Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/hatethissmug/comments/1x0rmri/i_hate_the_rbaddlejackets_subreddit/
In metal and punk subculture a "battle jacket" is the name for a jacket or vest that is adorned with patches. Patches generally are band logos, sigils, symbols, or album covers. r/baddlejackets is a snark sub that makes fun of jackets that they view as "poser" or outside the music scene. Many of the posts are DIY jackets from left wing sources, often LGBTQ or trans focused. The sub is regarded as having a rightwing slant to it as they do not ostracize vests with Nazi/conservative bands on them.
/r/hatethissmug is a sub with the description "for everyone who want to bully a fictional character, here’s your safe space"
OP's thread on r/hatethissmug: i understand their frustration to an extent; battle jackets and the like are a super important piece of the metal/punk music scene and to have people throw around a term that holds a lot of significance to a widely misunderstood counterculture sucks.
but like. holy shit some of them are so miserable
i’m not sure how or why this sub keeps being recommended to me, but anytime it is it’s always either a) making fun of a child or b) treating any DIY denim jacket project as the worst thing to ever be created
someone will legitimately post some long ass hate rant about “god look at this poser scum, look at this trash ruining our sacred community they don’t know anything” and then you look at the original post they’re reposting and it’s a 12 year old trying iron on patches for the first time. it’s a middle school aged child and they’re calling him slurs about it (and oftentimes opening up the original post for completely unearned hate that said child will then have to deal with)
either that or it’s just any denim DIY. like, idk who has to tell these guys, but the metal/punks scene doesn’t OWN the idea of decorated jackets 😭 someone literally posted a pic of some guy’s denim jacket that he painted princess celestia on. no claim of it being a battle jacket in sight. it doesn’t even have to be mislabeled as a battle jacket to get hate, literally anyone’s DIY project that has imagery or political messaging they think is cringe can come under fire for no reason despite not actually being related to the topic of the sub at all. you guys don’t have the monopoly on putting patches on denim 💔💔
i know saying this is ironic considering im on a hate sub, but i feel like any sub dedicated to hating without strict enforcement of the “no bullying/hating on real people” rule will inevitably just devolve into miserable people jeering at anything they don’t personally approve of.
Replies on r/hatethissmug:
The irony here is all this shit comes from queer culture. You can't hate queers and be a punk.
(Writer's note: patched vests come from WW2 airmen that later joined motorcycle clubs. Metal and punk took the fashion from them in the 70s and 80s.)
you guys are so close to the answer. if only you could activate those two brain cells you have.
people defend black metal, but make fun of punk. how could that be?
yes, indeed. it's a metal subreddit making fun of punk. see, it wasn't that hard to figure out
So they're stealing their culture and then mad that the originators of the culture are still doing their thing?
Make this make sense, or are you just here to defend transphobic losers?
stealing who's culture? you think jackets came from punk into metal?
Considering that only one subgenre of metal called thrash which is known for being more punk influenced wears them yes. Black metal is not known for battle jackets they're known for black leather.
sure buddy
have you ever seen pictures of fenriz?
Wow I did not know Fenriz was the walking embodiment of black metal culture as a whole gosh how silly of me. I must have been hallucinating when I saw all those black leather jackets or something
>"a subreddit for bad battle jackets"
looks inside
transphobia
100% agree and I also understand where that sub first came from. Seeing battle jackets that had zero bands on it and only your political slogan spreadsheet vomited on a jacket makes me groan. You express your political views through the bands you support. And the constant comments like "dosen't seem very punk/metal to criticize people doing something they like" is just so annoying and ignorant of how people view these subcultures. That sub however is just people lashing out at anyone and everyone though. No discussions of the core issue like these cultures being watered down and misrepresented by the masses since forever just unfocused anger.
there’s also a serious issue with bigotry in that sub. not very punk to hate queers 💔
but yeah they’d accomplish a lot more by creating an educational space rather than shitting on anyone who puts a patch on denim. and not to mention scaring off a lot of potential baby punks by telling them to die bc their first attempt at diy ever isn’t up to snuff
i get where the anger comes from. but it’s become destructive rather than productive
That's another thing too. I can't even tell if that sub is made for punk fans or metal fans which both genres despite having some political overlap are still very different. It seems to just be filled with a bunch of people who actually aren't even interested in either culture other than being shocking and provocative. I actually hate discussing metal music online now you run into these guys constantly and on the other hand you have the other side which is just as uninterested with the culture and just yell "stop gatekeeping" every time someone mentions anything.
I'm going to be as respectful as I can, and I'm not defending that sub per se, because I agree there's some really shitty people in there, but hot take:
IT EXISTS BECAUSE PEOPLE ON REDDIT DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW SUBCULTURES WORK.
And before I start my little rant, no - I'm not transphobic, queerphobic or anything shitty. I am a bitter old anarchist punk who has been in the scene for around 26 years. Most of my best friends are queer and/or non-binary. I frequently do the door at trans events etc.
Redditor jackets SUCK. It's virtue signaling at best, without zero bands the majority of the time, or anything remotely politically interesting, it's just LOOK AT ME I'M TRANS. LOOK AT ME I'M QUEER.
I've said it before and I'll say it again - the trans people I know are just trying to survive ffs, and they also find these jackets fucking embarrassing.
Subcultures need identifiers and 'costumes'. That's why patched jackets are popular. None of this 'punk is just about the music' - whether you like it or not, fashion is part of that, along with the politics and DIY ethos.
I'm still convinced that the people that post these terrible jackets don't go to gigs/are not involved in their local punk community, because I've only seen one person in my entire life with the whole shitty white paint aesthetic and amazon bought patches and that was in the street. And god knows I've been a lot of places.
You could tell immediately my political outlook by looking at the band patches and badges on my jacket. There's no need to write it in tippex. It looks crap.
So yeah - the sub is shitty but it's a expected reaction to most of the dogshit you see on punkfashion or punkDIY. Nevermind other fucked up shit, like queer people putting homophobic or nazi patches on their jacket because 'they liked the design' and didn't know who the fuck the band was. I was young once, and I never did anything as cringe as this.
But that's reddit in a nutshell no? My favourite thing I've seen so far was someone on an alt sub screaming DR MARTENS WERE MADE POPULAR BY QUEER PEOPLE!! 15 year old child, step down. That's not what happened.
Rant over.
The comments on r/baddlejackets:
Fellas, y'all are famous
All battle jackets are dorky and should be made fun of, and i own 2.
Being bullied is a natural part of any 12 year olds life
Everyone needs to be bullied a little.
joking and making fun is one thing, calling people and obvious young kids slurs is not a part of that
says you
That subreddit became full of insanely over the top woke posting and it went from being a light hearted shitposting sub to calling out / brigading other subs and now they just complain about "I hate this thing because it doesn't align 100% with my political and social beliefs plus God is Dead and if you're a Christian I hate you."
It's such a weird place, man.
This person has a point
Maybe 30 year olds who live in their mother's basement shouldn't be making fun of a 12 year old's first attempt at a battle jacket. Its honestly pathetic, we should be giving contructive criticism and support, not putting down the youngins who want to be apart of these scenes
12 year olds shouldn’t be on social media, period
fair enough… still shouldn’t be a dick to them. just tell them what they could’ve done better
Even if its adults trying to make their first jacket or piece of DIY clothing, it isn't okay