Henry Rollins is the real deal. He is punk as fuck. Does not give a shit about divas or entitled people at his show. He'll do a one man show before he lets someone trash the stage crew or anyone working behind the scenes.
Everyone says "We need more people like X" but then go about their day as if it's something they can't do anything about. If you want more people like Henry Rollins, be more like Henry Rollins. If you want more people like Mr. Rogers, be more like Mr. Rogers. It's gotta start somewhere. Might as well start with you and me.
One of his best books is Planet Joe. A couple of people tried to Rob him and his friend and they ended up shooting his friend and that book is written about his short life and it is fascinating because he went on the road with Henry and black flag
Worked in the area near South Central and the whole city smelled like a giant BBQ. There were business owners sitting on their cars w/rifles, to keep their businesses safe.
The innocent people who were killed and injured in acts of violence, the private property that was burned, the local businesses that were looted... happened for no good reason. If you're going to riot, then target the people and institutions responsible for the injustice - not everyday people trying to live their lives.
I'm not sure what his position was at the time, but I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that the "for nothing" referred to the fact that the riots didn't have the happen and wouldn't have if the Justice system had done even the bare minimum of what it was supposed to do instead of just rubber stamping the cops' get-out-of-jail-free cards
Not "over nothing", "for nothing". No laws were changed, no policies went into place, no hearts, nor minds, were won.
Everybody simply blamed the rioters for rioting, nobody held the openly corrupt institutions at fault for pushing them to that point, and the powerful maintained their position over the powerless, unpunished and unrepentant.
Thats categorically false. Aside from all the changes you couldnt necessarily directly tie to the riots there have been many policy and law changes that came as a result of them. The acting chief was removed, future chiefs had much more limited power and terms, the force went from predominantly white to predominantly minority, etc
His friend was murdered before the LA riots. They were being robbed at gun point on their shared place. When the robbers didnt like that all they had was $50 on them, Rollins went inside to find more. While inside they shot his friend. I think its fair for Rollins to equate it to being shot over nothing bc punk rockers are more counter culture ppl so not that they dont use money, but the value of life over money exists. Sauce thst you too could have gotten same as I just didnt bc I didnt know
About things being burnt for nothin? I think that was his only mention that resembles referring to the LA riots. If thats how it was meant to be taken then yeah id agree with you, but I guess I didnt equate what he said as saying the beating of Rodney King, and the reaction as nothing. I took it as violence enacted bc racism, and racism is a stupid. Its nothing in the sense that it doesn't make any sense to be racist, its everything in the sense that it still effects ppl and I hate that >
The city didnt burn because racism. The city burned because the arresting cops walked free. Thats not nothing and is actually a very good reason to riot
The cops walked free because of racism. Am I wrong? Anyway I didnt get to get to my part 2 with my ">" and i guess i took too much time (especially accidently deleting my write up) for me to finish what I was saying. I see what you're saying, im not making an argument against or for rioting. I was just sharing my view point about Henry rollins, who I think is a pretty cool and insightful cat. You have a good one though
I'm glad he can feel that way but we don't all live in the same world. I'm just waiting until nothing depends on me anymore and then I'm gone. You can have this fucking hellscape.
Ok yes. Cool. But not all of us are well enough to not put poison in our bodyholes to ease pain in some way. Life is not that precious for everybody. Many people have to get through the day/week/year with as little pain as possible because we dont have the strength anymore. Sry if thats inconvenient for you.
Dont let other people shame you for that. Its not your fault. You are not alone.
He wasn’t talking about painkillers. He was talking about valuing your life if you can. His friend had been shot in the face and his city was burning. He wasn’t trying to shame anyone, he was trying to say hey - the fact that you’re still alive and breathing is amazing in itself. It has value.
this was filmed right after the LA riots and a year after he watched his friend get shot in the face at their apt. during a robbery. also, he spent 10 years touring with hardcore bands across the US in the 80s. at this point he had already live a long life of police brutality, bigotry, and violence from all angles. he's been writing and talking about his experiences publicly for 30+ years now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Rollins
I have this theory that people who do not understand self-destructive behaviour, do not understand suicide or suicidal thoughts, that they just haven't been taken far enough down, they have something, whether it's hope, love, a career, a purpose, something which lets them cling to the belief that life, in general, is positive, and that they want more of it. It's difficult to understand why someone wouldn't rather be randomly ashes in a plastic box when that isn't the case, because life is awful.
He's explicitly talking about doing things which shorten your lifespan, self-destructive behaviour like smoking. I included suicide, it is a part of the pount i was making, not the whole. Choosing to do things which will damage you in the long run for short-term benefit is, other than the massacre, what he is talking about. He's telling people to cherish what time they have left, i am saying for many that time is too long already, and that this gets drowned out by survivors bias.
he's saying it's your choice and he hopes you choose to use it well. i don't disagree with your point that all life needs to be cherished, regardless of how awful it is, but i don't see how it's an appropriate criticism of what rollins is saying here, especially given the context of his life at this moment.
To be clear, i am not arguing all life should be cherished, i am arguing that sentiment is a bias formed from miserable people dying off and being generally less invested in pointing a light on their misery. To tell someone that life is precious and not everyone gets to live, and so you should be more conscious of the choices you're making is a good message for people who enjoy life. It is telling someone who is suffering that they are squandering their tortured existence. Its understandable/1
That he would want to put that message out there given the context, admirable even. I think that the message falls flat on those he likely wanted to hear it most, and wanted to draw light to the view of those who by no means cherish their lives. Not everyone wants to live, longer or in general. Sometimes we're just stuck between relief(dying) and not hurting our loved ones at our own expense(living) and this message is in that case ineffective at best. Nobody should die who wants to live though.
Yeah, Henry is fine (although I personally don't care for his solo music or his "spoken word" stuff) and Black Flag was great - but a lot of his takes feel like a slightly cooler version of "just say no"
Yeah, that's my point, the circumstances of his life lead him to being the man he is, a positive person who cherishes his life, many aren't, for many the way they were raised and the journey they lived made it clear life is a blight to be trudged through, and many choose to opt out early. This vauses survivorship bias where the remaining positive people reinforce their viewpoints on life, something that is not inherently true, but is viewed as such.
A box, the dirt, whatever - maybe. I've been in that hole. But to want to fuck up your body so the interim is worse? Quality of life is worse? Having nearly ended things, I get the passive flirting with death and even actively soliciting it. But I never once started drugs or substances. Closest I got was cutting and I only got hooked on that because I did it once to prove to someone what the effect is on those they love to try to get them to stop. Dipshit idea but I was young and stupid.
There are a lot of things you can do which in the short-term provide benefit and in the long-term hurt your standard of living, smoking, drinking, not exercising, eating poorly, most illicit drugs, the list goes on, self-destructive behaviour has a lot of facets. Sometimes it shows up in just not caring what happens as a result. It's a lot of fun to get plastered on moonshine and go bridge jumping in flood water, but i could have died, i nearly did a couple times, but i squeezed joy from life.
I used to self harm, it was the only way to feel normal again. The inside pain and emptiness would get so deep, that cutting, just once or twice, would make it stop, go back to feeling normal, it was the only way to regulate. It’s been over a year since I’ve stopped, sometimes the thought comes back “just one little cut and you’ll feel all better” and I’ve managed to ignore it. I had no loved ones to see the cuts, no one ever knew.
Spent over half my life depressed and wanting to be gone. When talking about my past people find it hard to believe, or act like it’s some achievement that I’m “mostly” normal. Every day felt the same. But for the past year I’ve started to feel like I want to enjoy life, it doesn’t have to stay dark. It’s still hard but it’s starting to feel worth it
I started feeling that way some 18 years ago in middle school, completely changed the trajectory of my life, tried to fix things, eventually hit up therapy for a couple years, did some psychedelics to self medicate, it's been a long journey climbing out of that fucking pit, and I'm still climbing, but it's sure as shit not for me. Some days are okay, good even, but it's not been easy, i can see the shape of a life on the horizon i could tolerate, maybe someday I'll get there. I'm glad you are.
I hope that you can someday too! It still feels uphill, a really bad day can make me want to just throw away all the hard work, go back to what comforts me, being alone and sad, but I see what a huge step backwards it is, and compare it to now, and I want to be happy. Strong hugs for you 💕
I climbed out of that hole. It can be done. One of the oddest parts of the journey was that I had become so habituated to depression that the rise out felt uncomfortable in the same way any change does. And so I not only had to challenge my depression, but I had to fight the instinct to return to the familiarity (and odd sense of comfort) that depression provided. Getting better was unknown and therefore scary. Acknowledge it and then tell the fear to fuck off. You got this
Yes! That’s how it feels, the sadness and anxiety feel like comfort, that voice that says “you should have just done X and none of this would have happened” that would always protect me before has started to become an enemy, I want to listen to it when things are hard but no, fuck it, at 35 I’m finally trying and doing things that before I would have never imagined and I’m enjoying it, proving the voice wrong, that I don’t need it to try and protect me from every little thing.
In case there are any young people listening, this refers to & follows the the L.A. Riots in the spring of 1992. They were primarily triggered by the acquittal of 4 LAPD officers who had beaten Rodney King, a black motorist, the year prior. 63 People were killed, nearly 2400 injured, and thousands of buildings burned.
His message though... LIVE your life, every minute counts, you may have one, you may have a million you'll come to an end so do something cool with it :)
The people who were killed and injured in acts of violence, the private property that was burned, the local businesses that were looted... happened for no good reason. If you're going to riot, then target the people and institutions responsible for the injustice - not everyday people trying to live their lives.
That happened a lot more in the 90s and even more in the 80s and so on. It wasn't a one time thing. The resentment builds until it can't be contained anymore, we have riots, things improve a little, and we repeat the cycle.
I guess we learned from the experience that riots didn't change anything, just made life worse for the people in and around them, and got more people hurt and killed.
First spot we hit it was my liquor store I finally got all that alcohol I can't afford With red lights flashin', time to retire And then we turned that liquor store into a structure fire
Next stop we hit, it was the music shop It only took one brick to make that window drop Finally we got our own P.A. Where do you think I got this guitar that you're hearing today?
I don't know that guy, but Henry Rollins does a bunch of stuff. He's done some acting, spoken word shows - less comedy and more like what we just saw here. He also has been in a few bands, most notable is Black Flag.
I find it interesting that the relatively small drug-related portion of his message here is what grabbed your attention enough to comment. I don't think it's a bad thing, but I just don't think that was the thrust of his message. From my watch, it really seems like he is trying to encourage us to make the best of our lives. Based on what I can find out about him, he seems to have a pretty terrific understanding about how living works and how people can do better.
Moreover, it’s assumed axiomatically that everyone should want to be alive for the longest possible time. There are many possible circumstances where I don’t want the maximum lifetime. Quality of life matters more than the amount of it.
i'm not sure rollins has updated his opinion on addiction but this clip is from 1992 and the general public's understanding of addiction was pretty bad. he's definitely had flawed opinions but he generally seems very open to changing those opinions with new information.
did you only hear "stay away from heroin and dope" and nothing else? on rewatching, he doesn't actually say anything about the mechanisms of addiction or substance use and doesn't say anything explicitly problematic.
SnagglepussIsMySpiritAnimal
Henry has a long history of being a cool & eloquently articulate dude.
laner7112000
https://imgur.com/nDuQm5P.jpg
Draygen
Henry Rollins is the real deal. He is punk as fuck. Does not give a shit about divas or entitled people at his show. He'll do a one man show before he lets someone trash the stage crew or anyone working behind the scenes.
irisewithredeyes
MRW going through life:
shutupthisisreal
The Chase is such an underappreciated gem
Sebastopol140
The world needs more people like him.
unluckyandbored
Everyone says "We need more people like X" but then go about their day as if it's something they can't do anything about. If you want more people like Henry Rollins, be more like Henry Rollins. If you want more people like Mr. Rogers, be more like Mr. Rogers. It's gotta start somewhere. Might as well start with you and me.
iamlamp2
Ok Keanu Reeves lol
rdewalt
Go be another one then. You may not have Black Flagg to boost your voice, but you have The Internet to soapbox from.
lightfoot2
Fewer. The whole "fear everything, stay alive" thing is really grating.
HandsomePenguin
Wow, now THATS one way to interpret what he said. Stupid and backwards, but certainly one way to do it...
JarethCutestory
Try not to die…for nothing
svga
where did he say fear anything? he said appreciate everything, even just breathing in and out
FCKYHWH
I dunno. I heard that he’s a liar.
1stDrunkJoe
I forgot about this one, Thanks! Shit he even got the shade of orange right, modern day Nostradamus.
an0therthr0waway
WhoaaBlackBetty
Hero time starts right now!
DukeDarkwood
I thought it was punk rock time.
Affray
Same same.
WhoaaBlackBetty
Both of ya, go listen to the song Shine by him, it's where that quote comes from.
Shawnofavitch
Go
GwyllmLlwydd
Ask Henry what he did to Deirdre O'Donahue.
getadogupya
Go on, tell us then, because google only seems to point to identical comments to yours.
mirrorz
I hate the added music.
Cranbananarama
The best, most important takeaway from this post, 100%. Nothing else matters. Remove audio from this site and give us back simple GIFs!
DesperateDunn365
Or just give us the video without the bargain basement editing.
Cranbananarama
No! No sound, only silent, 10 fps images.
mirrorz
CheeseB0t
Too many frames
sumthinsumthinsumthin
On the bright side, the static made it more bearable.
milkcheese
I like it. It makes him seem so whimsical which is not the Henry I know.
distractedFreek
FR, it sounded like he was telling this to a group of travelers in a quiet medieval tavern.
astrangehop
Or a Chinese food buffet.
charliegrs
It's that brain rot shit. You can't just watch anything in its original form anymore. Dumbass dramatic music has to be added to every video now.
CheeseB0t
I hate that you're wasting your energy hating on something so innocuous
downsouthfarm
Finally a day of the week on Imgur I can get behind.
RicheTheBuddha
I needed that reminder
theyallwenttoMexico
😊👍
thatwoodguy
One of his best books is Planet Joe. A couple of people tried to Rob him and his friend and they ended up shooting his friend and that book is written about his short life and it is fascinating because he went on the road with Henry and black flag
57rescraft9
Worked in the area near South Central and the whole city smelled like a giant BBQ. There were business owners sitting on their cars w/rifles, to keep their businesses safe.
azazyel
I love his spoken stuff, here's an amazing story he shared about a kid he met that was dying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ-RiE4kxdE
ralphie84
The like his audition with Danny Devito https://youtu.be/KSm0LZhVSnE?is=9pTNvx9NpfIJbOqI
azazyel
I think I heard him tell that story live. I saw him in Seattle way back when
boxofteeth
I used to have a giant torrent of all his spoken word up to whatever year it was. I miss it terribly.
Mumbles79
Thank you. 🤘
ahorseelbowdeepinme
I dont think the LA riots were "over nothing".
JustAName00
The innocent people who were killed and injured in acts of violence, the private property that was burned, the local businesses that were looted... happened for no good reason. If you're going to riot, then target the people and institutions responsible for the injustice - not everyday people trying to live their lives.
ahorseelbowdeepinme
It's absolutely a tragedy when innocent people die. In fact, that's exactly why these riots happened.
TheOnlyPtylerdactyl
I'm not sure what his position was at the time, but I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that the "for nothing" referred to the fact that the riots didn't have the happen and wouldn't have if the Justice system had done even the bare minimum of what it was supposed to do instead of just rubber stamping the cops' get-out-of-jail-free cards
demosteness
Agree. All we have is our lifetime, but that’s exactly why we must take care of each other and fight against injustice.
0xDEC0DE
Not "over nothing", "for nothing". No laws were changed, no policies went into place, no hearts, nor minds, were won.
Everybody simply blamed the rioters for rioting, nobody held the openly corrupt institutions at fault for pushing them to that point, and the powerful maintained their position over the powerless, unpunished and unrepentant.
ahorseelbowdeepinme
Thats categorically false. Aside from all the changes you couldnt necessarily directly tie to the riots there have been many policy and law changes that came as a result of them. The acting chief was removed, future chiefs had much more limited power and terms, the force went from predominantly white to predominantly minority, etc
BishlamekGurpgork
I feel like this is saying the riots happened and nothing changed, rather than that what they were trying to change wasn't important.
ahorseelbowdeepinme
If thats what he meant then it is, at best, not as bad as the alternative, and not remotely accurate.
philmoregraves
His friend was murdered before the LA riots. They were being robbed at gun point on their shared place. When the robbers didnt like that all they had was $50 on them, Rollins went inside to find more. While inside they shot his friend. I think its fair for Rollins to equate it to being shot over nothing bc punk rockers are more counter culture ppl so not that they dont use money, but the value of life over money exists. Sauce thst you too could have gotten same as I just didnt bc I didnt know
philmoregraves
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Joe_Cole not downvoting you for ignorance bc we can all do a bit better ourselves
ahorseelbowdeepinme
It sounds like his friend was shot for nothing. I was talking about his comments on the riots
philmoregraves
About things being burnt for nothin? I think that was his only mention that resembles referring to the LA riots. If thats how it was meant to be taken then yeah id agree with you, but I guess I didnt equate what he said as saying the beating of Rodney King, and the reaction as nothing. I took it as violence enacted bc racism, and racism is a stupid. Its nothing in the sense that it doesn't make any sense to be racist, its everything in the sense that it still effects ppl and I hate that >
ahorseelbowdeepinme
The city didnt burn because racism. The city burned because the arresting cops walked free. Thats not nothing and is actually a very good reason to riot
philmoregraves
The cops walked free because of racism. Am I wrong? Anyway I didnt get to get to my part 2 with my ">" and i guess i took too much time (especially accidently deleting my write up) for me to finish what I was saying. I see what you're saying, im not making an argument against or for rioting. I was just sharing my view point about Henry rollins, who I think is a pretty cool and insightful cat. You have a good one though
Vexingmang3
i love his will shatner story
eXoRainbow
Is the music from one of the Elder Scrolls games? :D
KahootChamp
But he's a Liiiiiaaaaaaahhhhhh
drivergrrl
You know he's a liar though, right? Haha just joking about that song of his!!!! Omg I'm old, that was way back in highschool.
nitemayr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOUrz7UAFes
Becker37
I'm glad he can feel that way but we don't all live in the same world. I'm just waiting until nothing depends on me anymore and then I'm gone. You can have this fucking hellscape.
Bertfisch
Ok yes. Cool. But not all of us are well enough to not put poison in our bodyholes to ease pain in some way. Life is not that precious for everybody. Many people have to get through the day/week/year with as little pain as possible because we dont have the strength anymore. Sry if thats inconvenient for you.
Dont let other people shame you for that. Its not your fault. You are not alone.
inkyjennings
He wasn’t talking about painkillers. He was talking about valuing your life if you can. His friend had been shot in the face and his city was burning. He wasn’t trying to shame anyone, he was trying to say hey - the fact that you’re still alive and breathing is amazing in itself. It has value.
THISISYELLING
Saw him live about twenty years ago. His one man show. Fantastic time.
lightfoot2
Wow he is high.
kirmokum
he's basically been straight edge his entire life.
lightfoot2
Ok, he seems weird, and the whole "everyone is out to get you" vibe annoys the fuck out of me.
qwate
Seems weird, must be high as a kite!
kirmokum
this was filmed right after the LA riots and a year after he watched his friend get shot in the face at their apt. during a robbery. also, he spent 10 years touring with hardcore bands across the US in the 80s. at this point he had already live a long life of police brutality, bigotry, and violence from all angles. he's been writing and talking about his experiences publicly for 30+ years now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Rollins
Cyrilion
I have this theory that people who do not understand self-destructive behaviour, do not understand suicide or suicidal thoughts, that they just haven't been taken far enough down, they have something, whether it's hope, love, a career, a purpose, something which lets them cling to the belief that life, in general, is positive, and that they want more of it.
It's difficult to understand why someone wouldn't rather be randomly ashes in a plastic box when that isn't the case, because life is awful.
kirmokum
he's not talking about suicide here.
Cyrilion
He's explicitly talking about doing things which shorten your lifespan, self-destructive behaviour like smoking.
I included suicide, it is a part of the pount i was making, not the whole.
Choosing to do things which will damage you in the long run for short-term benefit is, other than the massacre, what he is talking about.
He's telling people to cherish what time they have left, i am saying for many that time is too long already, and that this gets drowned out by survivors bias.
kirmokum
he's saying it's your choice and he hopes you choose to use it well. i don't disagree with your point that all life needs to be cherished, regardless of how awful it is, but i don't see how it's an appropriate criticism of what rollins is saying here, especially given the context of his life at this moment.
Cyrilion
To be clear, i am not arguing all life should be cherished, i am arguing that sentiment is a bias formed from miserable people dying off and being generally less invested in pointing a light on their misery.
To tell someone that life is precious and not everyone gets to live, and so you should be more conscious of the choices you're making is a good message for people who enjoy life.
It is telling someone who is suffering that they are squandering their tortured existence.
Its understandable/1
Cyrilion
That he would want to put that message out there given the context, admirable even.
I think that the message falls flat on those he likely wanted to hear it most, and wanted to draw light to the view of those who by no means cherish their lives.
Not everyone wants to live, longer or in general.
Sometimes we're just stuck between relief(dying) and not hurting our loved ones at our own expense(living) and this message is in that case ineffective at best. Nobody should die who wants to live though.
Ih8thisSoMuch
Yeah, Henry is fine (although I personally don't care for his solo music or his "spoken word" stuff) and Black Flag was great - but a lot of his takes feel like a slightly cooler version of "just say no"
Bertfisch
Exactly. Thank you.
jetact12
Henry Rollins has been taken very far down. He reacts differently than others cause he was raised differently than others.
Cyrilion
Yeah, that's my point, the circumstances of his life lead him to being the man he is, a positive person who cherishes his life, many aren't, for many the way they were raised and the journey they lived made it clear life is a blight to be trudged through, and many choose to opt out early.
This vauses survivorship bias where the remaining positive people reinforce their viewpoints on life, something that is not inherently true, but is viewed as such.
starkeclipse
A box, the dirt, whatever - maybe. I've been in that hole. But to want to fuck up your body so the interim is worse? Quality of life is worse? Having nearly ended things, I get the passive flirting with death and even actively soliciting it. But I never once started drugs or substances. Closest I got was cutting and I only got hooked on that because I did it once to prove to someone what the effect is on those they love to try to get them to stop. Dipshit idea but I was young and stupid.
Cyrilion
There are a lot of things you can do which in the short-term provide benefit and in the long-term hurt your standard of living, smoking, drinking, not exercising, eating poorly, most illicit drugs, the list goes on, self-destructive behaviour has a lot of facets.
Sometimes it shows up in just not caring what happens as a result.
It's a lot of fun to get plastered on moonshine and go bridge jumping in flood water, but i could have died, i nearly did a couple times, but i squeezed joy from life.
ThighsocksandKnots
I used to self harm, it was the only way to feel normal again. The inside pain and emptiness would get so deep, that cutting, just once or twice, would make it stop, go back to feeling normal, it was the only way to regulate. It’s been over a year since I’ve stopped, sometimes the thought comes back “just one little cut and you’ll feel all better” and I’ve managed to ignore it. I had no loved ones to see the cuts, no one ever knew.
ThighsocksandKnots
Spent over half my life depressed and wanting to be gone. When talking about my past people find it hard to believe, or act like it’s some achievement that I’m “mostly” normal. Every day felt the same. But for the past year I’ve started to feel like I want to enjoy life, it doesn’t have to stay dark. It’s still hard but it’s starting to feel worth it
Cyrilion
I started feeling that way some 18 years ago in middle school, completely changed the trajectory of my life, tried to fix things, eventually hit up therapy for a couple years, did some psychedelics to self medicate, it's been a long journey climbing out of that fucking pit, and I'm still climbing, but it's sure as shit not for me.
Some days are okay, good even, but it's not been easy, i can see the shape of a life on the horizon i could tolerate, maybe someday I'll get there. I'm glad you are.
ThighsocksandKnots
I hope that you can someday too! It still feels uphill, a really bad day can make me want to just throw away all the hard work, go back to what comforts me, being alone and sad, but I see what a huge step backwards it is, and compare it to now, and I want to be happy. Strong hugs for you 💕
starkeclipse
I climbed out of that hole. It can be done. One of the oddest parts of the journey was that I had become so habituated to depression that the rise out felt uncomfortable in the same way any change does. And so I not only had to challenge my depression, but I had to fight the instinct to return to the familiarity (and odd sense of comfort) that depression provided. Getting better was unknown and therefore scary. Acknowledge it and then tell the fear to fuck off. You got this
ThighsocksandKnots
Yes! That’s how it feels, the sadness and anxiety feel like comfort, that voice that says “you should have just done X and none of this would have happened” that would always protect me before has started to become an enemy, I want to listen to it when things are hard but no, fuck it, at 35 I’m finally trying and doing things that before I would have never imagined and I’m enjoying it, proving the voice wrong, that I don’t need it to try and protect me from every little thing.
ephemeron0
In case there are any young people listening, this refers to & follows the the L.A. Riots in the spring of 1992. They were primarily triggered by the acquittal of 4 LAPD officers who had beaten Rodney King, a black motorist, the year prior. 63 People were killed, nearly 2400 injured, and thousands of buildings burned.
NumptyDumptyLump
LA 92 on Netflix.
punditzy
His message though... LIVE your life, every minute counts, you may have one, you may have a million you'll come to an end so do something cool with it :)
GeantDeTitane
Thanks, maybe that's the reason for The Offspring's song LAPD from Ignition album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XZw-sW6G-Y
Zaphiston
Thank you for the context. The message is valuable regardless, but it's nice to know what's on the speakers mind when they speak.
backrideup9
I would say that means the city burned for a pretty significant reason. The rest of the message is spot on.
JustAName00
The people who were killed and injured in acts of violence, the private property that was burned, the local businesses that were looted... happened for no good reason. If you're going to riot, then target the people and institutions responsible for the injustice - not everyday people trying to live their lives.
LinemanMatt
Agreed, but his friend's death wasn't part of that though.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Joe_Cole
Omicron416
For added context, those four acquitted officers were videotaped beating him.
likerice
Also, this is what gave us Roof Koreans
likerice
/gallery/8no3XVW
Clockworkdancerobot
That was a murder of a black girl and the media exploiting it.
Agouti
Crazy to think that 4 cops beating a guy was grounds for a riot in 1992 and these days people being murdered in cold blood is barely a headline
Camelspotting
That happened a lot more in the 90s and even more in the 80s and so on. It wasn't a one time thing. The resentment builds until it can't be contained anymore, we have riots, things improve a little, and we repeat the cycle.
hyperchondriac
I guess we learned from the experience that riots didn't change anything, just made life worse for the people in and around them, and got more people hurt and killed.
DosPadres
4/26/1992
noWhiteHorseHereJustBatturuPrinsu
Actually april 29th but they found out the mistake, decided 26th sounded better and kept it in.
lozeldatkm
There was a riot on the streets tell me where were you?
folkscallmehi
As you were sitting home watching your TV well I was participating in lsome anarchy
noWhiteHorseHereJustBatturuPrinsu
First spot we hit it was my liquor store
I finally got all that alcohol I can't afford
With red lights flashin', time to retire
And then we turned that liquor store into a structure fire
darthinebriated
Next stop we hit, it was the music shop
It only took one brick to make that window drop
Finally we got our own P.A.
Where do you think I got this guitar that you're hearing today?
iquestionthepinappleeveryday
Tell me where were you?
Doctorfatherson
Worst song they did
Wubbalubbadubdubb101
You were sittin at home watchin your TV
Fiacre54
I was sitting home watching TV
nero4ty2
Not participating in any anarchy?
Frankasti
The first spot they hit was their liquor store.
Miller16of16
I was working 12 hour shift on a printing press on the East coast, listening on the radio. They should not have gotten off.
Cyrilion
I was merely a wrinkle in my fathers ballsack
antikytherion
That's the kind of answer I like to give but I was about 6mo into gestation.
chemdiva
I was only 9 days old
Heisanevilgenius
Probably in school, blissfully unaware of what was going on in the world while my favourite baseball team was having the best season of their life
Hanklabone2
Quantico VA. WOBC.
flarflarf
this is the "too drunk to fuck" guy right?
CookieRunner20XD6
I don't know that guy, but Henry Rollins does a bunch of stuff. He's done some acting, spoken word shows - less comedy and more like what we just saw here. He also has been in a few bands, most notable is Black Flag.
WellThatsJustWhatWeCallPillowTalkBaby
Noap, Jello Biafra was Too Drunk To Fuck. That was a Dead Kennedys song. This man is Glenn Danzig from Danzig, he did that Mother song.
manwithsevenlivers
I was always curious how difficult is it to live with face blindness. Does it affect your daily life in a negative way, or is it quite manageable?
maybejustbecause
Right on Jello. But, this is Henry Rollins of Black Flag. Danzig fronted The Misfits, and later Danzig. same era, different guys
WellThatsJustWhatWeCallPillowTalkBaby
No, this is clearly Keith Morris from the Circle Jerks.
kirmokum
it's the much taller and more interesting henry rollins from black flag. you can tell because he says "my name is henry rollins".
WellThatsJustWhatWeCallPillowTalkBaby
He's a Liar
WellThatsJustWhatWeCallPillowTalkBaby
Nah, this is Mike Palm from Agent Orange.
tzahtman
Nu-uh that is obliviously Captain Beefhart
CaldariBob
You kids know nothing. This is Jake Burns, lead singer of Stiff Little Fingers.
SunnyCameron
This is a pretty terrible understanding of how addiction works and why people turn to it.
qwate
I find it interesting that the relatively small drug-related portion of his message here is what grabbed your attention enough to comment. I don't think it's a bad thing, but I just don't think that was the thrust of his message.
From my watch, it really seems like he is trying to encourage us to make the best of our lives. Based on what I can find out about him, he seems to have a pretty terrific understanding about how living works and how people can do better.
DiracsDelta
Moreover, it’s assumed axiomatically that everyone should want to be alive for the longest possible time. There are many possible circumstances where I don’t want the maximum lifetime. Quality of life matters more than the amount of it.
InfocalypseRising
Based on what I know of Rollins it seems safe to assume he was doing his best with the information he had at the time
SunnyCameron
No doubt, but that doesn’t mean it needs a repost here in 2026
DangerBaer
What a crazy thing to hear in 2026.
I happen to f@ckn' love learning about history.🎉
kirmokum
i'm not sure rollins has updated his opinion on addiction but this clip is from 1992 and the general public's understanding of addiction was pretty bad. he's definitely had flawed opinions but he generally seems very open to changing those opinions with new information.
SunnyCameron
Sure. Doesn’t mean we need it posted here.
kirmokum
it's part of a larger, positive statement that is valuable and the outdated understanding of addiction mechanisms doesn't invalidate it.
SunnyCameron
And what is that statement?
kirmokum
did you only hear "stay away from heroin and dope" and nothing else? on rewatching, he doesn't actually say anything about the mechanisms of addiction or substance use and doesn't say anything explicitly problematic.
inkyjennings
That your lifetime is finite and you should try to value it.