“Tramps, Hobos, Beats and Crusties”
There is something romantic about hearing the sound of a train in the distance. It has a way of enticing the imagination--it conjures up sepia images of hardship and freedom, and leaves us with an unexplained longing. It is as if the railroad links us to our country’s past, a nostalgic reminder that some things never change. In 2008 I spent the better part of a year hopping freight and hitchhiking from Maine to Washington. Although I only rode a handful of trains, I learned a great deal about the culture that surrounds train hopping. In the United States there has been a long and rich history of rail-hopping outcast culture, from the many footloose veterans of the Civil War to the modern day crust punks. …show more content…
Unlike the rail-hopping cultures of the 20th century, that were generally forced into transient living through poverty or circumstances, the modern day culture of rail-hopping is now primarily a choice for most, and it generally involves a belief system centered around the complete rejection of society. The subculture known as “Crust Punks” or sometimes called “Drunk punks” or “Gutter punks” make up the majority of the rail-hopping transients that exist today. Crust punk is obviously a lot more than a music genre, David Allen Roby said it best in his thesis Crust Punk: Apocalyptic Rhetoric and Dystopian Performatives, “ it is a sonic descriptor, an indicator, an identity, enactment, embodiment and socio-cultural critique” (Roby 1). The crusties’ commitment to his embodiment of socio-cultural critiques unquestionably constructs a life on the outskirts of society, everyday on the road is a protest to the capitalist society they denounce with every ounce of their body. The convictions of the crusties are not unlike the intense convictions that the Beat Generation exhibited in the 1950s, and also like the Beats, the crusty lifestyle of cultural critique creates a vast productive network of people who contribute to the continuation of a dying method of
There is something romantic about hearing the sound of a train in the distance. It has a way of enticing the imagination--it conjures up sepia images of hardship and freedom, and leaves us with an unexplained longing. It is as if the railroad links us to our country’s past, a nostalgic reminder that some things never change. In 2008 I spent the better part of a year hopping freight and hitchhiking from Maine to Washington. Although I only rode a handful of trains, I learned a great deal about the culture that surrounds train hopping. In the United States there has been a long and rich history of rail-hopping outcast culture, from the many footloose veterans of the Civil War to the modern day crust punks. …show more content…
Unlike the rail-hopping cultures of the 20th century, that were generally forced into transient living through poverty or circumstances, the modern day culture of rail-hopping is now primarily a choice for most, and it generally involves a belief system centered around the complete rejection of society. The subculture known as “Crust Punks” or sometimes called “Drunk punks” or “Gutter punks” make up the majority of the rail-hopping transients that exist today. Crust punk is obviously a lot more than a music genre, David Allen Roby said it best in his thesis Crust Punk: Apocalyptic Rhetoric and Dystopian Performatives, “ it is a sonic descriptor, an indicator, an identity, enactment, embodiment and socio-cultural critique” (Roby 1). The crusties’ commitment to his embodiment of socio-cultural critiques unquestionably constructs a life on the outskirts of society, everyday on the road is a protest to the capitalist society they denounce with every ounce of their body. The convictions of the crusties are not unlike the intense convictions that the Beat Generation exhibited in the 1950s, and also like the Beats, the crusty lifestyle of cultural critique creates a vast productive network of people who contribute to the continuation of a dying method of