March on the Mail - Lies about Emo Death Cult lead to protest

MCR fans are planning a May on May 31st in London against that bastion of prejudice the Daily Mail after their recent campaign of lies. Respect is due to all those planning this excellent idea.

Find out more about the march here at www.whatthefrank.co.uk. It seems very well organised if you are in London why not support them:

This protest is being held in order to raise awareness on My Chemical Romance’s acutely anti-suicide message and the serious issue of depression, especially in teenagers.

We hope to show that My Chemical Romance is not a ‘suicide cult’ - as the Daily Mail has called them in a recent article - but simply a rock band that wants to save people’s lives. Depression is a serious thing and careless journalism runs the risk of trivializing it; especially as far as teenage depression is concerned. My Chemical Romance have always tried to ward their fans away from depression and aid them in seeking help, even going as far as to call suicide hotline numbers from the stage. Whereas, badly researched journalism is in danger of promoting irresponsible stereotyping and taking away from depression as a serious medical illness.

It has been covered in The Guardian and the Independent which has a long and detailed article:

EMO: Welcome to the Black Parade

A Kent coroner's comments over the suicide of 13-year-old Hannah Bond, in which he expressed concern over the dead girl's passion for emo music, spawned a glut of lurid headlines earlier this month. But it was the Daily Mail that decided to delve deeper into the craze – prompting one of the unlikeliest protests London has seen for some time.

Next Saturday, fans of MCR will descend on the Mail's Kensington headquarters in west London to vent their rage at what they claim is "badly researched journalism in danger of promoting irresponsible stereotyping". It is a remarkably polite and measured response for a group supposedly in thrall to a mind-bending cult.

According to one of the organisers, Anni Smith, 16, from Hampshire, festering anger that has been simmering below the surface for some time has finally spilt over. Some 300 people have already logged on to the protest site, www.whatthefrank.co.uk, expressing their desire to take part.

She believes the numbers determined to march eventually on the Mail HQ could be much higher and today organisers will meet representatives of the Metropolitan Police to discuss tactics for the demonstration and a possible transfer to nearby Hyde Park to avoid any trouble. Ms Smith, who has seen MCR four times, said that far from being advocates of mass suicide, the band are passionate opponents of self harm – as evidenced in the lyrics to their most famous song with its defiant message "to carry on". "I love their passion and the way they believe in what they do," she said. "They are amazing people. They want everyone to be OK, healthy and happy. A lot of people are affected by depression and a lot of MCR fans are too. This article was careless and badly researched journalism which really surprised us. They are the complete opposite of a suicide cult.

"The band has always been adamant that if you have problems you should get help and not give in."

The backlash has been growing apace. Internet chatrooms are clogged with comments from fans furious at what they say is breathtaking ignorance being displayed from across the generation divide by a people happier crooning along to Jim Morrison's "Soft Parade" than the later, darker assembly.

"Society constantly looks for something to point a finger at when things don't go right," wrote one fan to the NME this week. "It's time to face facts that being a young person today is tough."

According to Conor McNicholas, the magazine's editor, the furore has generated the NME's biggest postbag this year. "The reaction of the right-wing press is fairly moronic, knee-jerk stuff," he said. "Genuine music fans who know the way these things work are not afraid of speaking out and saying this is wrong.

"They sell papers on the basis of fear and the more frightened parents are the more sales there are for the Daily Mail. They are setting parents against their children which might sell papers but is incredibly destructive of family relations in the long term. If you want to alienate young people the best way to make them feel disaffected is to take away the music and culture they love."

It even led to a leading article:

Leading article: Reasons to be cheerful
Independent, UK - 22 May 2008

The list of popular music trends that have scandalised the curtain-twitching classes would take more space than we have here to chronicle.

Suffice to say that, from Elvis to the Beastie Boys, from the Beatles to the Sex Pistols, there has rarely been a time when "polite society" has not found something in youth culture to demonise. The latest target of the wagging finger of reproach is "emo": a style of music that places heavy emphasis on what one might describe as the more sombre aspects of human existence.

One Middle England newspaper has even labelled the emo scene a "cult" and linked it to the suicide of a 13-year-old girl who was deeply into the American emo band My Chemical Romance.

In an admirably well-organised counter-attack, hundreds of emos are planning to protest outside the newspaper's offices, presumably dressed in their characteristic black garb.

We understand the frustration of emos at being slurred in this fashion. But we would also offer some consolation. First, being attacked like this is a back-handed compliment: most good music gets the moral outrage treatment at some point.

Second, it won't be long before the reactionaries turn their attention to demonising some other aspect of our culture.

And, eventually, they'll no doubt even be complaining that "the youth of today" are so much worse behaved than those polite emos of yesteryear.

It's advice they're unlikely to heed, but emos should try to remember that it's not all doom and gloom.

Short article in Guardian

Maligned emo fans to march on Daily Mail
guardian.co.uk, UK - 22 May 2008

Good as these articles are they miss the main point that this march is no joke. Telling lies about subcultures leads to suffering and violence. As pointed out on this blog constantly the Mail's propaganda over Hannah Bond's death is likely to result in violence - obviously there is the example of Mexico but this problem was in the States before that see here for one example.

See the previous reports on the media lies which led to this march here:

Hannah Bond - Why no Emo is safe from the Daily Mail's Cult of Lies
Hannah Bond - Press/Coroner blame another suicide on Emo

Her are posts to the original lies from 2006.
New Emo Goth Danger?
More media lies about goths and emos

And remember exactly these sort of reports about emo have led to stupid ideas across the world from Russia government panics to Malta.

There is also a petition you can sign HERE against media distoration with other 1000 signatures.

I only hope this will stop the media telling lies.

At an MCR concert Gerard Way expresses himself strongly on the issue I think this was at Reading festival (2007?). He has being saying similar stuff since the first mail article accusing them of being involved in a death cult back in 2006:

Fuck the Daily Mail!