NO DRINKERS

CRIMINAL GANG ATTACKS SMOKERS

'Cruelty-free' doesn't extend to those who don't agree

It sounds like something dreamed up by wistful parents: a gang called
Straight Edge whose teenage members don't take drugs, don't smoke or drink
and avoid casual sex.

But there's a dark side to Straight Edge, a violent gang whose turf is
suburban Salt Lake City, Utah.

Straight Edgers enforce their moral code by savagely beating strangers
caught drinking or lighting a cigarette.

Adherents blend punk-rock style - bleached hair, '70s-style clothes and
tattoos - with a sensibility that seems straight out of the Old Testament.

The gang unit of the Salt Lake City police department estimates that there
are about 400 Straight Edgers.

Police have growing concerns about hardcore vegetarian members of Straight
Edge, whose so-called 'cruelty-free' lifestyle doesn't extend to those who
disagree with them.

Over the past three years, police say militant Straight Edgers are
responsible for a $3-million US vandalism spree - including the firebombing
of a McDonald's restaurant and stores that sell leather clothing.

Typically, Straight Edgers like to cruise city streets in cars, looking for
smokers to harass. 'They'll get a carload together and look for someone
smoking cigarettes, then they'll beat the tar out of them,' said Sgt. Chuck
Gilbert.

College students leaving pubs after a night of beer drinking are targets.
In April, two fraternity members who were smoking cigarettes were attacked
by about 20 crop-haired youths.

The attackers carried bats, chains and spray cans of pepper gas. One victim
was treated for head wounds after being struck with a baseball bat.

The movement is rooted in punk rock of the '80s. The name comes from the
song Straight Edge, by an obscure punk band called Minor Threat. 'I'm a
person just like you,' the song goes, 'but I've got better things to do
then stand around and smoke dope..'

Said Salt Lake City gang expert Michelle Areiaga, a small minority in the
Straight Edge is responsible for all the criminal activity. 'This movement
had the potential to become a positive thing. But that's not what happened.'

An Ohio offshoot called Hate Edge is developing a reputation for brutality
after using skateboards as weapons against smokers.

In Salt Lake City, meanwhile, skateboarders opposed to Straight Edge have
formed a rival group called Smoke More Pot. So far, the gangs have fought
two pitched battles.

Ottawa Citizen

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski