Very interesting case in the NE. Here divisions between chav/emos are used as a defence in court over a stabbing incident. Unusually here it is the emo in trouble but it seems he had a history and much provocation at least according to him. Some similarities to the Dele Little case I think. It looks like it started out with an abusive behaviour incident and then escalated. Of course this being a court case it is difficult to know what exactly happened.
The key point is that once again subcultural divisions ended up with violence.
Man Jailed For Two Years Over Chav Stabbing (from The Northern Echo)
Dec 11th
A MAN has today been jailed for two years for knifing a teenager at the Stockton Riverside Festival.
The judge told Michael Dixon, 22, that he had marred the festival which was a joyous event and something of which the people of Stockton could be proud.
Fear spread along the town's Finkle Street when Dixon was seen covered in blood and waving a knife, said prosecutor Martina Connolly. Ambulance staff went to the aid of Dixon's victim Michael Hancock, 19, whom he stabbed twice in the back on August 4 with a Swiss Army knife, Teesside Crown Court was told.
Michael Hancock had gone to the aid of his friend James Parker who was in an altercation with Dixon. Mr Hancock was walking away when he felt a hard punch to his back, and when he turned around he saw Dixon screaming abuse at him.
The pair rolled over on the ground punching and kicking but it ended when Mr Hancock pushed Dixon away.
Mr Hancock's friends then noticed that his back was bleeding heavily. He was treated in hospital and discharged within hours.
When Dixon saw the police he was still waving the knife and he shouted at them "Come on", added Miss Connolly. During his arrest he threw the knife over a wall but it was recovered later.
Dixon was drunk, and when he was interviewed the next day he said that it had been an argument between chavs and emos - fans of emotional, heavy metal music who wear tight clothing.
Dixon claimed that he had the knife to open bottles, and he said he regretted his actions.
Miss Connolly said that Dixon had previous convictions for possessing a machete and a knife, and for violence.
Robin Denny, defending, said that a prison sentence was inevitable. He said that Dixon was an emo who had been picked on by Mr Hancock, a chav with convictions for drunk and disorderly behaviour, affray and assault on police.
He added: "The defendant initially intended to frighten the victim. He was obviously initially attacked by someone who is particularly prone to attacking people for no good reason late at night."
The Recorder of Middlesbrough Judge Peter Fox QC told Dixon: "Your drunkenness affords you not the slightest excuse.
"You have got a very bad record for violence, but in particular this is the fourth time in your young life that you have been convicted of having an offensive weapon.
"The suggestion that you had bought that Swiss Army knife to open bottles is all very well. There are such things as bottle openers, you don't stab people in the back with a bottle opener."
The judge added: "The Riverside Festival is something that the people of Stockton can be proud of. It's a happy, joyous event, almost everybody behaves themselves and has a good time. You're the exception, your behaviour was particularly bad."
Dixon of Mapleton Road, Hartlepool, was jailed for two years after he pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon, unlawful wounding and affray.
Riverside Festival knife attacker jailed - Gazette Live
Dec 11 2007 Evening Gazette
Mr Hancock had gone to the aid of his friend James Parker who had been in an altercation with Dixon, 22.
Mr Hancock was walking away when he felt a hard punch to his back. When he turned round he saw Dixon screaming abuse at him.
The pair rolled on the ground punching and kicking but it ended when Mr Hancock pushed Dixon away.
Mr Hancock’s friends then noticed that his back was bleeding heavily, leaving him needing hospital treatment.
When Dixon was interviewed the next day he said it had been an argument between chavs and emos - fans of emotional, heavy metal music who wore tight clothing.
Dixon claimed that he had the knife to open bottles, and he said he regretted his actions.
He pleaded guilty on the basis he was with his girlfriend when he was attacked by Mr Hancock and another.
Meanwhile...
Rome and Juliet - a review
Weston & Somerset Mercury, UK - THE audience at The Kings of Wessex School escaped the wild December weather last Thursday and Friday evening (6 and 7/12/07) to journey to Verona for the Year 9 Thespians' production of Shakespeare's first romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet.
This modern interpretation used minimal props. The bold black and white Ying Yang motif on stage was a vivid reminder of the playoff between opposites. The two sworn rival families: the Capulets (Juliet) and Montagues (Romeo) were brought to life via the students' portrayal of today's "Chavs" and "Emos". The warring factions brutally manifested in the realistic fight scenes were all too reminiscent of the divisions in today's society and across the globe. Following the deaths of Romeo's friend Mercutio (Max Hopestone Bell) by Tybalt (Russ Eccleston), swiftly followed by his killing at the hand of Romeo, a plague is cursed upon both houses, setting the scene for more tragedy.
And yet love blossoms between Romeo and Juliet who in the famous balcony scene arrange a secret marriage with the help of Friar Lawrence (Adam Clegg) and the Nurses (Aggie Morris/John Male). Their first kiss is sealed with suitably, striking strobe lighting.
As a technical devise, music is used well. The pulsating opening beat builds up to the cacophony in the street scene foretelling more drama. Whilst the Chavs' dance sequences were slinky, posing to Justin Timberlake's Love Stoned, the Emos opt for the aggressive, fight-inspiring Hard Fi's Suburban Knights.
Costumes were jeans and coloured t-shirts, with Romeo and Juliet in red t-shirts - very much the roses of the show and just as sweet. 13-year old Ben Champion plays love-struck Romeo, akin to a dreamy troubadour, wandering about stage as "fortune's fool". With touching tenderness, "never was such beauty" 14-year old Sophie Caunt plays Juliet at the same age.
"Thou canst not speak if thou canst not feel". Indeed, Kings' 13 and 14-year old cast of strong performers artfully mastered the Bard's language, demonstrating understanding, with plenty of dramatic anger and desperation in the face of doomed love.
This story of woe was a "heavy day" that would not be easily forgotten. As Massive Attack played out the end with "Teardrop", the audience reflected on the play's contemporary themes - arranged marriages, fighting on the streets, feuding between inner city estates... Ultimately, the love potion, like Shakespeare's favourite theme of misadventure, is taken to its most fatal conclusion.
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