T-shirt has already logged some serious air miles just during production. From the United States, where the cotton is often grown, to China, where the T-shirt is often manufactured, and then back to your local store, for instance, is 14,625 miles — before you even put it on for the first time! What is the footprint of an average pair of sneakers? - Sneakers are a compilation of different natural and synthetic compounds and will have travelled farther than we will walk in them before we ever take them home. - The leather comes from Texas — but it may be tanned in South Korea and then stitched together in Indonesia. - Before they’re even out of the box, they’re likely to have travelled 20,000 miles. *** All calculations for the film use the following assumptions: An average lifetime is 77.75 years or 28,379 days. The U.S. population is rounded to 301,000,000.

Another Look at Inside Straight Edge

2008-04-07T22:46:43Z

Inside: Straight Edge Premieres Wednesday, April 9th at 10p et/pt. And remember to join the conversation by submitting questions and comments during the premiere here on the NGC Blog.

sXe: Reflections on both sides of my life

2008-04-07T15:24:37Z

	Jeremy Nelson
	Police Officer

Straight Edge just kind of found me. I was not looking for it. I grew up in a semi-poor family, unlike a lot of typical Straight Edger’s. My mother worked long days, at multiple jobs, to buy the necessities of life. She was a good mother who loved her kids. My father was a drug addict alcoholic who frequented the local jail. I don’t have a lot of memories of my father sober. It seems that every story I have starts out with, “This one time when my dad was drunk!” So at a young age, I made the conscious decision to never do drugs and alcohol. The very thought of becoming my father was fear enough to keep me away from them.

Jeremy Nelson has experienced much in his life and a lot in part because of his association with sXe culture

But, it was also my father that pointed me towards Straight Edge. He was an avid music fan who often made me listen to different obscure bands. This one time when he was drunk, he made me listen to Circle Jerks and Butthole Surfers records while he rambled on about the songs and what each one meant. This was my introduction into punk music. I liked the music, but I didn’t like what a lot of the bands stood for or talked about in their lyrics. It seemed like most punk bands were drunks and addicts, and the lyrics reflected that. It wasn’t until I heard “Straight Edge” music that I really started liking the music. It seemed like the bands were writing songs about my life. Songs that I could relate to on a personal level. The bands were so intense and passionate about the messages they were conveying that I was hooked with my first concert; Chain of Strength at the Speedway Café.

The music was what keep me out of trouble, and what got me into trouble. My associating with the music led me to join Straight Edge Crews and the Crews led me to problems with the law. But, it also kept me away from drugs and alcohol. I always wanted to be a Police Officer and that kept me from taking a path in life that several of my friends took. However, my association with Straight Edge kept me from becoming a Police Officer for awhile as well. I was turned down by several Police Departments because of my Straight Edge past. One Department actually hired me and fired me within a week when it found out about my Straight Edge past. I pushed on and eventually landed a job. It’s kind of funny to think that the same Police Departments that would not hire me because of my Straight Edge past now pay me to come teach their Officer’s about Straight Edge.

Becoming a Police Officer also took its toll on my friendships. Straight Edger’s that were like brothers to me would not even talk to me after I got hired as a Police Officer. Some acted as if I was a traitor, while other acted as if I was using them for information on other Straight Edger’s. It also works both ways. I have Police Officer’s that think that I am trying to infiltrate the Police Department for Straight Edge. Every time I teach a class, someone will call the Police Chief and let him know that I am still Straight Edge and probably trying to get more Straight Edger to become cops so I can create my own Straight Edge army. It’s kind of funny and it’s kind of frustrating.

There are lots and lots of other stories that I could share with you, but the bottom line is that Straight Edge helped and hindered me in my life. But, I would never change a thing. I keep my Straight Edge tattoos as reminders of a time in my life that I do not want to forget. Like the tattoo on my back says,“ Life. Love. Regret.”