Violence against kids in subcultures
| Author | Message |
|---|---|
| Cigarettes And Suicide Bleeding on the Floor  Age: 37 Gender: Female Posts: 1725 | MistressRhi:Oh God, there's almost nothing that s***s me more than seeing some tragic report on the news about how a kid has killed themselves, and the reporter puts on the sombre expression and continues on about how they 'did it because they were part of this 'dangerous' emo/goth 'cult'... so-and-so wore black all the time and listened to violent music such as Marilyn Manson, which was probably the cause of them becoming suicidal' What a load of crap, as you said. Being 'emo', 'punk' or 'goth' does not make you suicidal, nor do you 'join' that group because you're suicidal. It's the rest of the world making fun of you non-stop that drives you to it, not the music you listen to telling you to hang yourself in the garage. |
| MistressRhi Motor Baby  Age: 40 Gender: Female Posts: 991 | exactly, i get called emo and i take it to be a compliment but it annoys me when people go - where's your scars and shouldn't you be cutting your wrists now?" it just annoys me. I'm frickin 23, about to get married -NO my wedding dress is not black (lol) and pregnant with my first child, i work in HR, i wear a lot of black but not all the time, i listen to MCR and other 'emo' bands, just because i adhere to the tag of emo does not mean i'm depressed and suicidal and want to slit my wrists. if someone just took the time to talk to and listen to these kids and found out why they are so upset and helped them, this world might be a better place. I guess it's why i spend so much time on the discussion board and the personal problems board because i remember what it's like to feel like no one loves you or cares and i want to help those who think that, help them see someone does love them and does care. |
| Stripey-Stripes. Motor Baby  Age: 34 Gender: Female Posts: 804 | a girl in my science class said to me yesteday "emo kids DESERVE to beat up, i wish i could do it, they would like it, they hurt themselves" i was SHOCKED it really drove the point home that this topic was making i told the girl that NOBODY deserved to be hurt, that kids who hurt themselves needed help and support, not getting the crap beat out of them, she said it was bands like MCR that caused this and i told her she was an ignorant fu#@ needless to say, i didnt handle it very maturally but OMG--i cant believe people can say things like this. it makes me so ANGRY! but what can we do? |
| persona non grata Killjoy  Age: 31 Gender: Female Posts: 65 | hopeless honey: i completely agree with this. no one is saying that us teenagers all have to be friends, but we should at least agree to live and let live. there's no reason why we can't accept that people different from ourselves exist. they aren't hurting anyone, so why should we hurt them? |
| Chereena Always Born a Crime  Age: 38 Gender: Female Posts: 5702 | i will admit, i was one of the "lucky" kids at school...... i was the girl who sat with the popular kids. i sat with the "nerds". i sat with the "retards". i spoke to the "rebels". we all used to mingle when we started high school. all these kids from different primary schools came together and made these massive groups. but then we all started to change and break off into these sub groups. and i sat with some for a while, got bored and then moved on. even now i feel like i don't really fit in. i've dressed up and gone to the city to hang out in "emo park" in queen st. we sit down in this huge open space in front of the hungry jacks, and i've never come across as much hate and fear as in the city. i'm one of the lesser hard core dressers, and while i've been sitting down eating my food, i've had people come up and kick me, step on my food, step on my bag, kick my little sister! and i don't understand why! we're just people dammit. i can quite easily go and talk to the emo kids, then go talk to the goth kids, and then i'll be the girl who sees some old lady fall and drop her bags. and while the "normal" people just watch and laugh, it's half the emo kids who will chase her fruit thats rolling towards the gutter, while more emo kids help her up. people are just people, no matter what they belive in, what they wear, or what music they listen to. and i think if more people were aware of this, then there'd be less war. or at least, it wouldn't be over stupid little things. and also, when those two girls tragically cut their own lives short, and channel seven had that segment about "what to do if your child encounters an emo"... even my dad just laughed and changed the channel. and he dislikes the subculture because of what he understands them to be like. we're currently trying to re-educate him. and the progress is astounding. but he still doesn't like amii going to the city on her own. he just doesn't trust the people. but i'm getting the feeling it's amii he doesn't trust. what really irks me, is when something like what happended to these girls happens, and they blow it way out of proportion. the parents blame the culture, but really, if it was the culutre, wouldn't we all be gone by now?? the media plays a huge part in provoking unrest between these cultures. they portray all of them in such a bad light. maybe someone should approach the big media stations with a proposal for an interview about how it's not what the public thinks it's about. have a huge meeting with people from all different cultures. cause i think it will show the world that we are all just people. what's happened to these girls could easily have happened to the popular girl who gets called a slut. or the jock who has too much pressure from his parents to be perfect. or the nerds who are getting sick of being teased. |
| Stripey-Stripes. Motor Baby Age: 34 Gender: Female Posts: 804 | people are people no matter what. these labels we fix are going to happen, its human nature. just because you're "emo" doesnt mean ur a nice person and just because you're a "prep" doesnt automatically make you a mean person. it's what inside that counts. as corny as that sounds. the way u dress reflects ur interests, sure. but it doesnt reflect who u are. at all. at least, thats my opinion. |
| Cigarettes And Suicide Bleeding on the Floor Age: 37 Gender: Female Posts: 1725 | This may be slightly irrelevant, but anybody who's seen the movie '2:37' will probably know what I mean when I talk about all teenagers, no matter what their background or 'label', have their problems that need to be dealt with. I highly recommend this movie to anybody, especially teenagers (although it's rated MA and deals with some pretty strong themes), just to give you a little insight into the world of today's teenagers. Chereena has a good idea with the concept of approaching the media to help destroy this 'cult' image they seem to portray of 'emos'. I myself don't claim to be emo, and when I do, it's in a joking context (eg 'I'm okay, sweetie, I'm just crying because I'm so emo' to my husband when I'm feeling hormonal etc), but it makes me sick to see the media portraying victims of suicide and such as victims of the 'emo trend'. As Chereena said, if 'emo' was s uicide cult, wouldn't they all be gone by now, or if not, wouldn't there be a lot more suicides than we are aware of? A friend of ours committed suicide recently, which was tragic, but I can't help but be kind of glad he was just an average-looking guy with no particular leaning towards a fad - it prevented the media taking hold of it and going on about the 'golden child' (ie if he was popular, a jock, or a good student) or the victim of the 'emos' (if he had worn black and listened to FOB). His family and friends were able to grieve in peace and nobody else was any the wiser that we had lost a friend. The poor girls in the Dandenongs being splashed all over the news don't have that choice - their families are being hounded for the sake of good ratings. And what for? Because, like the 'goth' trend was thought to be a few years ago (and in many circles still is), 'emos' are so influential and dangerous that they must be avoided or looked out for in case they brainwash our children or our friends into killing themselves? It's ridiculous. 'Goths' or 'emos' don't kill people. It's the rest of the world pushing down on us that drives certain vulnerable kids to drastic measures. Maybe if parents took the time to talk to their children, rather than saying to themselves, 'Well, he's cut his hair so weird and pierced his lip, OH MY GOD the emos have got him! Let's leave town before he sticks a knife in his throat!', there would be far less incidence of things like depression and suicide. Anyway, this is totally not what I opened this discussion for, Chereena I'm blaming you... I wanted everyone to talk about groups in general, not just the focus on emos. But you got it right when you made your statement about 'what happened to these girls could have happened to the popular girl who gets caled a slut, or the jock whose parents place such a burden on his shoulders to achieve, or the nerds who have simply had enough of stupid pranks and endless taunts.' Why in hell do we do this to each other? We're all the same on the inside. Sure, some people are nicer than others, or have a better heart or good intentions as opposed to others, but why does everybody shun or pick on people who don't dress identically or have the same extracurricular hobbies? Anyway, as I said, I highly recommend the movie '2:37'. It's an Australian movie, so I don't know how kids overseas will go as far as tracking it down, but it was featured at one of the Cannes Festivals so I'd assume it's been released internationally. It's a fantastic, thought-provoking movie that hopefully will give people something to chew on next time they go to throw a ball of paper at the back of a classmate's head. |
| fxmous-lxst-words Joining The Black Parade Age: - Gender: Female Posts: 226 | i think it's horrible people could get beat up just because of the way they dress. but in the article they talk about emos like they're aliens, or a different species or something-"they are easy to recognize because of their distinctive clothes, asymmetric haircuts and t-shirts for bands such as AFI and The Used." sheesh. |
| Stripey-Stripes. Motor Baby Age: 34 Gender: Female Posts: 804 | I agree with MistressRhi. I wear black and I listen to all of the bands listed in the article of ones that are affiiated with them. I am called "emo" all the fricking time. BUT IM NOT ohdeargod! why do people want to be labeled Emo when it has such bad connotations associated with it. So my shirt is black. So my hair isnt long and blonde. I dont cut myself and I dont cry "big juicy tears of blood" (avatar i saw that made me laugh) I listen to music and i wear clothes. so does everyone else on this planet. what does that make them? its like "emo" is the new cool. you either want it...or you hate it. IT MAKES NO SENSE! |
| Cigarettes And Suicide Bleeding on the Floor Age: 37 Gender: Female Posts: 1725 | My husband and I actually almost got into a screaming match over this last night, after (surprise, sur-f-ing-prise) seeing a report on the news about a pair of kids being taken into psychiatric care after threatening to shoot up their school. The news report went a little something like, 'blah blah blah two students taken into psychiatric care after making threats to commit a Columbine-like school massacre... blah blah.... both of the students in question are part of the new 'emo' cult which is threatening adolescents across the nation...' W.....T.....F????? Seriously. I started going off at the TV about 'get the f--- over emos, if it was the head of the footy team you wouldn't have said a word about it, just that someone threatened to shoot up a bunch of people,' and my husband got on his horse about how 'it's only emos that you see doing messed-up stuff like that, that's why they make a big deal out of it - look at Columbine, those two kids were 'goths' or whatever, that's why the media went on about it - normal kids don't do messed-up stuff like that'... God, it went on for a good hour or so, yelling at each other lol. I'm not emo, and he doesn't have a clue what 'emo' is meant to be about (he says it's purely dressing and cutting your hair for shock value and attention-seeking, otherwise these kids would just listen to the music they like and dress 'normally' like everyone else), but I still tend to stick up for them when stuff like this happens. Quote of the evening: 'Notice how those two girls who committed suicide are all over the news because they're 'emo'... where were the new cameras and reporters when Josh killed himself? When Levi's brother killed himself? That's right, 'normal' kids do screwed-up stuff too, but nobody cares unless they wear skinny jeans and have their fringe in their eyes. It makes it easier for the media to get ratings if there's a threat to the rest of the nation out there - protect your kids from the evil emo cult etc!' Anyway, like I've said a few times, this isn't a thread about emos. I just wanted to point that out again in the hope that somebody will actually read the first few posts of the topic and understand what I want discussed. |
| Fezzik Salute You in Your Grave  Age: 33 Gender: Female Posts: 2748 | We're watching Bowling for Columbine in my History through Film & Media class, and I think a lot of that applies to this, especially the idea that news networks report stories to feed people's fear (case in point: I just saw a TV spot that went "What's on kids' softball fields that could KILL THEM? Find out what has parents and coaches so worried at eleven" ). I think the "emo cult" bit is the new things to get parents scared. News networks have reports on it and unsuspecting parents lap it up. Rather than take the time to talk to their kids, a lot of them just hear about things like this and freak out when their child comes home with dyed black hair. It breeds more fear against kids who fit into the emo stereotype, and that bleeds down into the kids themselves. Children learn quite a lot about stereotyping at home, so when they see their parents worrying about things like "the emo threat", they start worrying too. This is getting a bit off topic, but my point is that subcultures like emo are an easy target for media-perpetuated fear. The idea that there's some sort of 'emo cult' that could influence your kid to commit suicide or shoot up the school sells far better than regular-looking kids who kill themselves because they're depressed (or whatever the reason may be). Or, God forbid, pleasant news. |
| asha shake. Devil's Got Your Number  Age: 35 Gender: Female Posts: 36414 | Cigarettes And Suicide: Actually, it’s R. I tried to rent it from Civic for my Screen Media assignment, but they wouldn’t let me because they didn’t believe I was over 18 >.< I still really want to see it though. [/spam] Before reading this thread, I didn’t even really know that this was a major problem. Where I come from, this kind of thing just doesn’t happen very often at all. Admittedly I am in the so called popular group, but my friends are so different that it just seems alien to me why people would want to attack people for being in a particular subculture. I have friends who are complete sports freaks, emo, musos, indie, whatever, it doesn’t matter to any of us because we’re all friends. I think that maybe this kind of thing only happens because of the labels, like the people who attack people for being ‘emo’ (or any other subculture, emo just seems to be the flavour of the month really) are actually attacking the label, rather than singling out the person. Maybe they feel threatened by the subculture, and by attacking one person they feel like they are attacking the subculture, maybe it isn’t so much about being violent to an individual, but rather to the culture in general. Does that make sense? Sorry, I think I was kinda bad at explaining what I meant. |
| Cigarettes And Suicide Bleeding on the Floor Age: 37 Gender: Female Posts: 1725 | ^ No, I totally get what you mean. I just find it crazy that everybody picks on people because of a so-called label these days... when I was in school, yeah you had the guilty by association taunts (ie people made fun of you because of the people you hung out with or the crowd you ran with), but there was none of this 'emo' or 'nerd' stuff going on... if somebody wanted to get to you, you'd simply get called a 'fag' or 'frigid' or, in my case, 'whore/slut/etc'. And that way, it wasn't just kids who dressed a particular way - I got called the exact same stuff as the pretty blonde girls who dated popular guys, so it was a personal attack but generalised in a way that wasn't based on my appearance. Now I see people getting bashed just because they happen to own a Fall Out Boy Tshirt, which is ridiculous, and I just don't understand it. But I see what you're saying, and I agree with what Fezzik stated about people using these labels partly because of the media's portrayal of them - and yeah, I can understand the whole hatred based on fear of the unfamiliar thing... but when I think about it, in schools these days, if you're not 'popular' or a 'nerd', you're an 'emo', so obviously it can't be that unfamiliar that it's frightening, right? Such bad luck that you couldn't rent that movie, though. Maybe next time your parents go to Civic, you could ask them to get it for you? It's a really, really great film. |
| Chereena Always Born a Crime Age: 38 Gender: Female Posts: 5702 | from what amii's been telling me... this sort of discrimination is kinda hard to spot at her school..... purely because most of them are "fobs" (their own words!!). i can't exactly recall if she's spoken about many other groups at ther school, but i know there's the athletic fobs, the popular fobs, the bogan fobs, and then there's the emo kids and the goth kids.. none of which (apparently) have any fob members....... plus i heard something that made my heart sink.... a new guy started the other day, and all the younger kids were so happy... because he's an "emo" kid. of course he was welcomed with open arms....... by two of the groups..... yesterday, he had things thrown at him by the fobs, just because he has an asymmetrical haircut. he was in school uniform, and you wouldn't have looked twice at him.......... but he got picked on cause of his hair. W. T. F?? what did he ever do to them?? /rant. donna- i know this is sorta dragging things back to the "emo" thing again... but he's not really emo. he just has an "emo" haircut........ so to me it's not dragging it back! it's just highlighting the fact that he's getting picked on cause of the way his hair is. they never even attempted to get to kow him first! |
| Pandora's Box Motor Baby  Age: 29 Gender: Female Posts: 767 | this is deffinatly horrible becuse think about it how many kids kill themselves becuse there being bullied and most of the are kids like us becuse instead of bullying like fat kids ( sorry im so sorry but thats what everbody used to do before emo's were bullied ) they bully us because were different and with me thats horrible because everyday as i walk in to the gates someone shouts "EMO TRASH" and i normally get gerard gay and stuff like that so yea this is more important then like spending money on like cctv cameras to stop people smoking round the back of the school they should be getting like people to like make sure that not just emo kids but other people that are getting bullied as well are kept after so that it doesnt happen again. my little brothers are showing signs of being an emo all ready they love all my type of music so by the time they get to high school they arnt gunna get bullied cus im gunna tell em what to say right back shout just like my teacher told me! "CHAVS SUCK EMOS ROCK SCREAM AS LOUD AS YOU CAN " just like the lost prophets song rooftops and like the trivium song the rising! |
| scissor.fuck.cunt. Banned  Age: 34 Gender: Female Posts: 392 | I think it's wrong for people to judge us by what's on our writs(lol)instead of what's in our hearts. I think tat people need to see past all the eyeliner and black clothing and really get to know us. The world would be a lot better if everyone just took a good look at the inside of someone instead of the outside.Anyone else agree? -nossyeatsmeat  - |
| Cigarettes And Suicide Bleeding on the Floor Age: 37 Gender: Female Posts: 1725 | ^ I agree with you. People need to take the time to get to know others instead of just judging them by face value. Which also means that others need to, instead of just writing off the pretty blonde girl as a 'whore', and the tall, muscly guy on the hockey team as an obnoxious jerk, get to know all our peers or at least make an attempt. I mean, there were some pretty savage rumours that went around about me in high school (I've always put it down to a - my ex's best friend, who was great at destroying the lives of people he didn't like, and b - the fact that I didn't kowtow to the 'popular' kids and kiss their asses the way everyone else did), and to this very day (I graduated FOUR YEARS AGO), I meet people and when I introduce myself, they get that funny look and suddenly don't want to to talk to me anymore. When I question them about it, they say, 'Well, I mean, I heard that you were the girl that...' and it's always some screwed-up, blatantly untrue story that some moron started about me years ago, and to this day it affects me because people in this town still believe it and therefore don't even bother to get to know me. Prime example: I was living with a couple of guys last year (I was dating one of them), and a friend of the other guy came over and said, 'I don't want to start anything, but I was talking to a guy at work about Donna the other day, and he said, 'Oh, I know her, tell Matt to watch out because I heard she was dating one guy and sleeping with another a while ago. She's a complete whore, just keep an eye out.' The strangest thing - for starters, I'd only met that guy once at a party (and barely spoken two words to him the whole time, it was basically 'Hey this is Donna, this is Artie'), and I was single at the time, and I have never, ever, ever in my life cheated or strung a guy along. So I don't know where he got his information from, but it just goes to show that people don't even have to know you to spread vicious lies and gossip about you. My point being, discrimination against our peers isn't always physical or outright bullying - it can be lies, gossip, rumours and the rest. And this kind of stuff sticks, so I guess what I'm trying to say is that a) don't spread stuff about anybody you know (or know of) because this kind of stuff sticks for years, and b) it's not just the 'emo' kids that take crap from other people, and c) basing an opinion of someone purely on their appearance or some stupid story you've heard about them is no way to live - make an attempt to find out firsthand whether the rumours are true, and even if they are, that doesn't necessarily make someone a bad person. They could have screwed up and made a mistake in judgement one time, and it essentially ruins their whole lives when it starts going around the playground. Just something to think about. |
| CyanidexDeath Jazz Hands  Age: - Gender: Female Posts: 365 | I'm one of the Cliques who gets bashed on and i believe that the whole thing is just wrong. i get judge for being in the "emo" clique and my peers get judge for being in their clique. I really dont understand it. i try to make friends with who ever but a lot of times i get shut down. they think that if they make friends withh me their clique will reject them. we shouldn't seperate but thats human nature i supose. its not as bad if there are just seperation( I'm not saying its okay) but i hate when violence is involved. the violences is what i really dont understand. it makes me wonder what the people who hurt others are thinking. ido think that it is a form of discrimination and that more people should get invoved with trying to stop it. |
| CyanidexDeath Jazz Hands Age: - Gender: Female Posts: 365 | basketcasex39: i also agree with this. we all know that we all have our differences, but if we cant solve them, we shouldent turn to violence. and we should leave each other alone. |
| Go fuck yourself Devil's Got Your Number  Age: 30 Gender: Female Posts: 37823 | hopeless honey: i totally agree, when i was younger, i was picked on alot, and made me really suisidal and i cut myself off and on for years cause i thought there was something seriously wrong with me, if just bulling can make a kid so self loathing and unselfeestamtic why are we doing it. we all do it, what happened to those dreams we had where we could be who or what ever we wanted to be, think of the bars we're putting ourselves locked up in. |
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