Goths banned by bus driver

This case has got quite a bit of media attention in the Daily Mail which used the headline 'I'm a human pet' (check out the comments there) and on the net even on Fox News. :

Goth who walks fiance on a leash is banned by bus driver who told him: 'No dogs allowed'| News | This is London

Jan 22nd

Given that she describes herself as a human pet – and is happy to walk around on a lead – Tasha Maltby is used to odd looks and even odder remarks.

But nothing had prepared her for the reaction of the bus driver who allegedly told the self-styled Goth and her boyfriend: "We don't let freaks and dogs like you on."

Miss Maltby and her fiance Dani Graves were so angered they have complained to the bus company of being "victimised".

Going walkies: Dani Graves and girlfriend Tasha Maltby were allegedly barred from a bus

"It is definitely discrimination, almost like a hate crime," 19-year-old Miss Maltby said yesterday.

The music technology student had this defence of her lifestyle.

"I am a pet, I generally act animal like and I lead a really easy life," she said.

"I don't cook or clean and I don't go anywhere without Dani. It might seem strange but it makes us both happy. It's my culture and my choice. It isn't hurting anyone."

The bus driver, however, has obviously not been listening.

He has repeatedly refused to allow Mr Graves, 25, and his "pet" on to his bus in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

Last month, with Miss Maltby on a leash as usual, the couple tried to board a bus at the bus station.

The driver, who was off duty, was standing near the door.

Mr Graves alleged: "He shoved me off the bus. He called us freaks and he called Tasha a dog.

"He said, 'We don't let freaks and dogs like you on'.

"He basically grabbed my T-shirt and slammed me backwards.

"I got a bit angry and called him a fascist pig."

In a separate incident, police were called when the driver, who has not been named, refused to allow other passengers on board after the couple ignored his orders and sat down.

The couple, who live on benefits in a council house and plan to start a family, have been friends for years.

They started going out together in July and became engaged in November.

Paul Adcock, of bus company Arriva Yorkshire, said: "We take any allegations of discrimination seriously.

"Mr Graves has already contacted us directly and as soon as our investigation has concluded we will inform him of the outcome."

Goth couple's upset at 'freaks and dogs' jibe

• 19 January 2008
• Source: Dewsbury Reporter

By Claire Armstrong

TWO goths say they are being victimised by a bus driver because of the way they dress.

Dani Graves, of Thornhill, said he was once physically pushed off a bus by a driver who said he and his fiancee Tasha Maltby were not allowed to travel on the service.

According to Mr Graves, he said: "We don't let freaks and dogs like you on." Mr Graves, 25, said on December 8, he and Miss Maltby, 19, went to Dewsbury bus station to get an Arriva service to Thornhill.

An off-duty bus driver was also on the service, getting a lift back to the depot at Mill Street East. This driver, who was still in uniform, allegedly pushed Mr Graves off the bus and refused service to the couple. Mr Graves said: "He shoved me off the bus. He called us freaks and he called Tasha a dog. He said, 'we don't let freaks and dogs like you on'.

"He basically grabbed my T-shirt and slammed me backwards. I got a bit angry and called him a fascist pig."

Mr Graves reported him to the manager at the bus depot, who said his complaint would be dealt with.

But last Saturday, the couple tried to get on a bus at Dewsbury bus station, at about 10.25pm. The same driver was at the wheel and as they approached he shook his head.

The pair showed their passes and sat down on the bus but the driver refused to let any other passengers on until they got off.

Mr Graves and Miss Maltby refused to get off the bus but were eventually forced off after being threatened with police action. And on Monday, Mr Graves was waiting for a bus in Thornhill, this time alone. He said he held out his arm to flag it down, but the same driver smiled and drove past.

Mr Graves relies on the bus service as he does not drive and suffers from a circulation problem that means he cannot walk long distances in cold weather.

He said he always got on with other bus drivers and although he took his fiancee round on a lead, they always took it off before getting on a bus as it could be dangerous.

Mr Graves said he believed this driver's treatment of them was purely down to the way they dress. He said: "He doesn't like the fact we wear black clothing. We expect the odd comment, but we don't expect it off a bus driver.

"I have been a goth most of my life and it's the first time I've come across anything like this. It's crazy."

Paul Adcock, operations director for Arriva Yorkshire, said: "We take any allegations of discrimination very seriously and we will be investigating all of Mr Graves' claims. Mr Graves has already contacted us directly and as soon as our investigation has concluded we will inform him of the outcome."

Goth culture grew out of the gothic rock scene of the 1980s. Goths typically distance themselves from the rest of society and wear black clothes and make-up.

Skaters slam park's vandals and drinkers - Kenilworth

Skaters slam park's vandals and drinkers - Kenilworth Today - Back to Home Page

11 January 2008

ANGRY Kenilworth skaters spoke out this week at the misuse of the town's skate park by drinkers, drug users and vandals.

The £40,000 facility, near the Castle Farm recreation centre in Fishponds Road, opened in 2004 after a long campaign by skating enthusiasts and supporters.

But this week, a skater emailed the Kenilworth Weekly News to say the behaviour of a few is making the facility dangerous for everyone and said the police and Warwick District Council are not doing enough to combat the problem.

He said: “I am extremely concerned about the skate park and the state of the vandalised half-pipe, which the council are supposed to be looking after.

“We have a major problem with the amount of alcohol consumed and glass broken and have had to resort to bringing our own brooms in the morning to clear up the glass as it is impossible to skate over the broken shards.

“We want to get away from the people who smoke, drink and vandalise the park.

“After a recent visit to Stratford skate park, we can see a massive difference in the quality and appearance of our park.

“Recently, we called the police because of some individuals who were drunk, smoking marijuana and vandalising and the police took three hours to come to check.

“By this time, we had cleared up and even then only one police officer came.

“We don’t know what to do and feel we have no options left.”

He also expressed concern that all visitors to the park are branded “thugs” by nearby residents who complain of noise and anti-social behaviour.

He said he and his friends have been forced to try and skate elsewhere, even resorting to using ‘no-skate’ zones’, which they realise is not allowed.

Town councillo

r, Pauline Edwards (Con, St John’s), said she was unaware of the problem and would raise the matter at Tuesday’s council meeting.

She said: “If this is the case, it would be a great pity because it is such a useful venue for all ages to enjoy.”

A spokesman for Warwick District Council, the authority responsible for the upkeep of the skate park, responded to the claims.

He said: “One of our park managers went out there yesterday (Monday) and couldn’t see any graffiti or evidence of damage or vandalism.

“We haven’t received any complaints about the skate park and would encourage people to let us know if there are any problems.

“The site is regularly cleaned by our contractor and there is flexibility to allow for extra cleaning if necessary.

“We are really keen to maintain the facility as somewhere for young people to go.”

Nobody was available to comment for the police.

Devon - MY CLOTHES PROMPTED ASSAULT SAYS 'GOTH'

Justice is done in the case of the Exmouth goth attack. See previous post: Trial of goth attacker in Exeter

MY CLOTHES PROMPTED ASSAULT SAYS 'GOTH'
Express & Echo, UK - 10 Jan 2008

Attack victim Anthony O'Neill believes his "Goth" clothing was the likely trigger for a violent street assault which left him needing stitches to his face.

Mr O'Neill voiced his relief after a jury at Exeter Crown Court yesterday unanimously found Ashley Matthews guilty of assaulting him, causing him actual bodily harm.

Matthews, 20, of Midway, Exmouth, had denied the offence against Mr O'Neill, a follower of the Gothic rock scene, in an incident on Friday, February 10, 2006.

Mr O'Neill, who was 19 at the time, had visited the Famous Old Barrel pub in Exmouth town centre with friends and was walking through the neighbouring car park when he was assaulted.

He was wearing a distinctive long black leather coat and black hat.

Witnesses described Matthews grabbing Mr O'Neill's hat, then following him as he tried to walk away, punching him to the ground.

The court heard Matthews kicked him as he lay on the ground, leaving Mr O'Neill needing hospital treatment and several stitches to his face.

Matthews claimed he was acting in self-defence and had only punched Mr O'Neill once after being attacked by him first.

But a passer-by told the jury how she saw a man matching Mr O'Neill's description lying on the floor, being kicked by another man.

Defence counsel Gareth Evans said in mitigation, after the verdict, that Matthews had no previous convictions for violence and his behaviour that night was out of character.

Matthews had one previous conviction for theft in 2003, a warning for disorderly behaviour in the same year and a reprimand for criminal damage in 2002.

Recorder Nicholas Hall adjourned sentencing until February 6 and released Matthews on unconditional bail.

He told him: "Kicking a person on the ground would normally attract a custodial sentence.

"There may be circumstances that could lead to a suspended sentence or attract a community penalty, so I invite the probation service to prepare a report. Can I make it clear that the fact that I'm asking for a report on you does not rule out a custodial sentence."

Mr O'Neill, from Exmouth, said he had been in the public gallery when the verdict was announced because he wanted to see justice done. He told the Echo, after sentencing: "I'm happy with the verdict and I definitely wanted to be here today to see what happened.

"I haven't got a clue why he attacked me. I'd say it was probably because of the way I was dressed. When I woke up afterwards, I felt confused. I wasn't 100 per cent sure why I was being taken to hospital or what was going on. For a while it messed me up. I even stopped wearing my hat and long coat when I went out.

" What helped was that I had a lot of support from family and friends."

Mr O'Neill said he also thanked PC Sean Cashin, the officer in the case, and prosecutor Emma Smith, for their help.

"I've come to terms with it now but for a while after the attack I felt really anxious," he said.

"The court case has been at the back of my mind for the last year and a half and I'm just glad it's all over."

Bullied Emo faces possible trial for "Death List"

Massive panic in a school in the States when it is discovered that a bullied teen kept a diary in which he slagged off his tormentors. He dressed in black and even worse he had a MySpace page in which he mentioned his frustration at being bullied. Clearly a psycho... lucky the authorities caught him.

Yet he had no weapons, or any history of violence. I thought there was freedom of speech in the United States, but not if you are unlucky enough to be bullied, if you voice your frustrations and if you dress alternatively clearly you are likely to kill at any moment (See this previous story for a similar incident US Police target alternative teen):

Lockport Teen Creates High School Hit List | WKBW - TV Buffalo, New York | Local News:

A Lockport student is accused of coming up with a high school hit list and tonight the teen's friends are coming to his defense. School officials say a student from Lockport High kept what amounts to a diary of death. But tonight the student's friends say he's the victim of bullying and that he would never have acted out his chilling threats.

The graphic descriptions of death that we are told were outlined in this notebook would cause anyone to be concerned. The teen allegedly wrote of hangings, breaking ribs and choking off air to 40 of his peers. But friends of the student who created the so-called "hit list" say he is misunderstood. Heather Tschaepe said, "He wasn't really going to kill anyone or anything. He was just letting out his anger because everyone always picks on him. He was just letting out his anger by writing it in a book. He didn't mean for anyone to see it or anything."

Tschaepe and Emily Doctor are close friends with the teen who wrote the list. They say its been blown out of proportion by fellow students and school leaders. Doctor said, "He's not the kinda person who would actually do any of it. He wouldn't have to nerve to. Its just what he would hope to happen... but maybe not that bad."

However, when a student came forward and reported the notebook hit list, Lockport school officials reacted quickly to the potential threat. Superintendent Terry Anne Carbone said, "The student is not in school at this time and we will be conducting a thorough and complete investigation, appropriate consequences and support networks will be put into place."

Students tell 7 News that the teen started wearing black in the last year and mostly kept to himself. But his friends say he was just acting "emo" which is teen slang for acting emotional, and that he wore black to show that he was hurt and scared from being picked on. Doctor said, "People are really taking it the wrong way. Like if they really knew him, they would know he's not like that and they're just blowing it way out, calling him crazy and psychotic and he's just not. He just expresses differently."

His friends say he's in a hospital tonight, getting mental health treatment. Tschaepe said, "I just want them to stop picking on him because he gets emotional."

The teen's friends tell us that he wants to come back to school, but they don't think it will happen. Meanwhile, the Lockport Police Department is investigating this for the school district. A detective will hand over his findings to Superintendent Carbone who will make the ultimate decision on what will happen to this student. The Lockport police chief told 7 News its possible that this teen will be referred to family court.

SAFE OR SCARED?
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, NY - 12 Jan 2008
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal

Like any other high school, Lockport has its share of cliques and groups. Despite their differences, students say they generally co-exist peacefully.

Students had mixed reactions Friday to news that one of their own had compiled an alleged “death list” and had been removed from classes.Some said they felt safe, despite the details they were hearing. Some were clearly feeling scared. But few we spoke to felt that cliques had anything to do with the student’s alleged threats.

Nonetheless, the topic of the threats was foremost on the lips of students, parents and school personnel in conversations at LHS on Friday.

The furor began after school officials were tipped off to a notebook that allegedly contained a kind of “death list” with about 40 students on it. Sophomore Tim Ritiss said he felt “pretty confident” about his safety in school.

Jessica Palermo, a 10th grade student, said she didn’t know much about the student’s group of friends, but described him as “gothic.” The student’s friends were described as “just kind of out there.” Palermo added that some students did not take the threat seriously.

One student, who did not want his name used, said the student in question belonged to a group who were known as “emo.” It is a slang term describing someone who is emotional and introverted.

On the social networking Web site MySpace, the accused student, who lists his age as 15, does describe himself

as “emo.” The page, on which the student has more than 200 friends listed, includes references to cutting, or self-injury, and threats about people who make fun of “emos.” Also on his MySpace page, the boy wrote there are people he’d “love to kill.”

Sophomore Katie Schaunk said she can’t understand how someone could have so much anger at such a young age.

“He’s only like, 15. He must have come from a bad family,” she speculated. “He was only 15 years old, a freshman. How can you go through that much when you’re 15?” she asked.

Lockport High School resource officer Scot Snaith keeps a close eye on everyone walking the halls of the high school.

“They usually stay in their little groups,” he said. “Students with similar interests stay together. The jocks hang with the jocks, and so on. But we watch for anything that draws attention and find out if there’s a problem.”

In addition to the student athletes, groups at LHS include band members, drama participants — and a whole range of kids bound together by separate interests and kinships.

As the resource officer, Snaith is expected to have a relationship with students and teachers, address classes on crime prevention, investigate possible criminal activity within the school, advise the school on how to deal with law enforcement agencies and keep records relevant to his position.

But Snaith’s primary purpose is to help ensure the safety of students and staff.

Snaith “took immediate action with the school to investigate and intervene,” Wednesday when the notebook was found, a press release from the Lockport Police Department said.

“My presence in the hallways helps, they let me know if they see anything,” Snaith said. “I would rather check out 50 million reports that were wrong than to miss something.”

Lockport doesn’t try to break up the groups, but the resource officer’s strength in keeping the peace is in the daily contact he has with the students. Snaith said everything he hears is checked out.

Of course, there are confrontations from time to time, but that is expected, some students said.

“There’s always going to be fights,” said Damian Mavrak, a sophomore.

“You do see other groups pick on other groups — the more passive groups,” Snaith said. “But a lot of students are forward with me, and they let me know what’s going on. Communication is the most important thing.”

Snaith said there wasn’t any one group that causes more problems than the rest. All of the different groups in the student body are watched.

“We’ve had our share of problems from all of them,” he said. “We try and pinpoint if there is a problem.”

As to what happened at Lockport High School last week — and why — there’s no immediate answer.

“We’re investigating,” he said.

‘DEATH LIST’: Anger, emotions evident on MySpace
Niagara Gazette, NY - 11 Jan 2008
By April Amadon/amadona@gnnewspaper.com
Niagara Gazette

LOCKPORT — The LHS student who wrote a “death list” is being described as an energetic but quiet student who often dressed in dark clothing.

On the social networking Web site MySpace, the student, who lists his age as 15, describes himself as “emo,” a slang term used to describe a person who is emotional or introverted.

The page, on which the student has over 200 friends listed, includes reference to cutting, or self-injury, and threats about people who make fun of “emos.”

“Oh yes there are some people in this world that I would love to kill but they will not be listed, you know who you are, you are the people that I want to jump up and down and kill and throw (their) body in the (canal),” the student wrote. “I don’t need help my life is fine, I just want to be left alone.”

Freshman Thomas Felcher, 15, said he’s had French class with the student for years. He said the teen has recently begun to change his fashion style, but has otherwise stayed the same.

Felcher said when he first heard about the list, he thought it was just a story, because the student “usually writes stories like that.”

“I never knew that it was supposed to be a real list,” he said. “I didn’t think much of it.”

Lockport Police Chief Larry Eggert said he can’t speak specifically about the boy in this case, but in general, many teens may have a hard time adjusting to the new social structure in high school, while at the same time dealing with hormones, stress from schoolwork and possibly problems at home.

“We all know what those years were like. You throw in some other variables ... before you know it, it can blow up to a real problem,” he said. “If you let it fester, there may come a day where the kid might just say, ‘You know what? Now’s the time.’ ”

Civic dubbed a 'pit of harassment' - News - General - The Canberra Times

In a familiar pattern in Australia alternative teens face hassle from authorities and shop keepers:

Civic dubbed a 'pit of harassment' - News - General - The Canberra Times

20 January 2008

CIVIC shop owners have expressed fear and outrage at what they say is a growing culture of anti-social behaviour and pack youth mentality in the area.

Coupled with the complaints were allegations police were complacent in patrolling the area.

According to one retail outlet owner, the Beats Police office looking over Garema Place is staffed only at night and periodically at weekends, allowing unlawful and aggressive behaviour to escalate.

But according to an ACT Policing spokesman, the office is not a police station and is used only when Beats foot patrols are on duty. "The community expects high-visibility policing and for the beats teams to be away from their desks and out on the streets. In close proximity to Garema Place, the City Police Station is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and there for anyone who is in need of assistance," he said.

None of the business operators Sunday Canberra Times spoke to in and around Garema Place were willing to be named, citing safety reasons. "A pit of harassment and aggression. That sums this place up," another owner said. "Once these kids know that their scare tactics are working, they are like vultures to a dead carcass. They just won't go away."

The Sunday Canberra Times spoke to a group of youths in Garema Place yesterday about the complaints raised by business owners. Twenty-one year-old Natalie Stevenson, of Braddon, cuts a striking figure, her short bleached hair contrasted by a uniform of black on black, a ripped pink singlet tied around her waist. She acknowledges her appearance is out of the ordinary but says she and her similarly attired friends are misunderstood by a majority of the public.

"We get just as much abuse from passers-by and shop owners. They call us emos [a term for a subgenre of youth] and tell us where to go. We have been followed store to store by security guards who reckon we are going to steal from them," she said.

"I work in Civic, hang out here and have just as much right to this place as anyone. It is a free world. We are not aggressive. It is narrow-minded people who are so quick to place us in that basket."

Street Culture and What is Emo?

A potentially good article on street culture in Manchester features some spectacularly inaccurate statements:

Manchester Confidential - A matter of taste…and bile:
"A matter of taste…and bile
Sian Claire Owen explores the fractured music scene and finds individuality and manipulation

Musical history is littered with bloody musical genre clashes. Skinheads hated hippies, mods loathed rockers, and punks just spat at anything that moved. Hell, the minstrels and sonneteers were probably at each others throats back in the day."...

Far from the mod'n'rocker riots on Brighton Beach in the 60s, today's musical genres have reached a Zen-like state of harmony. Either that or today's musical landscape is blander than a Barratt housing estate.

"There's no animosity between different scenes," said Shaw. "There are a lot of good collaborations. Most people at BBC 6 Music happily mix between the best of the music styles. Although saying that, as a teenager I would never have listened to Goth or heavy metal. And still wouldn't, come to think of it."

Dream on... people in Lancashire are regularly beaten up even killed for looking different.

Meanwhile another article attempts to define Emo... and works out that much of what the average person understands about the term is nonsense:

Finding emo: It eludes a real definition
Wisconsin State Journal, WI - 11 Jan 2008

They might be your kids. For sure, they know all about emo and you do not. It is a well-known and common international youth subculture, a celebration of depression that, so far, is virtually invisible to most adults.

"For me, the most disturbing part of this emo ' phenomenon is the whole I hate my life, I want to die ' part, " says Chelli Riddiough, a junior at Madison West High School. "The I want to cut myself ' joke that 's not really a joke at all. Thanks to the rejection of forthright emotions, teenage depression is being dismissed as just being emo. "

Emo is a kind of music, and a kind of fashion style, and above all a kind of demeanor. It 's so well known among young people that they already see it as cliche. It 's verbal shorthand for "emotional. " If the term had been current a generation ago, humorous depressives such as Charlie Brown and Woody Allen would have been labeled emo. Except that today it 's not funny.

"I have a lot of friends that are truly emo, " says Alex Policastro, a 17-year-old student at the Madison Area Technical College. "I think emos are people that have had a tough life, or just a tough time, and either need help or should be helped. "

Searching for emo

Finding emo is rough, if you 're older. On the one hand, it 's so well known that if you run "emo " on the Google search engine, you 'll find 50.3 million listings. Compare that to, for example, 8.16 million for "Jesus Christ " or 1.94 million for "bill of rights. "

That 's perhaps not surprising; according to a survey conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, the average age of the most active creators of Internet-content is 25. Emo seems to skew far younger than that, reaching down even into middle school.

On the other hand, we asked adults if they knew what emo was. We asked school psychologists, area high school and middle school counseling staffs, experts at the UW-Madison School of Education, and the Madison-based Briarpatch youth crisis intervention service. Some had heard of emo. No one could even define it.

So what is emo?

"Oftentimes, emo is used as a derogatory term, a sort of grow up and grow out of it ' statement, " says Riddiough. "For the most part, the term is typified as pessimistic, angsty, self-injurious and even suicidal. And sometimes homosexual, since male and female emo styles are pretty much the same. "

"I don 't know if I 'd really classify myself as emo, " says Jennifer Wilson, age 21, a Madison sales associate. But others have called her emo. "It 's kind of one of those things that outsiders label others as, if that makes sense. Like, a football player wouldn 't label himself as a jock. ' "

"I have been called emo before, " says Policastro. "I am not emo. If you want, you can categorize me as punk, maybe. "

Says Riddiough, "Nobody I know would gladly admit to being emo. It 's become such a joking term, such an insult, even, that few would seriously describe themselves as such. "

So despised is emo that one contributor to Yahoo Answers, an advice Web site, confessed to cutting himself. But that wasn 't the problem. The problem was that friends labeled him emo as a result. He plaintively complained, "I don 't get why ur emo if u cut. It 's stupid I think. "

Emo as a demeanor apparently arose in America. It spread via the Internet to Europe a few years ago. There, at least, it has begun to receive press attention. London 's Daily Mail reported that "teenagers are less equipped to manage strong emotions and a cult of suicide could have real and horrible consequences. " Kathimerini, a Greek newspaper, warns that psychologists there are concerned. In Australia, according to the University of Queensland 's Newspace, "Emo is the new vogue. "

A musical start

At first, emo was just music. "I believe emo came out of the hardcore scene -- metal plus punk, " says Jennifer Hanrahan, a host and DJ at the UW-Madison student radio station WSUM. "However, by the 2000s, emo had become more of a fashion style rather than a musical genre. "

Hanrahan says that acts such as Fall Out Boy, Dashboard Confessional and My Chemical Romance all became known as emo, even though one could argue that there were differences in their music. Another famous emo band is the Brooklyn-based Rainer Maria, which started in Madison. The band has not responded to requests for comment.

Like individuals labeled emo, "The bands who are commonly called emo don 't appreciate the term, " says Hanrahan.

Still, emo as music was relatively non-threatening, and it therefore played on top 40-radio stations and music television channels, "and so became popular with white middle to upper-class pre-teens and teens, " Hanrahan says. It became commercial. "Due to its young and affluent audience, emo began to get a bad rap with the wider musical public, whether deservedly or not I can 't quite say. "

The music defined the message, and the message came to define a more or less uniform androgynous fashion sense. "Nowadays, emo is considered as a white teen wearing tight black jeans, heavy mascara, and a floppy hairstyle, " says Hanrahan. Every emo Web site agrees with the stereotyped portrait: bangs over one or both eyes, Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers and band T-shirts are signature emo traits. With the crystallization of outward style came a defined demeanor.

There has been teen angst as long as there have been teens, of course. We just keep coming up with different names for it; Romeo 's Juliet was only 13, after all. Before emo there were the black-clad "goths, " whose clothes and black and white make-up resembled that of television 's "The Addams Family. " Emo is very different.

"From what I 've observed, Goth is about being angry and trying to be different, " says Riddiough. "It 's about rebelling and, yes, wearing black. Emo is about being sad and emotionally weak. "

The emo world

If you 're an outsider, emo is, above all, easy to ridicule. You can visit www.TheEmoQuiz.com ( "The glass is: a) Half empty, b) Half full, c) Shattered in a million sharp pieces, d) Full of blood "). There are also online cartoons, mocking emo in an artistic style resembling the big sad-eyed kitten posters of the 1960s. One shows a weeping young man, and announces, "Emo is just an excuse for boys to act like girls. " Another shows an emo kid working on a poem, asking another emo kid, "What rhymes with razor blade? "

Another common Internet joke is, "I wish my lawn were emo, so it would cut itself. "

"As for the cutting thing, I don 't cut myself, " says Wilson. "I never have. I know people who have cut themselves that wouldn 't be classified as emo. ' I know people who are emo that don 't cut themselves. I think that it 's more of a stereotype than a fact. I wouldn 't say there isn 't any direct correlation, but then again the whole emo thing ' is a huge stereotype anyway. "

Still, sometimes emo can be a call for help.

"I have a male friend who used to be extremely emo, " says Wilson. "I once called him to ask what he was up to. He said, I 'm laying on the floor of my dark, cold basement listening to depressing music. I know, I 'm emo. ' "

"From my understanding, emo means emotionally disturbed, ' " notes Policastro. "I am trying to spread help to people who need it. "

Given that emo is most often an unfair stereotype label applied by others, is it necessarily bad?

"I think I definitely have certain emo characteristics, but overall, I 'm a happy person, " says Wilson. "The things that I would say about myself that are similar (to emo) are the fact that I love to express myself through things like art, writing, fashion and music. I dress a little less conservatively. I guess if you 're going by what emo ' is short for, emotional, ' then I suppose that could be true too. Everyone 's emotional. Maybe we 're all a little emo. "

Riddiough agrees.

"It means the manifestation of sadness and pain, " she says. "Everybody feels it. Everybody is emo. "

Trial of alleged goth attacker in Exeter

The latest trial of subcultural violence fits into usual pattern.

MAN DENIES ATTACKING 'GOTH'
Express and Echo 8 Jan 2008

An alleged attack on a man began with the assailant trying to grab the victim's "Goth" hat, Exeter Crown Court heard yesterday.

Ashley Matthews, 20, of Midway, Exmouth, is accused of punching Anthony O'Neill to the ground, then kicking his head and body as he lay on the floor.

Matthews pleaded not guilty to causing actual bodily harm to Mr O'Neill, when the trial started yesterday.

Prosecutor Emma Smith said the incident happened in the car park outside the Famous Old Barrel pub, in Exmouth town centre, on Friday February 10, 2006.

She said: "This defendant launched an unprovoked and nasty attack on a young man who was then aged 19.

"The severity was such that Mr O'Neill needed hospital treatment and stitches to his face."

She said that Mr O'Neill was walking through the car park with friends at around 11.30pm, after visiting the pub, when they saw Matthews with a group of people.

"Mr O'Neill describes himself as a Goth and was wearing black clothing and a black coat," said the prosecutor.

"There was another group of young people already there. They were not Goths, they were wearing jeans and trainers, including this defendant.

"While in the car park, this defendant went to snatch Mr O'Neill's hat."

The prosecutor said Mr O'Neill walked away and his group of friends changed their route to avoid the defendant but an "entirely unprovoked attack" followed.

She said that Mr O'Neill was punched to the ground and then kicked in the head and body as he lay on the floor.

As the victim's friends approached, the defendant ran away.

"There was only one person doing that kicking and that was this defendant," said the prosecutor.

She added that a witness, who was not with either of the two groups, saw only one person kicking.One of Mr O'Neill's friends recognised the defendant and also described him carrying out the attack.

Mr O'Neill, giving evidence, showed the jury the hat. He told them he had two pints of cider while in the pub for several hours and was feeling chatty but was not drunk when he left.

But he added that he could not remember anything after leaving the pub, because of being struck in the head. He was taken to the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital.

He said: "The whole thing is a bit vague. The next thing I remember is lying in hospital."

Under cross-examination by defence counsel Gareth Evans, Mr O'Neill said he had since spoken about the incident with friends, who were now witnesses in the trial. The court was told that Matthews denied kicking anyone when he was arrested.
He said that he had been struck in the face.The trial continues.

WITNESS SAYS SHE SAW A MAN BEING KICKED ON GROUND
Express & Echo 9 Jan 2008

A man accused of punching a 'Goth' and then kicking him as he lay on the floor insisted to police that he was the one who was attacked first, Exeter Crown Court has heard.The transcript of a police interview with Exmouth man Ashley Matthews was read out in the second day of his trial yesterday.

It is claimed he grabbed Anthony O'Neill's 'Goth' hat as the alleged victim was walking through the car park after leaving the Famous Old Barrel pub in the town centre, then punched him and kicked him.

Matthews, 20, of Midway, Exmouth, has denied causing actual bodily harm to Mr O'Neill, a follower of the Gothic rock scene, in an incident on Friday, February 10, 2006.

PC Sean Cashin, officer in the case, read out the transcript where Matthews had been interviewed by another officer.

The defendant told the policeman: "That bloke came out (of the pub). I got smacked on the side of my face, so I punched matey back."

He added: "I felt a sharp blow into my face, so I turned around and hit him back then."

He told the officer that he did not know the man by name but had seen him walking around the town before, with long brown hair and a long black coat. Matthews said he only hit the man once, in self-defence, and then walked home with friends. He said: "There was one punch. I would remember kicking someone in."

Defence counsel Gareth Evans cross-examined PC Cashin about whether he had viewed footage from a security camera in the car park, as soon as possible after the incident.

PC Cashin replied that he did not view it until later in the year and could not be sure of the exact date, except that it was between November 2006 and January 2007. Once viewed, it did not show anything relevant.

The police officer, referring to why the exact date of viewing the tape had not been recorded, said: "It was obviously an omission at the time."

There was also evidence from Exmouth resident Jade Sheeley, who was walking past the car park on her way home that night.

"I saw a boy on the floor with a group around him and one boy kicking him," she said. "The boy on the floor had a pony-tail, which was dark coloured. The boy doing the kicking had trainers and a white T-shirt top with writing on the top."

She added: "There were at least three kicks. I saw at least one to the head and one to the body at least." Miss Sheeley told the jury: "I saw, I think, a girl telling him to leave him alone and a couple of the other Goths trying to get away and some of the 'townie' group gathered around the boy."

Under cross-examination, Miss Sheeley said she could not remember whether the attacker was wearing a hat.

Defence counsel Gareth Evans asked if she had seen another of Mr O'Neill's group "physically involved" with another man in Albion Street and she replied that she had not. She had walked home and called police.

The trial continues.

Leeds corn Exchange closed

The Guardian has noted the ongoing attack on diverse shops in the UK in the recent closure of Leeds Corn Exchange which is combined with demonisation of alternative subcultures from local authorities. (See previous post on this.) It doesn't mention the recent moves in Glasgow, Camden Market or Bristol though. There has been a massive protest about the plans:

Experts ask: 'Is Leeds going in the right direction?'
Yorkshire Evening Post, UK - Dec 18, 2007
"The Kirkgate Market and the Corn Exchange are both icons of the Leeds landscape, truly unique results of the city's history. The plans currently tabled for ...

Save the Corn Exchange Effectively Leeds Corn Exchange now forms part of a property portfolio of one of Zurich’s .... Sign a petition to Save the Corn Exchange in one of the shops ...


The contract by the new owners Zurich Assurance banning Goth/Metal/fetish shops is an amazing new low especially considering Leeds was at the forefront of establishing goth back in the 80s:

Guardian - Comment is free: Exchange or refund

This month's closure of Leeds Corn Exchange is the latest blow to be struck against individuality in the name of regeneration.

The shopping centre - whose independent traders specialise in alternative fashion and curiosities - is being turned into an "international food emporium" by its leaseholder Zurich Assurance and the traders have been given until January 14 to leave.

The firm has yet to secure new tenants but promises a huge range of upmarket foodstuffs, plus a branded "statement" restaurant.

It claims the changes are essential to recoup £1.5m of refurbishment costs but traders suspect their wares and clientele - students, teenagers, goths and emos - are surplus to requirements in shiny, regenerated Leeds.

Last year the youths who loiter outside the centre were threatened with dispersal orders and asbos, and shop contracts specifically ban the sale of gothic, pagan or fetish clothing or accessories.

The surrounding Exchange Quarter is the centre of the city's vibrant alternative scene - gritty, grubby and full of cutting-edge nightspots, vintage shops and tattoo parlours. Elsewhere, the bland chain stores, dull chain bars and prestige department stores reign supreme. The evicted traders are struggling to find new premises in the booming city, where rents have leapt fourfold in a few years and vacant units are in short supply. Some will quit Leeds, while others are looking for jobs.

The plans have prompted some to question the direction of Leeds' regeneration and the squeezing out of quirky, independent shops and those whose lifestyles don't fit the norm.

Similar things are happening in other cities, where individuality is being crushed by profit-driven big business, intent on sleek, gentrified spaces and products that attract the "right sort" of consumer.

Quiggins, a legendary Liverpool hippy emporium that was home to 50 stalls, fell victim in 2006 to a massive regeneration scheme linked to the European capital of culture preparations.

Campaigners in Birmingham are fighting the planned closure of the Fiveways Centre - home to a progressive publishing company and a Fairtrade music venue - by its owners Mars Pension Trustees.

The future of Manchester's bohemian Afflecks Palace is uncertain. Stallholders have been in limbo since their leases ran out in June and any hike in rents - on what is a prime site - could put many out of business. London's Queens Market is also fighting for its survival.

Critics claim Leeds is on its way to becoming a soulless "clone town" peopled by wealthy yuppies and corporations - and with few spaces where citizens of all classes, ethnicities and ages can mingle. Their fears are compounded by plans to redevelop the city's Kirkgate Market.

In an open letter, 14 academics specialising in urban regeneration warned the drive to open exclusive retail centres is stripping away its character. They wrote:

"Gentrification by its very nature actively works against efforts to narrow the gap. It also erodes what is left of the public realm.

In the obsession to compete with other cities, to go up a league and be the Barcelona of the north, Leeds is in danger of simply becoming a 'clone city', a place like anywhere else.

And a clone town promotes clone people. As the city changes shape, there is a real danger that it actually narrows the type of people that it attracts."

Their warning should be heeded by other cities, where corporatised developments continue to suck the life from independent enterprise and leach away individuality.

The key to effective regeneration must be safeguarding a town's uniqueness, public spaces and sense of local identity - and small businesses are a vital part of that. This, surely, is exactly what makes many continental cities so special.

Amazing Race

Goth contestants in US Reality Show manages to convey better image for goths:

Interview with Kynt and Vxysin of CBSs The Amazing Race 12.
Realitywanted, AZ - 7 Jan 2008
We had many people who had never met Goths then started to like and support us during the race. It has been great to see all the fans share the experience ...

Random Reality - Josh Clinton Interviews The Amazing Race 12's ... Inside Pulse, NY - 6 Jan 2008 One of our missions going into The Amazing Race was to show people that goths aren't depressed socially-inept basement dwellers. We wanted to show that this ...

Maria Stuart: Kynt and Vixsen teach us all a thing or two
Livingston Daily, MI - 6 Jan 2008
The odd-looking Goths were truly, deeply sweet to each other, supportive and kind, well, except for that one time when Kynt yelled at Vyxsin as she became ...

Footage from Sophie's Birthday Concert

The Satanic Angels Review - Film Reviews-Cairo Fest, Entertainment - Variety

New film highlights the problems musical subcultures have in Islamic countries such as Morocco :

The Satanic Angels Review - Film Reviews-Cairo Fest, Entertainment - Variety
Dec 18th 2007

A Boulane O'Byrne Prod., Cinedina Studios, 2M Soread production. (International sales: Redfern Film, London.) Produced by Ahmed Boulane, Sarim Fassi-Fihri. Directed, written by Ahmed Boulane.

With: Rafik Boubker, Driss Roukhe, Amina Rachid, Amal Ayouch, Mansour Badri, Younes Megri, Fahd Benchemsi, Youssef Chakiri, Amal Chabli, Youssef Britel, Najat el-Wafi, Salah Dizane, Mohamed Karrat, Karima Skalli, Rachid Fekkak, Mehdi Ouazzani, Nadia Niazi, Malika Hammaoui, M'hamed Ouaglou, Toufik Kamal, Belkacem Boutayeb, Med el-Habib Hamdane, Elhachmi Benamar, Ahmed el-Maanouni, Sarah Ogden, Oumnia Ben Mansour.
(Arabic, French dialogue)

A heavy-metal band is arrested for "shaking the foundations of Islam" in "The Satanic Angels," an accomplished, at times gripping critique of contempo Morocco that refreshingly adds another dimension to the usual cinematic treatments of the country. Basing his script on a real case, sophomore helmer Ahmed Boulane fearlessly places blame at nearly all levels of society, using the sheer absurdity of the charges to highlight the increasing grip of fundamentalism on an ostensibly secular state. Despite occasional sound problems, pic -- a major hit at home -- is eminently exportable.

Casablanca, 2003: As in every city the world over, heavy metal and goth culture have their share of devotees, expressed not just through music but through the uniform of long hair, black T-shirts and multiple piercings. Band member Ali (Fahd Benchemsi) gets help from friends cleaning up the rehearsal space so they can throw a welcoming party for his American g.f., Ariane (Sarah Ogden).

Without warning, the authorities raid the den, rounding up 14 members after making sure the American is escorted out of Morocco. Who ordered the arrests is unclear, but conservative elements are quick to spread lurid rumors, full of accusations of satanic rituals.

Most of these kids come from solidly middle-class homes, such as Momo (Youssef Chakiri), whose cosmopolitan parents (Younes Megri, Nadia Niazi) recruit crusading journalist Hakim (Mansour Badri) when their son is arrested at home, his Metallica posters confiscated as evidence.

Short but powerful trial scene reps the strong heart of the picture, as the youths are defended by lawyers (Elhachmi Benamar, Amal Ayouch) who remind the judge that neither musical tastes nor black T-shirts are legally proscribed. The case becomes a cause celebre, attracting partisans from all levels of society.

Pic opens and closes with concert footage of the loud but mediocre band, composed of harmless kids having fun with a style that has as much hidden meaning as most other antiestablishment fashions trying too hard to get noticed. Boulane shows how linking devil worship to clothing choice -- remember the controversy over Ozzy Osbourne and Marilyn Manson? -- can be turned into a dangerously insidious form of control. He also metes out harsh judgment on the media, police and judiciary for allowing Morocco to be hijacked by Islamists intent on transforming a semi-open society.

Despite a final victory of sorts, pic is a cry of frustration, as Momo's father, jailed as a youth for democratic activities, declares that nothing has changed in the country. Ending title about a fundamentalist suicide bomber drives home the increasingly divisive problems Morocco and the whole region are facing.

Helmer scrupulously avoids saying whether the king (an untouchable figure) ultimately intervened in the case, but hints at tensions between the Islamist juggernaut and the more liberal monarch.

Lensing is smooth, and Boulane does well to refrain from flourishes in the courtroom scene, thereby subtly building the thrust of the lawyers' arguments. An early, gratuitous flashback serves no purpose, while a teasing hint of violence at the start confuses without increasing tension. Sound balance is a problem, especially when music drowns out dialogue.

More than one option

• (Co) Metallica
• (Person) Metallica

Camera (color), Serge Hannecart; editor, Arbi Ben Ali; music, Joel Pellegrini; production designer, Dana Schondelmeyer; costume designer, Khalil Boulane; sound (Dolby SR), Mohamed Bounouar; associate producer, Nejib Ayed; assistant director, Elyes Zrelli. Reviewed at Cairo Film Festival (Arab Competition), Dec. 5, 2007. Running time: 86 MIN.

BBC NEWS | England | Lancashire | Five youths deny student's murder

BBC NEWS | England | Lancashire | Five youths deny student's murder


Five boys have denied murdering a woman who was kicked to death in a park.

Sophie fell into a coma after the attack

Sophie Lancaster, 20, was walking with her boyfriend Robert Maltby, 21, in Stubby Lee Park in Bacup, Lancashire, when they were attacked on 11 August.

Ms Lancaster was left with serious head and facial injuries and fell into a coma. She died on 24 August.

Three 15-year-olds and two 17-year-olds appeared at Preston Crown Court to deny murder as well as causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Mr Maltby.

The hearing was adjourned for a pre-trial review on 22 February.

Three of the youths were granted conditional bail, while the other two were remanded in custody.

Judge Anthony Russell QC fixed a provisional trial date of 10 March.

Mr Maltby was also left in a coma with bleeding on the brain following the attack, but recovered from his injuries.

Date set for Sophie murder trial
This Is Lancashire, UK - 14 Dec 2007

The defendants, who are all aged between 15 and 17 and cannot be identified for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to murdering Sophie Lancaster when they appeared at Preston Crown Court yesterday.

The trial will take place on March 10 after a pre-trial review in February.

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Former Haslingden High school pupil Sophie was walking through Stubbylee Park, Bacup, with her boyfriend, 21-year-old Manchester art student Robert Maltby when they were allegedly attacked in August. She died almost two weeks later in hospital after her life support was switched off.

The five youths have also denied causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Maltby.

Judge Anthony Russell remanded two of the youths in custody, while the other three were remanded on conditional bail.

They are banned from associating with co-defendants, contacting prosecution witnesses and leaving the UK.

Other conditions include an 8pm to 6am daily curfew. Sophie's death has prompted an outpouring of grief from friends and family in East Lancashire.

Her mother Sylvia has established SOPHIE (Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere) to call for greater understanding for marginalised sections of society.

Several fundraising events have been held to support the groups work in Bacup, Blackburn and Blackpool.

An online petition launched in memory of Sophie on the Prime Minister's website has also attracted more than 1,500 signatures.

Man Jailed For Two Years Over Chav Stabbing (from The Northern Echo)

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 - 14 Dec 2007

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.

New Emo Goth Danger?

We mentioned before this strange saga (More media lies about goths and emos ) in the press from this stupid article EMO cult warning for parents | the Daily Mail which focused particularly on My Chemical Romance. They have often promoted anti self-harm message so pinning the blame on them is stupid.

But what can you expect from the Daily Mail who loved the colour black in the thirties when it was worn by the British Union of Fascists famously running the headline "Hurrah for the Blackshirts!". They frequently said good things about Hitler and Mussolini and supported the appeasement line.

The Guardian interview with My Chemical Romance at the time was interesting:

Alexis Petridis meets My Chemical Romance The Daily Mail says they're a threat to society. Rival bands say they're dangerous. Are My Chemical Romance really as evil as all that? Alexis Petridis finds out

Friday October 27, 2006
The Guardian

"I'm surprised a newspaper thought we were such a threat that they had to write a whole article about us and our fans, calling them a death cult," frowns Gerard Way. His brother wearily points out that we have been here before. "In the 1980s, people thought Judas Priest was promoting suicide," he sighs. "They were like, Dee Snider from Twisted Sister? Dude's in league with the devil, man!"

In addition, they claim not to be an emo band at all: "We're so opposed to it because when we started out there were emo bands all around and we stuck out as not being emo," complains Gerard. "What that translated to is that we couldn't get booked up for shows, no one would take us on tour with them apart from Christian metal bands. We didn't get any of the benefits of being an emo band, our influences didn't come from emo. We just became emo by default, because we became one of the biggest bands from that scene." He quickly corrects himself: "That we weren't even a part of."...

The other factor is the band and their fans frequently have faced rivalry from others like metal bands etc which has led to fights :

The other factor in My Chemical Romance's rise to mainstream stardom seems to have been their appearance at this year's Reading Festival. Plenty of artists have sealed their elevation to the big time via a triumphant summer festival appearance, but My Chemical Romance stole the show at Reading by the unlikely expedient of having bottles thrown at them by disgruntled fans of metal band Slayer, who preceded them on the bill. The Slayer fans were either provoked by My Chemical Romance's music, or Gerard Way's frenetic, mincing stage manner ("right from when we started," says Iero phlegmatically, "people have yelled 'fags' at us"), or the youth of their fanbase. Either way, the column inches most expected to go the Arctic Monkeys or Muse went their way. The hype was increased when fellow alt-rockers Kasabian and the Killers' Brandon Flowers dismissed them in terms your average 14-year-old is likely to find irresistible: the former called them "dark and weird", the latter "dangerous".

Mention of the Reading performance evokes mixed emotions. Iero claims he thought the incident "ruled", but still seems a bit angry - "we have more heart in one fuckin' bead of sweat than most of those people have in their entire bodies". Gerard Way seems positively delighted: "That was our greatest victory as a show," he smiles. "This band was always about facing adversity. We got bottled for being dangerous. We oppose everything that's conventional about rock'n'roll in this country, our home country, everywhere in the world. That weekend, kids were getting beat up in the audience, the guys on stage were getting beat up, and we got through it, just like the kids got through it."

This article covers the same ground:
New Emo Goth Danger?

The band’s young audience is a concern to know-nothing sorts who’ve been campaigning against the alleged persuasive nature of rock music for what feels like forever. Only recently, in August 2006, The Daily Mail ran an article warning parents of the ‘New Emo Goth Danger’ – those are exact words they used, and the piece can be read online here. One of only three bands mentioned in the piece – bands that apparently encourage behaviour such as self-harm – was My Chemical Romance. Gerard doesn’t know whether to laugh out loud or cry silently to himself.

---
"Papers like that will never do their homework, but it is kind of funny to call it ‘emo death cult’, or whatever it was called."

“The funny thing is that I’ve met more kids that have stopped self-harming because of us, than anything,” he says, his face masked with absolute seriousness. “That’s the case with most of the kids I meet, especially in the UK, so I guess it is some sort of epidemic. Most of the kids that I meet, that say thank you, are kids that used to self-harm. Kerrang! was involved, as one of their readers wrote in about it, and I ended up having a very personal discussion with this girl. I noticed she had all these cuts, and it really bummed me out, and I was hoping that she didn’t feel that she needed to do that in order to come to the show. And I ended up meeting the girl and her mother – the mother had written a letter to Kerrang! – and she said because of the band she’s now stopped doing that. Papers like that will never do their homework, but it is kind of funny to call it ‘emo death cult’, or whatever it was called. ‘New Emo Goth Danger’?”

Iero cackles: “Ha! I like that! That’s the title of the next album, New Emo Goth Danger!”

The matter raises a final point, though. My Chemical Romance are superstars nowadays, playing to thousands of kids – and we do mean kids – at each and every show they play. They must come in for a lot of stick from right-wingers who haven’t taken the time to realise that the band’s fantasy-horror lyrics are just that: fantasy. The music's immediate and the lyrics fun: there are no hidden messages calling for kids the world over to scratch their best friend's eyes out. Sure, the five-piece have posed for photo shoots covered in fake blood, playing-dead models lying at their feet, but that doesn’t make them a bad influence. They just like, as has already been mentioned, playing it up, theatrically.

“We live in a very sick bubble, made of concrete and bullet-proof casing,” says Gerard. “If you acknowledged all the ignorant stuff you heard, you’d never sleep, we’d never sleep. There’d be no time. I gotta say I’m not a fan of that Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back movie, but it has one of the best scenes I’ve ever seen. They literally go around to peoples’ houses that have talked shit about them on the internet and give it back to them. It’s the coolest thing in the world.”

The Tragic Suicide of Nicola Raphael - bullied to death for being a goth

September 10, 1985- June 24, 2001

A case which attracted a lot of media attention especially in the Scottish press back in 2001 was the tragic suicide of Nicola Raphael a 15 year old who endured constant bullying simply because she dressed in black. This ties into the recent reports on the square in Glasgow which was Nicola's favourite hangout [Glasgow - Alternative teens banned from public place]. In many ways the suicide could be read as a grim warning of the strength of hatred that was to lead to Sophie Lancaster’s death. There is bright spot in the tragedy of Nicola’s death in that her organs later helped save lives:

Nicola's frozen heart saves toddler-three years after her suicide Teenager who was bullied to her death gives the gift of life to a little boy after her organ is defrosted for a remarkable transplant operation
Mail on Sunday; 10/17/2004; “Surgeons carried out the remarkable operation last week after the heart was 'defrosted'. The organ came from schoolgirl Nicola Raphael, 16, who committed suicide in 2001 after being bullied for wearing Goth makeup”

The extent of the bullying is all discussed in an article from 2006:

EXCLUSIVE: MY NICOLA'S DEATH SAVED JACK'S LIFE - Mirror.co.uk 20/03/2006

But Nicola had endured months of vicious bullying by a gang of 30 teenagers, known as "the Neds". They threw stones, cans, water bombs and food at Nicola simply because she dressed differently to them. "She dressed as a goth, wore dark eye make-up and a long black coat, but was a neat, clean girl, " says Rona. Then one day Nicola arrived home with bruises."She told me 'I'm sick of it, Mum, ' she told me, " says Rona."Her shoulders were bruised after stones were thrown at her. I went to see her headmaster, but nothing changed.

"The bullies called her names like 'zombie', 'walking dead' and 'witch', ".

"I offered to take her out of school, but she refused to let them win. She seemed to be resolute about coping." But Nicola, who gained top grades in her GCSE mocks, seemed happy at home and was looking forward to the summer holidays.

Then one Friday night Nicola hit a new low."Her brother was home from university and we sat chatting, " remembers Rona. "When we went to bed, she said: 'Mum, I'm out of eyeliner, could you get me some?' They were her last words to me.

This important and detailed article in the Scottish Sunday Herald covers the incident and reveals the extent of harassment teen goths in glasgow were undergoing at the time:

Suddenly they're everywhere. Their black clothes and purple lipstick

Sunday Herald, The, Jul 1, 2001 by Alan Crawford

"They think we worship Satan, just because of the way we dress," says Gill Cairns, a 16-year-old who lives in Clarkston in Glasgow. The first thing you notice about Gill is her lips, smeared in dark purple lipstick. She has a stud in her tongue to match the one in her nose and is wearing a black hooded top over a pair of baggy jeans.

"Everyone seems to think we're wrong or evil, but we all do really well in our classes. We're the ones that work in school. None of us wants to fight, but we all feel intimidated all the time. We just keep ourselves to ourselves. We never say, 'Look at you, you're wearing trainers.'"

Gill is standing outside the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow's Royal Exchange Square with around 150 friends and acquaintances, all dressed in punk, goth or "mosher" style. Black is the colour of choice. Feelings at their favoured meeting place are running high today; many of those present have just returned from the funeral of their friend, Nicola Raphael, who was buried in her home town of Kirkintilloch after taking her own life. She was 15.

Scores of teenagers joined the funeral cortege; some wearing black make-up and hooded tops, others in dark trenchcoats and with long chains dangling from their waists. Heavy clouds raced over the Campsie Hills as the youths followed the hearse on its painful way the few hundred yards from St Columba's Parish Church to the cemetery. With the coffin was a message from the girl's mother, Rona, which read: "To my wonderful daughter Nicola. Give 'em hell!!!!"
Like her school friends, and in common with hundreds of teenagers all over Scotland, Nicola liked to wear clothes and make-up that made her stand out from the crowd. Goth, mosher, punk, whatever; Nicola's friends say she was bullied at school and in the street, simply because of the clothes she wore. Just two days before her death she and her school friends had to be escorted from their school, Lenzie Academy, because of intimidation from other youths.

"There were neds bringing stones in and throwing them at us because of the way we dress," said one 15-year-old school friend. "That's when it got really bad."

Another girl, also 15, added: "We went to the head teacher [at Lenzie Academy], and he basically said it was our own fault because of the way we dressed. We went to him again and his solution was just to stay away from them. They weren't reprimanded at all."

These problems led to fears of a major riot in August 2001 as reported in the Herald in July.

THE teenage fans of Eminem and Marilyn Manson are being secretly spied on by undercover police intelligence officers who fear violence at next month's Gig on the Green concert in Glasgow.

They believe that fans of controversial rapper Eminem could round on so-called "goth" or "mosher" fans of Marilyn Manson, as both acts are on the bill for the Glasgow concert on August 25. The police action follows the suicide of 15-year-old Lenzie schoolgirl Nicola Raphael, who took her own life after being bullied for dressing like a goth. Many of her friends have reported being attacked in the street by what they call "ned" gangs simply for dressing in black clothes and wearing dark make-up....

Officers in charge of the gang surveillance operation said: "Manson's fans will inevitably be the target of the much more streetwise fans of Eminem. There is seldom any problem with goth fans, as they tend to be quite well educated and well spoken."

Police say they will be staging one of their biggest security operations ever during the event. More than 200 officers will be drafted in for crowd control, backed up by an underwater unit, mounted police and a helicopter team.

In the event there was no trouble and Manson himself dedicated a song to Nicola and discussed her death on stage: Marilyn Manson comforts a grieving mom... [More on that here: SeemsLikeSalvation News.]

Interesting to note that Sophie Lancaster was a massive Manson fan and one of his songs played at her funeral just as it was hopped to play one at Nicola’s funeral. The significant thing is the police operation indicates that they were well aware of the grim reality that goth/metalers faced harassment and violence in 2001. Nothing has changed.