Oh for sure, but musical genres are different for a reason. Much of what is claimed to be punk these days is simply “a different genre,” and it should be ok to be “a different genre than punk.” You can see it as gatekeeping all you like, but My Chemical Romance (commonly claimed to be punk in my area by the people who I am talking about, “those who don’t know what they are talking about”) is as punk as Buck Owens (nobody makes that claim, I use him to point out the ridiculousness of everything having to be specifically punk regardless of the actual genre.)

Just call yourselves something else if you are something else, just like you would with everything else. You don’t hear me claiming Discharge is the best goth band around, do you? I’m not proclaiming to be a goth because I like D-Beat am I? So why am I the asshole for expecting others to learn the differences in genres and subcultures? What, all heavy music and black clothing is the same to you? That’s subcultureist!

(Btw if it isn’t clear that this debate in which I am correct is as serious as pineapple on pizza, it ain’t that deep. I’m still right though, you can be free to have your own thing without claiming to be something you’re not, it’s ok, it’s actually better!)