i claimed straightedge at age 16 until i was 20. then i decided i wanted to know what it was like to be drunk. i wasn't really into the whole hardcore scene like most straightedgers and i never marked my hands with X's or anything stupid. i was just a normal person that chose not to drink, smoke, or do drugs. i fucked my girlfriend at the time like it was my job though. i don't think its a bad thing, one of my best friends is straightedge and hangs out while we drink and smoke herb all the time and doesn't say anything about it. i just think its stupid when you go around proclaiming it like you're doing some noble thing. its a personal choice like anything else.