Blackburn - Goths and emos found a place to go

After all the earlier Blackburn fuss in October about the "dangers" of goths, metalers and emos on the streets alternative venue The Cellar Bar and pub The White Rose are now offering them a place to hang out safely. Much kudos to the managers/landlords involved.

It was Doddy who commented on the SOPHIE campaign page:

"i dont know if you know , maybe its old news but two pubs in blackburn town centre shut their doors to over 18's on a saturday afternoon to let in the goths n emos or whatever to give em somewhere to go , form 12 til 6 i think . one week it is the white bull and the next is the cellar bar . i think these landlords/ladys should be applauded for their actions because i presume that they will be losing a bit of cash by stopping serving alcohol."

Andrew Gosden 14 year old metal fan still missing

Please repost:

Andrew Gosden, 14, disappeared seven weeks ago after withdrawing £200 from his bank account. A high achiever at school, who likes metal style clothing, he is thought to have been in London without a mobile phone and has had no contact with friends or family. Andrew's parents have travelled to London each weekend to distribute posters of him.
Andrew is 5ft 4ins tall, of slim build with collar length, light brown hair and brown eyes. It is thought Andrew will be wearing black jeans, a black T-shirt and black trainers. Andrew may be carrying with him a black canvas satchel with patches of rock/metal bands on it. He likes Evanescence, Slipknot, Iron Maiden, Marilyn Manson etc.



He was last seen in London at Kings Cross after getting off a train from Doncaster.

See full details with photo here with youtube footage link and facebook link :

Andrew Gosden

"There have been reported sightings of him in London — at a Pizza Hut in Oxford Street, in a park in Streatham, leaving a local train at Waterloo — and farther afield, from South Wales to Birkenhead. " Times article:
A perfect son, a model family – so what made him run away?

Andrew was bullied at school according to comments at the Kerrang site.

Hiyer

I know andrew.
He goes to my school and is in all my classes
Its true wot people are saying-he did get singled out a lot and only had a couple of friends!

People bullied him- they wonder why he ran away.

I really wish he comes home soon

And for u lot that live near london-
please keep ur eyes open!

Thnx!
=)

Bex

Xxx

Moshers Attack Third Arrest (from Burnley and Pendle Citizen)

Moshers Attack Third Arrest (from Burnley and Pendle Citizen): "A THIRD teenager has been taken into custody over an attack on youths dressed as 'goths' and 'moshers' . Police arrested and released on bail two boys aged 13 and 15 following a leafet rop and press campaign earlier this week. A third boy, aged 13, was taken into police custody yesterday in connection with the attack."

New tactic in hunt for ‘goth’ attackers

In the latest development the Council have condemned the attacks and the police are trying hard to find them. Despite earlier reports claiming this is an isolated incident comments from local alternative folk indicate this is just a more extreme example of an ongoing problem in Burnley.

Gordon Birtwistle, leader of Burnley Council, said: "We live in a diverse society where people can dress how they want.

"I am horrified that people should feel they can disrupt other people's lives by doing this.

"I think the problem is that kids don't respect other people's views or even other people and this problem has to be addressed in homes and schools."

Attack on four goth/mosher teens in Burnley

In a town 5 miles from Bacup where Sophie Lancaster was murdered and her boy friend put into a coma two months by a mob attack a new vicious attack motivated by wearing alternative fashions occurred on Saturday the 20th of October. A group of 4 people were attacked by up to 12 youths with sticks and bottles, who according to those attacked were dressed in a “chav” style. What is more though the article does not mention it, according to comments on the article, another couple of alternative teens were attacked earlier that day in Burnley. Police are investigating.

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/display.var.1775574.0.teenagers_chased_and_hit_in_gang_attack.php

This was two days after the committal to trial of the five accused in the Sophie Lancaster case which was held in Burnley Youth court. Is this sudden spate of attacks in the same town a coincidence?

It has been suggested the attack may have been motivated by the newspaper article in the Lancashire Telegraph printed the day before which reported that some shopkeepers in Blackburn claimed that Emos and Goths were intimidating Blackburn shoppers. This may be an unhappy co-incidence but who can say? See previous posts on this.

And what about media coverage of Asa Coon a week earlier see School Killing involves "goth"?

Goths terrify Blackburn?

This insensitive article which was printed on the same day as the committal of the suspects in the Sophie Lancaster case was originally titled 'Emos and Goths intimidating Blackburn shoppers'. It has caused much outrage attracting comments from many people including Sophie’s family. Blackburn is the largest town near to Bacup being only 10 miles away. The article was later renamed “Teen gangs are emo-tive issue” in an attempt to mollify complaints.

Note the young people involved are guilty of no crime as the police comment indicates but are simply assembling in a public place. There was some inaccuracy in the report the description of the group which mentions the fact a number of people in the group had skateboards. This means a considerable number of them are in fact skaters rather than goths or emos as some of the comments on the article make clear.

While the Telegraph claims the article is objective reporting the prejudiced opinions of one of the locals seems crass in the circumstances as many local people made clear in their comments. It seems Church Street has been a hang out spot for alternative teens before this man’s shop was even opened. If the group were guilty of disorderly conduct then the police would act instead the reality is that the group involved have done nothing wrong.

The paper has now printed a new article on the question which further indicates how reasonable those gathered in Church Street are:

Emos and Goths - 'don't be afraid of us'

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/mostpopular.var.1775489.mostviewed.emos_and_goths_dont_be_afraid_of_us.php