Everyone seemed to have an opinion on the specific incident and about whether or not Fat Mike is a total cunt or not. I mean everybody. I saw the same thing in around four different regular news outlets along with countless other blogs and whatnot. All of it focused on that one thing and that's fine.
I'm going to talk about the same thing but not that one incident about their behavior in general. You see this isn't the first time a fan has been savaged by NOFX and their crew, infact I saw it happen first hand in Slovenia. The cycle of lashing out at those supposed to be dear to them and constant apology seems to me to be a direct reflection of an abusive partnership and that's something I have a lot of experience with.
I was in a pretty severe abusive relationship (ask to see my scars sometime) and through study and other second hand experience I would consider myself something of an expert on the subject. In an abusive partnership the abuser will often belittle and attack the victim, this attack can be physical or emotional and will always leave the victim scared of eliciting a similar reaction. Often the abuser will blame the victim and say say it was their fault ("look what you made me do") and the victim will not want to talk out about the abuse under the belief that they somehow deserved it. When the abusers attacks go over the line of the victim and they are left with no doubt they have done wrong they will apologize profusely and comfort and treat the victim to win them back. This causes the victim to believe that there is great good under the abuse and that the relationship is worth sticking to because "they don't really mean it" when the attacks happen. Eventually the abuser goes back to the attacks until the next time they overstep the mark, and the cycle continues.
When I was in Slovenia I had the great pleasure of watching NOFX from the side of the stage. As I sat down at the side I was kicked at by Timmy the Scottish Roadie who also plays keyboards. I'm not talking the full swinger we've all watched Fat Mike do but nonetheless a stiff nudge with a boot instead of a quick word which would have sufficed. having moved to an acceptable location we settled in to enjoy the show. Part way through the set an overjoyed fan (bare in mind these guys might see their greatest idols once or twice in their life) jumped on the stage and tripped on a monitor and fell over. The same grumpy Scottish roadie then ran over to the fan, failed to pull him up by a t-shirt (succeeded in tearing the shirt off his chest) and then proceeded to grab the fan with both hands round the neck, pull him up off the floor and throw him towards the back of the stage.
This whole spectacle obviously went down like shit in a hamper on the crowd who started shouting and hurling pieces of the bark which covered the floor of the main stage there at Punk Rock Holiday. NOFX had to stop in the middle of their song (reeko) and apologize for everything over and over untilthe crowd were placated and they could continue.
This story, along with our over exposure to the Australian incident when couple with the description of an abusive relationship creates a far more damning picture of NOFXs actions than anything I've seen (most stories seem to have ended with "and everyone lived happily ever after"). What is so wrong with these performers that they need to lash out at the very people that keep them fed? Do they hate punk rock kids that much? If so they are really in the wrong career. Are they tired of doing shows and the bullshit and only doing the shows still to get paid? well then they are again in the worst place to try and sell out. Should they be allowed to dictate the way a group of young punk rock kids acts at shows? Punk is always been for the kids and old men telling the younger generation how to act and behave is the exact thing we all rebelled against when we bought our first NOFX albums.
In conclusion NOFX may have been given another free pass after expertly managing to beg forgiveness but why not just keep an eye on them. If I'm wrong this type of headline will disappear and I'll happily hang my judgmental head in shame. However I'm willing to bet 50p that it wont be the last time and maybe it'll be time for them to hang up their torn converse before they irreparably damage their reputation with more fans than just me.
