Prometheus Was A Punk

Blue lights flash against the haze-filled skies of a rusted-out city, a Riot rises.

Tonight, dear readers, our Myth is our very own Riot - voice of Riot Radio, and one of the loudest rallying voices in the city of Los Santos. A voice that I've been inclined to listen to closely.

I've interviewed folks in similar walks of life as Riot. I've called other friends, too.

But Riot is a different caliber.

And to be honest with you, dear reader, I've had to restart this article because of events in the last month. Events that really solidified my views around the man named Riot.

Born in Carcer City, a fellow Rust Belt dweller, Riot's boots have taken him everywhere. To the far East where he studied and trained, to the West here in Los Santos.

Riot is everything you'd expect of the word 'Punk' when you first meet him. The blue mohawk, the battle jacket, a spray can never too far out of his fingertips' reach. Armed with a grin and a mischievous streak, he fits the bill.

But if you left it at that, dear reader, you'd miss the wicked sharp intelligence under the surface. In his radio station, our interview took off and was a whirlwind of art, music, and philosophy.

Violence, poverty, and lack of opportunities were not something that held Riot back as a kid. We talked about our similar experience living in the Rust Belt - Carcer City is certainly one of the most impacted. But through those spaces, you can see the true enduring spirit of those communities.

And nothing is connected more to spirit than music and art; out of any bad circumstances, you will always find art and music. Loud, bold, something that will not be ignored. That cannot be ignored.

Graffiti and punk music are some of the greatest examples of this. People all screaming in the face of a world that had forgotten them, or tried to impose upon them.

Authenticity over polish.

It didn't matter the words, the sound, but being heard and seen is always the most important. Being real to that.

It's why he started up the radio station when his boots hit the pavement here in Los Santos. His voice was one of the first ones I heard while driving around the city and settling in.

We have similar tastes, and we could've easily gone on for hours about how it was important to showcase music that many folks may not actually seek out. To challenge them. It didn't matter what it sounded like. It ties back to telling stories, emotions, and sometimes having to just scream them into a mic.

He wants to grow the space of the station to let other artists come in, use it, and get their voices heard out there on the airwaves. A platform that many don't get to have, especially with how media is sometimes controlled. He told me the story of the original pirate radio: Radio Caroline. If you haven't heard this story: Radio Caroline operated off a ship anchored just off the coast of England in the 1960's. Because of the tight control of the BBC and limiting what music was allowed to play, the team with Radio Caroline said, effectively, 'Fuck that', and set up a tower on this ship. They blasted music over the airwaves that were being censored in that day and age until it was ultimately shut down.

Riot's grin as he told me the story, how if push came to shove, I could see him doing the same thing here.

He's not one to sit idly by.

And this, dear reader, is where the events at the Dam forced me to look at my notes differently.

As we moved between art and music, we drifted into philosophy and how rebellion requires judgement - knowing when to act instead of going out swinging blindly. How ideological tunnel vision, certainty, and hubris are dangerous and limit the ability to adapt and be flexible. Even in the cases of doing good.

I got to see that firsthand with Riot that night.

With him on the front lines, leading the rallying call to the people of Los Santos to help not only save the community and the hostages, but the very people that most would expect him to be vehemently against: the LSPD.

In that moment, Riot recognized what it was: Los Santos versus whoever these forces were.

Dear reader, as I write this, pouring over my notes, my recordings, and walking through the memories of that night, I can say that Riot is the real deal in being exactly who he says he is.

Even knowing the danger, even knowing that this 'order' to shoot to kill that night was the risk, Riot did not back down.

If it wasn't for him, and the people who listened to his rallying, I don't know what would have happened that night, readers.

When I went into this interview, I will admit, I already had a myth in the back of my mind that I thought fit Riot. I had seen his Birdy posts, I had heard his shows, and even had brief moments in similar spaces to just observe and listen to him.

So when Riot revealed to me that he took from the lessons of Prometheus, I smiled.

Prometheus: who stole fire from Olympus, knowing the consequences, brought a light to the world of man, did it anyway. In one of our calls during the Dam incident, he distinctly told me: "I may get arrested, I may get shot, but I have to do this." I will never be able to look at the Promethean story without thinking of flashing lights, graffiti, and loud music playing somewhere in my mind.

Prometheus was a punk, and his name is Riot.