Youth culture in the United States comes with the shared struggle of finding identity, coming to terms with maturity, and facing pivotal life decisions of becoming an adult. Finding a way to express yourself through talents, hobbies, music, sports, or academics gives youth an outlet and mode of exploration for identity. Body image, self-image, and trying to fit in are all a huge part of maturing. Coupling these universal teenage struggles with the environment and hardship faced by youth culture in Indonesia and Brasil, my trivial problems of where to go to college or how I am going to pay for gas become embarrassingly inconsequential.
I am incredibly fortunate to have been adopted by loving, stable, and generous family. I have experienced such little hardship in my life to the point that it is hard to truly fathom the poverty and disparity of people like Dolly to my own experiences of misfortune. I grew up in a Chicagoland suburb where streets were safe at night, bad crime was underage parties or shop-lifting, and ACT scores averaged in the upper twenties. I have never had to worry about finding food for my belly and was never concerned that I could be limited by my lack of education or opportunity. Hearing stories of child soldiers in Africa, the genocide in Rwanda, stories of the children in Brasil, or factory workers in Indonesia is a slap to the face in my own little world.
Dolly discusses the efforts of four hour travel he takes to go to his factory job with an abusive boss all for only $2.65 a day. His earnings are not even for his own personal funds but to help support his family. He says he is lucky to have this job despite the hours, travel, and tiny wage. His gratitude suggests the widespread poverty and unemployment as well as the lack of labor laws. The corrupt government of these third world countries care more for the financial incentive of letting big companies build factories without labor or environmental restrictions. While these lack of limitations encourage horrible conditions and the debasement of quality of life for the majority of workers, the people view it better than nothing and one of the only ways to survive. Hinrike talks of the drug cartels in Brasil, saying most kids on the streets will end up with the cartels if they do not find something to do. He speaks of the school his community helped build in order to provide some semblance of opportunity for children. This school is constantly targeted by cartels and never safe at night. The school, like punk, is their way of "doing it themselves" and rebelling against the system. It hilights the sad ways of living for the children as their only good meal may be from this school that grows its own food. Hinrike pushes kids to start a band to stay away from cartels. He shares his experience of turning to punk and everything it encompasses, telling kids to find an outlet in music to find an outlet. This expression of rebellion against society is embodied in his music as a part of the Blind Pigs. His music provided the inspiration to kids like Dolly who calls punk "the remedy to his sickness."
Hinrike continues to explain the religious conventions of Brasil and how he does not like to associate with Catholicism because of the hypocrisy and judgment coming from its followers. In Indonesia where Islam is the most prevalent, many people struggle between Islamic orthodoxy and the advertised conformation to Western ways. These political and religious factors in Brasil and Indonesia thus provide an oppressive environment for youth culture as they struggle to identify with something that may give them hope amidst their disparity of opportunity.
Because of my good fortune, it is so hard to truly comprehend the extend of Dolly's situation. Any job I have was for my own personal spending, I never had the huge responsibility for somebody other than myself as a teen. If I had not been adopted, I wonder if my own outlook would follow along the same lines at Dolly. It is eye-opening to become more aware of global youth culture in comparison to mine because it allows me to appreciate my opportunities and inspires me to use my opportunities to help people suffering just as Dolly. I respect people like Hinrike who build schools and spread their message through music for the betterment of others. He is an inspiration for DIY, as he saw the problems in Brasil and made a collaborative effort to create a solution.
Despite the difference of magnitude in my young-adult struggles, I can connect with Dolly as he struggles to make the best of his situation. Just as Dolly uses punk and the Blind Pigs as an outlet against the system of capitalism, I use music and art as an outlet against my frustrations. Painting by myself with my music as loud as I see fit gives me a satisfaction and sense of control whenever my parents, academics, or friends get me down. It is something I have for myself, my own "remedy" for whatever ails me. In this way, I can relate to Dolly to some extent.
As a human connected to every other human in the world, it is my duty to be aware. Dolly worked at a Nike factory making shoes that I may have bought thus making me a part of the system that essentially creates the poverty that Dolly experiences. By supporting the businesses that go into third world countries and exploit the lack of labor laws and environmental restrictions, I am making an impact on the low quality of life in these areas. While these factories are a source of income for people like Dolly, the broader pictures provides little hope so long as first world capitalism feeds off countries like Indonesia. Spreading awareness of these conditions can thus inspire consumers to shop elsewhere which can then cause companies like Nike to build their factories here at home. This would allow our money to circulate in our own country and possibly stimulate our economy while forcing Indonesia to be accountable for themselves and their people. These long term effects would be beneficial for both parties and it all starts with the consumers, people like me. While I can not realistically change the world the way I want in one night, I can make conscious decisions that will help the global community. Like Hirike's act of kindness as he sent Dolly his CD, I can share acts of kindness and hope to make an impact one person at a time. The things we do, the ways we live, and the decisions we make in our capitalistic society all affect others locally and globally. These punk artists are an inspiration to make collaborative efforts to find solutions rather than waiting for the system to change itself. In this way, I can relate to punk artists who actively confront and rebel against oppression as I try to continually make it one of my own orienting principles.
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