Laszlo Meszaros

***“If you care about yourself and your loved ones, go straight edge. If you care about animals and the Earth too, go vegan.”***

Hi I’m Laszlo meszaros from veszprem, hungary. i scream in the band xescalatex. i’ve been vegan for 11 years and straight edge for 18.

What was the moment or experience that first pushed you toward veganism?
Discovering Earth Crisis when I was a teenager was the first time I had heard about it, I didn’t start until much later but that was the seed.
Did your path into veganism come before or after getting into hardcore / straight edge?
It came after. I’d already been straight edge for a few years, but most of the scene here wasn’t vegan. I only knew a few kids who were, and sadly that hasn’t really changed too much since then.
Was there a specific band, record, or scene influence that opened that door for you?‍ ‍
Earth Crisis - Destroy The Machines, still my favorite vegan straight edge record to this day. We didn’t really have bands in the local scene addressing those issues.
How did your friends, family, or local scene react when you made that shift?
I didn’t get much support from anywhere. People either didn’t give a shit or just kept joking about it. But I gotta say, my mom and grandma were exceptions, so much love for them. In the local scene I had a few friends who were (and some still are) vegetarians. They didn’t really get it though, because they thought they were already doing enough for animal liberation, so yeah, we didn’t agree on that.
Was it an immediate commitment, or something you grew into over time?
It was definitely a process. I didn’t really have a scene around me where it was a thing, and that’s part of the reason we started our band, Escalate.

For you, how connected are veganism and straight edge—are they inseparable or distinct choices?
For me personally, they’re totally connected, but I know a lot of vegans who aren’t straight edge and vice versa. Straight Edge, to me, is a tool, and why wouldn’t you want to use it in the fight for animal liberation? Veganism is definitely more important to me though, so I feel more connected to non-straight edge vegans than I do to meat-eating straight edge people.
Do you see veganism as an extension of straight edge ethics, or its own independent stance?
Yeah, I do see it that way, because what are you using this tool - straight edge - for if you’re only straight edge for the sake of it? And I’d go even further: veganism should be an extension of anarchist ideas as well. How can you talk about liberation if you ignore the oppression of animals? If you’ve liberated yourself, cool, now do something with that potential you unlocked.
How do you respond to people in the scene who embrace one but not the other?
If you care about yourself and your loved ones, go straight edge. If you care about animals and the Earth too, go vegan. I don’t like preaching though — I’m not gonna walk up to people and lecture them about it, but if they ask me, that’s my opinion. You’d need a really good excuse to justify not embracing both.

What role did the hardcore/metal scene play in shaping your beliefs?
Hardcore shifted my attention toward the oppression of animals and how connected it is to oppression in society as a whole. Without it, I’m not sure I would’ve gotten into any of this. It all started there.
Do you feel like the scene today is more or less aligned with vegan / straight edge values than when you started?
I think it’s more aligned with both now, or at least more receptive to them, but I still feel like we’ve got a long road ahead of us.

What kind of impact do you hope your band has on listeners?
I hope that for people who are receptive to these ideas but still haven’t made a decision, we can be the thing that pushes them over the edge. I also want our shows to be a hub for like-minded people to meet and start working together, whether that’s through a band, an organization, or anything else trying to move the world in that direction.
Have you ever heard from someone who changed because of your music?
Yeah, some people have told me they claimed edge or went vegan because of us, and that means the fucking world to me. I never thought we could have that kind of impact on anyone
Do you think music can genuinely shift people’s behavior, or just reinforce existing beliefs?
I don’t think someone’s gonna do a complete 180 just because of music alone, but for people who are even a little receptive to those ideas, it can absolutely be a catalyst.
Do you see veganism as inherently political?
Absolutely. I see veganism as an animal liberation struggle rooted in radical left ideologies, seeing animals as another oppressed class in society. Dr. Steven Best put it best when he said animals were the first beings humanity enslaved, and that became the cradle of all oppression, because from that point on, being an animal meant being seen as less than human.
How do you balance music with direct action or activism, if at all?
I’m part of some activist groups, but most of the time I try to support them remotely. I mainly focus on our scene first, and whenever I have the time, I help find homes for rescued animals and things like that.
What issues within the broader movement do you think aren’t being talked about enough?
That veganism is political. We can’t treat right-wingers or Nazi fucks as allies just because they use veganism to greenwash their image and lure people into their vile ideology.
Looking back, would you approach your message differently?
No. I try my best to think everything through carefully before I speak on it.
What keeps you committed when it gets difficult or isolating?
I’m really depressed and lonely most of the time, so I’m gonna read everyone else’s answers hahaha.
Where do you see the vegan / straight edge movement going in the next decade?
I just hope it becomes a real threat to oppressors.
What would you say to someone on the fence about embracing these ideas?
The best time to embrace it was 10 years ago, but the second best time is today. I honestly can’t name a single aspect of my life that got worse after claiming edge or going vegan. Even if nobody around you supports you right now, go to shows and you’ll find your people. Anyone who jokes about it or tries to make you feel bad doesn’t matter, it says more about them than it does about you.

Final Thoughts:

First band that made you think differently:
Earth Crisis.
A lyric you’ve written (or heard) that still hits hardest:
Earth Crisis – Wrath of Sanity
One misconception about vegan straight edge:
That it’s just spoiled rich kids.
One non-negotiable value:
Veganism.
One thing the scene needs to do better:
Calling out misogynists and rapists, even if they’re your friends or people you used to look up to.