Thursday, May 1, 2008

More Sophie News

Funds in memory of Sophie
Lancashire Telegraph,

Sophie's family and friends vow to carry on campaign
Lancashire Telegraph,

Gordon Brown on youth crime and Sophie:
TOUGH ON YOBS? IT'S JUST MORE 'SPIN' FROM BROWN
UK Express,

Community policing is working - PM
10 Downing Street (press release), UK - Apr 29, 2008

Goth death mother in respect plea
BBC News, UK - Apr 29, 2008

Interesting article on Bacup in aftermath.

Bacup 'is the same as any town'
This Is Lancashire, UK - Apr 29, 2008

article on those outside courtroom.
Sophie's friends and family react to sentencing
Lancashire Telegraph, UK - Apr 29, 2008

US teen tries to stop labelling

Student campaigns against labeling others
Pocono Record, PA - 27 Apr 2008

STROUDSBURG — Most know the saying about sticks and stones doing more physical damage than words.
For Stroudsburg Middle School seventh-grader MacKenzie Kern and others her age, words, particularly labels, can harm the emotionally vulnerable.

Someone wearing black clothes and dressing in dark makeup is a "goth." Someone wearing brand name clothes such as American Eagle or Aeropostale is a "prep." Someone wearing bright, flamboyant colors is a "scene."
And then there are the "skaters," who ride skateboards, the "jocks," or athletes, the "nerds" and the "emos," or emotionally troubled, says Kern, 13.
"You're stereotyping people just because they dress, act or look a certain way or listen to certain kinds of music," says Kern, who has been called a "hippie" for wearing clothes such as a T-shirt with a peace symbol on the front. "People have labeled me and I've labeled others, which is something I'm not proud of."
That's why Kern has taken a stand against "labelism" and is trying to convince others her age to do the same.
Every day since March 27, she has worn a white belt around her waist in school and out in public. From one end of that belt to the other are signatures, almost all of which have been put there by children ages 12 to 16 who support her stance.
"I feel it's important to focus mainly on kids in my age group," she says. "If this generation of kids can set an example by stopping labelism, then maybe future generations can do the same. So far, I have only one signature from an adult, a teacher who told me she believes in what I'm doing and said she's glad I'm doing it."
At one point, Kern had 105 signatures on her belt. But for each person who agrees with ending labelism, there's one or more who say Kern is wasting her time.
"I've had both students and teachers tell me I'll never really change anything because most people will go on labeling," she says. "I've even had students who signed my belt tell me they want their signatures removed because they changed their minds. So, I scrubbed off five signatures, which took me back down to 100."
But that won't stop Kern from trying to raise awareness among others her age.
"There are kids who know labelism is wrong, but don't speak out because they're too afraid of not fitting in," she says. "You don't know what kind of pain some kids might be going through in life and then to be labeled on top of that. No one should be made to feel like they're not as good as anyone else just because other people think they fall into a category."
Susanne Kern feels proud when seeing her daughter stand up for something she strongly believes in.
"I doubt I would have had the courage to do what she's doing when I was her age," Susanne Kern says. "I tell her to keep it up if she feels this passionately about it and don't let anyone discourage her."
Stroudsburg Middle School principal Karen Thomson agrees.
"MacKenzie is ahead of her time," Thomson says. "She realizes a social issue that has plagued teenagers for generations. Kids at this age are trying to figure out their identities.
"Many people think it's human nature to divide ourselves into categories, but labeling is dysfunctional behavior," Thomson says. "MacKenzie is sending out a good message. And she's doing it without causing any disruption in school."

Some problems with the Micro school movement in Oregan.

Small schools aren't pleasing everyone
Mail Tribune, OR

Other schools such as Eagle Point and Lebanon have pulled out of the grant program for similar reasons.
"I think we are really focusing on the dropout kids," Mullaney said. "I think we need to do that but not at the expense of everyone else."
Some Crater students complained that small schools have resulted in an adversarial relationship between students and gang-like behavior based on school identity, with some fights breaking out based on their school allegiance. Students have assigned certain stereotypes to each school, further fragmenting the student body.
Health school freshman Kyle Haviland summed it up this way: The "preps" go to School 1 (health). The "geeks" and "jocks" attend School 2 (business). The "hicks" go to School 3 (natural resources), and the "emos" (punk rockers) are in School 4 (arts).
"Some kids will say, 'Get out of here; you're an emo,'" said arts school freshman Katie Jones.The hostility between students in some of the schools prompted a group of seniors to launch a "Hate Kills" campaign, plastering the campus with messages to encourage acceptance of others.
Despite the division, both Kyle and Katie said the theme-based courses do make classes more interesting and easier to understand.

Gangs in Australian schools

This article really shows how subcutural clashes are causing trouble in Australia.

Gang culture rife in schools

Article from: The Sunday Mail (Qld)

By Paul Weston

April 27, 2008 12:00am

SECONDARY students are dividing themselves up in Queensland school grounds into groups called Plastics, Gangstas, Goths and Emos, pupils say.

Anyone who refuses to join are labelled nerds – or, worse, become nothings or rank outsiders to be bullied or, in extreme cases, bashed and have their home invaded.

An 18-year-old former Gold Coast secondary school student, who has survived two bashings and a home invasion, told The Sunday Mail last week that the school gang culture was on the rise and a direct import from American campuses.

The former student, parents of bullying victims and psychologists pinpointed several reasons for the bully/bash revolution. They included:

• The negative influence of some American films and rap music.

• The internet, which provides plenty of opportunity for cyberspace bullying.

• The failure of working parents to police some sort of moral code for their children.

"The Americanisation in our schools is really bad," the 18-year-old former student leader said.

"Kids even talk in American accents, use their phrases. I've got a friend who has arrived from overseas and she has never seen anything like it. At school, everyone is broken up into different groups like you see in those US movies like American Pie. There's Plastics, the Gangstas, Emos and Goths."

The groups are large and easy to identify from their fashion accessories and their arrogant attitudes, but only one – the Gangstas – presents a violent threat.

"The Plastics pack on the make-up. Their hair is really hacked at, they work on it so much," the former student said.

"They change their uniforms to make their shirts tighter and their dresses shorter. The guys love them, but they're called Plastics because they're so false."

The female schoolgirl obsession with good looks surfaced last week at St Patrick's College in Mackay, where students had ranked themselves from 1 to 21 – they write the number on their wrists – as part of Club 21 or Big 21.

Gothics are identified by their dark clothing and heavy-metal taste in music, and Emos (from "emotion") by being sensitive, introverted types obsessed with depressing rock bands.

But it is the group stealing the US gangsta-style culture, with its love of violent rap music, which students fear the most.

A gang of suburban teenagers armed with bats, machetes and a sword stormed a school assembly at Sydney's Merrylands High School early this month injuring 18 students and a teacher.

Queensland students told The Sunday Mail they were aware of similar gang members carrying pocket knives around secondary schools in southeast Queensland. "They all have baggy clothing, they're all bling, they have the hats with the stiff shades worn backwards and the pants around their knees showing their undies," the 18-year-old said.

"They carry boom boxes (sound systems) around the school. The Gangstas are the ones you worry about. They need to be so cruel all the time."

A parent who has a 16-year-old son at a southeast Queensland school, and an older daughter who recently graduated, has kept a diary of dozens of assaults on her children since 2003.

The concerned mother, who asked not be named for fear of reprisals against her children, described the gangs as "organised groups of thugs".

Some of them had been gang members since primary school as 10-year-olds, following the "career" of their drug-addicted parents by robbing homes before bashing students at secondary school, she said.

"There were six or seven of these students in Year 8 who surrounded my daughter. They punched and kicked her, rammed her into a brick wall. They picked her up and dumped her head-first into a garbage bin. She ended up with renal bleeding," the distressed mother said.

Police from the Juvenile Aid Bureau later cautioned the most violent bully but the other girls, including the ringleader who organised the bashing, escaped without punishment.

It took the school six months to get enough evidence to expel the female gang leader.

"These gang members single out the kids who are good kids, kids who don't want to smoke or drink," the mother said.

She recalls making many complaints to Education Queensland and school administrators, but after disciplinary action the gang would choose a more indirect form of bullying: "It becomes more covert and indirect. The student is usually defamed. This is through verbal abuse in the playground or through the internet."

The parent took notes of conversations. An education bureaucrat told her: "Your kids have to learn to swim in the mainstream. Society has changed. Get over it."

But the impact on her son, a Year 12 student with a promising sporting future, has been devastating and he recently took several weeks off school after receiving threatening emails.

When he considered returning to school this term, he sat down, in tears, and wrote a letter to his parents:

"I don't want to go back to (school name) because I have no friends.

"I get bullied by (group) and teased by (group). When they come out from the office seeing the principal . . . it's all back to bullying again.

"What do I need to happen for me to feel OK about (the school)? The two groups gone, that's what I need."

The concerned mother's diary also includes many entries recording that her children have woken up early in the morning after nightmares about being bullied at school.

She said many gang members roamed the streets as late as 10pm on school nights and appeared to have no parental supervision.

She believes a key reason for the violence in schools is that many of these non-academic children were forced to remain at school.

In previous decades, they would have left by Year 10 for a trade.

"These kids are like magnesium. These kids – they're white light. They're in your face immediately," she said.

"And they're sneaky. They make out they're OK when they go to your place, and then they go up to our local park and club the plover population to death."

Dr Marilyn Campbell, lecturer and psychologist with the School of Learning at the Queensland University of Technology, agrees there is a problem created by having the less academic children stay at school longer.

"I'd agree, and in some ways . . . we are keeping children as children longer," Dr Campbell said.

"We're prolonging their adolescence. You no longer go to work (full-time) at 12 years of age."

Dr Campbell makes two critical points in the gang debate, which provide some balance about the role of schools and parents in reducing the amount of bullying.

She explains that gangs of teenagers are not a new phenomenon, but the lack of parental supervision and advent of the internet and bullying in cyberspace is.

"The Mods, the Rockers and the Beatniks (in the 1950s) had a huge American influence. So I don't think it's an incredibly new phenomenon," she said.

"Young people have a seamless online and offline life (now). Bullying happens in both worlds.

"Any violence is a worry, whether it is imported or home-grown. But if you look at the five groups (including the nerds), only one-fifth of them identifies more with a violent culture and I would say only one-fifth of that group would practice violence."

Part of the solution would be to provide schools with more resources to handle troublemakers, and steer those bored students earlier into apprenticeships and trades.

But working parents could not expect schools, which have their children from 9am to 3pm, to be responsible for teaching them a moral code when their focus was on preparing their class for maths and English exams.

"High schools don't teach violence, but TV and the internet and their parents do.

"Schools aren't the ones to raise children. Parents are supposed to raise them," Dr Campbell said.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Murderers get life - Judge says it was a "Hate Crime"

The sentenancing can be summed up as follows.Brendan Harris and Ryan Herbert were both 15 at the time of the murder in Stubbylee Park, Bacup, on 11 August 2007. Harris was senteced to life with a tariff of 18 years and Herbert was sentenced to life with a tariff of 16 years.
Daniel Mallet, Joseph Hulme and Danny Hulme pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent on Mr Maltby. Mallett was jailed for four years and four months and the Hulme brothers to five years and 10 months each.

Plenty of news coverage:

Boys sentenced over Goth murder BBC News,
Sophie Lancaster's 'goth killers' receive life sentences NME.com,
'Feral thugs' jailed for murder of 'Goth' student Sophie Lancaster Times Online

The statement by the Judge is important:

Passing sentence Judge Anthony Russell QC said: "This was feral thuggery. It raises serious questions about the sort of society which exists in this country at the start of a new millennium which was heralded with such optimism. This was a terrible case which has shocked and outraged all who have heard about it. At least wild animals, when they hunt in packs, have a legitimate reason for so doing, to obtain food. You have none and your behaviour on that night degrades humanity itself."... Mr Maltby still bears physical and emotional scars from the attack...

Judge Russell said both victims were totally innocent, and described the goth community as "perfectly peaceful law-abiding people who pose no threat to anybody". He added: "The intolerance you displayed in this case is shocking evidence of the attitudes of some of our people. "I am satisfied having heard all the
evidence there was an intention by each of you to inflict severe pain and suffering.
"This was a hate crime against these completely harmless people targeted because their appearance was different to yours."
He described Sophie as a caring young woman who wrote poetry and read books and had charmed many people. "Her tragic fate has touched many hearts," he added.
Feral' teenagers jailed for murdering Goth Telegraph.co.uk

Meanwhile in a Crown Prosecution Service statement they say:

"The murder of Sophie Lancaster and the vicious attack on her boyfriend,
Robert Maltby, stand out for their utter pointlessness and sheer brutality.
Worse still, it seems very likely that the attack started as a form of amusement
for those involved.
"There is no doubt that Brendan Harris and Ryan Herbert
attacked Miss Lancaster and Mr Maltby simply because the couple were Goths and
dressed differently. We believe this is unacceptable and the prosecution made it
clear that Miss Lancaster and Mr Maltby were singled out not for anything they
said or did but because of their dress.

http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/pressreleases/131_08.html

Manwhile in Whitby the bench was officialy opened with a massive crowd:

A CROWD of more than 500 people gathered on the West Cliff on Saturday, together with the heartbroken mother of murdered goth Sophie Lancaster, to celebrate her life... Sophie's mum Sylvia told the Whitby Gazette she was amazed at the sheer
number of people who attended the weekend's ceremony led by Ade Varney, a goth
who is campaigning to include offences against people based on their appearance
or subcultural interests in the definition of hate crime.She told the Whitby
Gazette: "I was just amazed."It was just wonderful really."So many people had
taken that time out to come and remember. I didn't really expect that."The
support has been amazing and not just from this country but worldwide."Ade
Varney led the service."He read a poem and talked about what went on and talked
about the campaign."Mrs Lancaster said Whitby Gothic Weekend is a lesson for how
people should treat each other."Sophie was always very interested in Whitby from
a young age."She used to read Graham Taylor's books."You can just be yourself
and that's what it's about."We went to the goth ball on Saturday night and
people actually didn't know who I was."We went dead straight. They were just
brilliant with us. We chatted and all the rest of it."It would be wonderful if
that atmosphere could be spread. There's no reason why it can't."What we are
trying to do with the S.O.P.H.I.E campaign is to raise awareness in young people
to treat people with respect."It's about what you are. It's not what you look
like, it doesn't mean anything."Hopefully we are going to highlight specific
differences and show young people are all the same under their skin."Mrs
Lancaster said she plans to return to Whitby for the next gothic weekend with
her husband John in October.As Sophie's killers were due to be sentenced she
said whatever sentence they get it will never be enough.The plaque on the bench
reads: "In memory of Sophie Lancaster 26th November 1986 – 24th August 2007 – an angel too soon." Mum pays tribute to Sophie Lancaster after Whitby Goth Weekend Whitby Today, 29 April 2008

In Basingstoke a Sophi festival gets a good review:
REVIEW: SOPHIE weekender at The Great Western this is hampshire.net

And in Newcastle another gig:
PROG rock band STRANGERS IN POLAROIDS will be at the Head of Steam ...ChronicleLive, UK - 23 Apr 2008

Two major papers focus on SOPHIE

Been away. So back with lots to note. Important coverage in two leading broadsheets:

Goths' blackest day
guardian.co.uk, UK - 25 Apr 2008

On the social networking site Bebo, there's a group called grungers-should-die,
which sets out its mission statement as follows: "Join this band if u think
grungers / goth should die ... tell us some story about u bashing some
grungers."
On the comment wall, a girl has obliged: "fuckin bashed a grunger
the uva day innit."
Over on Myspace, there is a profile for a group called
SOPHIE, illustrated with a photograph of a smiling young woman with dreadlocks
and facial piercings, wearing a vest with a skeleton on it.
She is Sophie
Lancaster, the 20-year-old beaten to death by two teenage boys in a park in
Lancashire last summer. Sophie died because of the way she looked. She was
killed trying to protect her boyfriend, Robert Maltby, who had already been
knocked unconscious by the boys.
She wasn't into labels, but others described
her as a goth, or a grunger. The girl who called 999 about the attack said the
couple were "bashed" for being "moshers". The site is a memorial to her short
life, and aims "to work towards a more tolerant, less violent society"....

They visit the WndyHouse in Leeds and intrview loads of people including Sophie's mum and the famous Goth Bus couple.

Manwhile at The Times Richard Morrison's article advises donaing to SOPHIE:
Whitby Gothic Weekend is a lesson in British tolerance
Times Online, UK - 25 Apr 2008

They are an endearing bunch. In spite of their strenuous efforts to project
themselves as Satanic ghouls, corpse-botherers and insatiable transsexual
deviants, it's quite clear that none would harm a fly. Indeed, one main function
of Whitby Gothic Weekend is to be a confidence-boosting tribal gathering for
people who are often targets of abuse or worse in their own towns.
That
mutual support is needed, after the murder last year of Sophie Lancaster. She
was the 20-year-old kicked to death by teenagers when she came to the aid of her
boyfriend, who was being beaten up. The thugs, it seems, picked on them just
because they were dressed as Goths. By all accounts Sophie was a caring girl who
simply wanted to express her individuality by dressing the way she did - a
quintessential Goth, in other words. Unfortunately she ran into a different sort
of tribe: a gang of feral youths, bereft of morality or conscience, who
inflicted violence for fun - and whose supporters sniggered at the dead girl's
mother in the subsequent court proceedings.
So in Whitby at 11.30am today,
as the centrepiece of Gothic Weekend, a memorial bench will be dedicated to
Sophie, who attended several Whitby gatherings. Donations from Goths have paid
for it. But I'd like to commend a separate fund, set up by her family and
friends. Called SOPHIE, meaning Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred and Intolerance
Everywhere, it will use donations to further those laudable aims. See
www.myspace.com/inmemoryofsophie for details.
We talk a lot, usually
disapprovingly, about “tribal mentality”. But after 50,000 years it's probably
too deeply ingrained in the human psyche to be erased. Instead, we should be
encouraging young people to gravitate to tribes that bring joy to themselves
without harming or antagonising others. The Whitby Gothic Weekend is the epitome
of that. The Goths have fun and supply a bizarre three-day fashion parade, the
townsfolk smile benignly, and the pubs do a roaring trade. That's Britain at its
tolerant best.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Gig in memory of murder victim

This gig in Sophie's memory got mentioned in the press:
Gig in memory of murder victim
The Star, UK - 21 Apr 2008

Friday, April 18, 2008

Home Office reply to petition / Canadian police recognise the problem

The reply:

You have signed an e-petition suggesting that the definition of 'hate crime' be widened to include crimes committed on the basis of a person's appearance or interests.
The Government's current definition of 'hate crime' is as follows:
A 'hate incident' is any incident which is perceived by the victim or any other person as being motivated by hate or prejudice.
A 'hate crime' is any incident which contributes to a criminal offence, perceived by the victim or any other person as being motivated by prejudice or hate.
Within this broad definition, legislation focuses on hate crimes on the basis of race, faith, sexual orientation, disability and gender identity - and it is these categories which are currently monitored. We do not plan to extend this to include hatred against people on the basis of their appearance or sub-cultural interests. These are not intrinsic characteristics of a person and could be potentially be very wide ranging, including for example allegiance to football teams - which makes this a very difficult category to legislate for. However, it is important to remember that this is within a legal framework that assumes that all violence is a very serious matter; and in addition, judges have discretion to look at a wide range of mitigating and aggravating factors when they are sentencing - and are likely to view attacks motivated by hatred of this kind as very serious indeed.

Th SOPHIE campaign has replied:

Sophies myspace page have posted the following:

Many of you will have had an email today telling you that the hate crime extension petition has failed.

We are not surprised by this and we have further work to do with politicians, but not until after the sentencing on the 28th April

We would like to thank Ade Varney who wrote this petition for his work over the last few months. He did so even though he did not know Sophie or Rob. he did it because like so many of us, he'd had enough.

Please bear with us while the sentencing has happened and then we will produce a letter you can download to send to your MP (In the UK) and other nations representatives.

thank you to all who were able to sign it, there is more to do to make sure what happened to Sophie does not happen again

Kate

Of course religion is not an "intrinsic characteristic" either but the fact is despite the difficulty in framing a definition as this blog shows subcultural violence does happen. If you are competent you do something about it. Hopefully the SOPHIE campaigns efforts will inspire further action.

You can read about varney's ideas and motivations here:
On Hate Crime, by Ade Varney11 Apr 2008

In Canada the police are addressing the potential problem of subcultural conflict via hate crime units directed against homophobia and they are worried by the Mexican example:

All of which emphasizes the need for programs like the Toronto police force’s new campaign to encourage youth to report incidents of homophobic violence. The education- and awareness-based program is in development, pending approval from the Toronto District School Board.

Obviously, “emo” and “queer” aren’t synonymous, but Constable Tom Decker, who heads up the new campaign, thinks it could be a precautionary step in helping Toronto avoid copycat attacks.
“There’s not a single root cause for homophobia and transphobia, but it stems from heterosexism and sexism in general,” he insists. “The less a person conforms to sexist standards, the more he will be grouped into a homosexual camp.”

Decker says kids on the non-normative side of the spectrum are reluctant to report bullying episodes for fear of being victimized again. “Society has also taught these kids that this is just what everyone does, that bullying happens, so they become complacent and feel as though they just have to accept it.” No emo = no homo?
Eye Weekly, Canada - 9 Apr 2008

The connection between homophobia and subcultural attacks seems self apparent in the riots in Mexico and in other assaults. And it is no wonder they are worried there because in Canada like elsewhere in the world violence motivated by subcultural differences is not unknown as actual police officers are well aware:

Threats of violence keep high school students home
Guelph Mercury, Canada - April 17th

In December, there was a threat of a fight between two rival subcultures, the "jocks" and the "emos" (often described as a shier, artistic group). ..

"It's more of an annoyance than anything," said Luc Gill, a 17-year-old student, adding it's a bother to have a teacher escort for a washroom break. Gill suspects the bomb threats are being made by a group of individuals wanting more days off school. He shrugged off the threats, adding there hasn't been anything substantial to it so far.
"We have lots of violence at our school; we get used to it," he said, explaining there are always several fights after school and away from school property.
McFadzen said it's unknown whether the last two threats are connected to the first warning of a fight between the two rival groups. The OPP is investigating the incidents.
When the fight between the jocks and the emos was to happen in December, school officials brought both groups together in a restorative justice circle and the volatile situation at the school appeared to have been defused. McFadzen said the last two threats didn't refer to the two groups and instead directed the threat at the school.

Though the showdown never happened the move towards confrontation was a result of escalating clashes between the two groups in the school with name calling and individual fights. Taking preventative measures was sensible. Schools and local authorities need to be aware whether these differences are "intrinsic" or not they lead to abuse and violence.

(Some similarities to this earlier story:

Emo Jock clash at Priest River Lamanna High school )

Emo problems in Peru and Mexico

Peru: Understanding the Emo Youth in Lima

And they are defenseless because a friend told me that he had seen many of them beaten by gangs and by punks that hang out around the Spanish Cultural Center for their appearance.

In Peru misunderstandings abound and the media hit a new low using "fake" emos in a tv programme:

About a month ago, on the local television program Close Enemies, there was a program dedicated to emos, which ridiculed and treated them poorly. The blog Descarga Directa [es] published a video, which showed part of the program, on his post “Emos on the television: Noooo!! [es]” However, what had added to the controversy was the discovery that part of the program was made with emos especially created for the occasion. This is what El Blog de Cayo [es] said on his post “False Panelists… False Emos [es]“:

Once again evidence of how this is a worldwide problem.

MTV continue their examination of Emo attacks with some interesting research. Glad to see there are some true punks in Mexico.:

Behind The Emo Attacks: We Head To Mexico City
MTV.com

So why does the threat of violence persist? And why are these different classes of kids — punks, goths, metalheads and emos — at war with one another? Well, according to Josh Kun, a professor at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Communications and the author of "Audiotopia: Music, Race and America" (which had a chapter dedicated to Mexican rock), the issue at the heart of all this is one of identity. In very simple terms, Mexican youth cling to the essence of what it means to be a punk or a metalhead — and they will fight to the bitter end to protect that identity from any and all infringement.
"In Mexico, rock culture has always been this super outlawed thing. ... Kids there attach themselves to a countercultural movement because it's about survival — it's an intensity we're not used to here in the States," he said. "In the '60s, rock was outlawed — you would be arrested if you were playing rock music in public, and your hair would be cut by the cops — and so there's always been this aura of it being 'rebel' music, and kids are drawn to that. To extremes.
"Punk has not been commoditized and mainstreamed to the extent it has here in the U.S., where something like 'emo' is in it's third or fourth wave, and there's nothing particularly 'alternative' about it," Kun continued. "In Mexico, it's still an underground identity, and it's taken to extremes. ... It's really striking how overly sexualized it is. Emo kids are so-called 'emo-sexuals' and punks are super-macho and straight. So when they fight, it's about identities."
And despite the rather glum predictions of those in the scene, Kun says there are already signs that emo kids are beginning to be accepted. He points to an instance in Tijuana, one of the sites of the original violence, where rather than attack emos, punkeros decided to embrace them, because it was the punk-rock thing to do.
"Basically, the punk leaders there came together and told all the other punks that violence was not the 'punk' thing to do," he explained. "They said that if you were a true punk, you'd learn to accept the emo kids, because they're different just like we are."

More Sophie Tributes - Basingstoke and Bacup

Sophie Flyer

Sophie Lancaster charity gig

11 Apr 2008
Rock fans in Basingstoke have come together to arrange a show to raise money for the charity set up by the family of murdered teen Sophie Lancaster: Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred + Intolerance Everywhere. Details are as follows: Hosted ...

Bowls tournament in Sophie's memory
A MAJOR bowls competition will be held in the park where Sophie Lancaster was murdered in a bid to raise funds in her memory.

And he has had permission from Sophie’s mum Sylvia Lancaster and family friend Kate Conboy-Greenwood to hold the event on 10 August, the eve of the anniversary of the horrific incident, in which Sophie’s boyfriend Robert Maltby was also kicked and beaten about the head.

Chris, 44, from Weir, said: ‘I have written to 32 bowlers locally and 32 people from elsewhere in Yorkshire, Wigan and the Greater Manchester area.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

West Memphis Three

Th case is back in court this detailed article focuses on the appeal:

Unfortunately, the key events in the WM3 case have unfolded within a community that had little trouble in believing that Satan is real and at work in the world, and that the three children were killed in a ritual sacrifice to the Devil. That, in essence, was the prosecution case – though the state prosecutors never did risk putting Satan on the witness stand, for cross-examination.
Echols in particular, became a target. He wore a black trench coat even in warm weather, rented books on paganism from the local library, listened to Metallica and other heavy metal bands, and wrote doomy, melodramatic poetry. Echols had received treatment for depression, and been briefly hospitalized. At 19, he also exuded an air of bored teenage defiance that did him no favours in the courtroom. Taken together, that was about all it took to make Echols a prime suspect – and from there, it proved a fairly short journey to death row.

Breakthrough for the West Memphis Three
Scoop.co.nz, New Zealand -Apr 13, 2008

MCR denounce attacks in Mexico

When My Chemical Romance took the stage in Mexico City (this past Saturday at Zero Fest), Gerard Way spoke to the crowd:

“I want to say something today before we continue. Recently we’ve been hearing a lot of stuff about some violence here in your country having to do with kids who want to wear black t-shirts…or some kind of bulls— stuff like that. We don’t want to see any f—ing violence! We came here for one reason, and that’s to be at the f—ing rock show!”

My Chemical Romance Speak Out Against Anti-Emo Violence
MTV.com

My Chemical Romance have consitantly promoted an an anti-self harm and anti suicide message. Of course there is a massive debate whether their music is emo or not, the band and many of their fans deny it, but we cannot really go into that here.

More reports provide some interesting background:

Subculture clash among Mexico youth
USA Today - Apr 14, 2008
But in other parts of Mexico, a spate of attacks by punks and other groups on the emos has thrown a spotlight on the rapid growth of these "urban tribes"

In Mexico, emo music fans face many who hate them to the core
Chicago Tribune, United States - Apr 14, 2008
Whatever the case, the dramatic dress style of urban music followers known as "emos" has struck a nerve in Mexico's macho society.

This following report highlights something we have talked about often not noted elsewhere :

Although nothing of this magnitude has been reported in North Dakota or the United States, there is evidence of disliking for the people that are known as "emos." On the MTV news Web site alone, there are several comments on the article threatening "emos" in America with an 800-person riot of their own.

Beyond the comments about the article, propaganda featuring anti-emo messages and imagery can be found on any popular Web site including YouTube and Facebook. Almost anyone can gain access to examples of anti-emo images from videos of "emo" kids being assaulted to a popular Facebook bumper sticker featuring Adolph Hitler sporting a thick earring, eye-liner, and hair covering one eye and the words "the original emo kid."

Although the intention of some of these images is for comedic purpose, but when a violent tone begins to surround a group of people it is anything but funny. One can't help but blame the origin of such hatred, which could possibly be the hardly comical videos and photos so popularly displayed on the internet.

Discrimination: Let's see how far we've come
UND The Dakota Student, ND

At the end of the day no-one has died in Mexico yet so its a bit hypocritical of people elsewhere not to bear that in mind when they criticis Mexican society specially if they are just over the border. But then it looks like Brian Denke who died in 1997 in Texas is forgotten by the popular press.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Latest anti-Emo news

'Emo,' goth subcultures thriving in Mexico
Arizona Republic, AZ
This article focuss on class issues. Lots of comments mostly anti-Mexican and Anti-Emo.

Good article which points out the violence is ongoing and explores earlier conflicts:

Although the Mexican public has been taken aback by the violence against Emo fans, Adam Gonzalez, a hardcore promoter in the Valley, said that conflicts between genres are common. Music used to have clear divisions, he said. But now music is melding together, pulling influences from different genres.

Hardcore is mixing with emo. There are hardcore bands with metal influence. And as genre's mix, fans mix too.

"There could be a hardcore that ends up going to a metal show," he said. "We end up going and it's different styles of music, different styles of thinking. Of course it's going to clash."

In the RGV, where there has always been a strong metal following, conflicts arose as hardcore tried to establish itself. "There were a couple of fights," he said. But in the past few years hardcore has found its niche the conflicts have subsided.

Why Mexico wants emo dead
Monitor, TX - 11 Apr 2008

Meanwhile this article reveals some authorities in Mexico want Emos removed from public spaces. Sounds familar.

MEXICO: "Emos" Under Attack
By Diego Cevallos

MEXICO CITY, Apr 8 (IPS) - "We are a komplex organisation, kapable of eliminating EMOS in this world, if you want to kontact us, our email is (…)" On-line messages like this one have been fanning a wave of intolerance against one of the lesser-known young counterculture groups in Mexico.

Over the past month, Mexico has seen several incidents of anti-emo bashings and harassment by members of other subcultures like metal heads, skaters, punks and Goths, as well as ordinary working-class adolescents.

Emo (short for "emotional hardcore") describes a counterculture that has its roots in punk fashion and music, with touches of gothic subculture and styles.

A typical emo look involves shaggy hair dyed jet black (sometimes with brightly coloured highlights) that sweeps over the forehead and sometimes part of the face, horn-rimmed or other "nerd" glasses, and usually black clothing including tight pants, overly small vintage t-shirts, studded belts, converse tennis shoes, eyeliner and dark nail polish.

The emo subculture is typically associated with depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts, with emo kids celebrating teenage angst and generally drawn to pop-punk, hardcore punk and indie rock.

"Hello culeros (a derogatory Mexican term for gays), the Anti-Christ greets you….who are the emos, those abnormal asexual ones, the ones whose balls haven't dropped down, those fags who cry like girls…?" says the voice-over on a video posted on the YouTube video sharing site, which shows images of Mexican emos.

Although these different youth subcultures do not generally share interests and even detest each other’s fashions or music, in the past there has been little intolerance and clashes were rare.

But on Mar. 7, several emos were beaten by a huge crowd in a downtown public square in the central Mexican city of Querétaro, where emos hang out. The attackers chanted homophobic insults.

Youngsters describing themselves as "anti-emo" had previously circulated anonymous emails inviting people to "take back the square" from the emos, who they said were "gay" because they wear makeup and dress effeminately.

A week later, in Mexico City, emo demonstrators protesting the violence were the target of attacks, and the police had to intervene.

In the capital and other cities, the police have stepped up security in certain hang-out spots to protect emos, because the harassment and threatening email and Internet campaigns have continued.

The emos tend to come from a comfortable middle-class background and many attend private schools. Most of them are 15 or 16 years old.

By contrast, anthropologist Paulina Leipen told IPS, members of the other counterculture groups like metal heads and punks are often kids from poor barrios who have come together seeking mutual protection and a shared sense of identity and belonging.

"The recent expressions of intolerance are a sign of the increasing breakdown of the social fabric and growing marginalisation, which is why attention from the state is needed," said Leipen, who works with street children.

The anthropologist said that like other so-called "urban tribes", the emo subculture has spilled over into Mexico from the United States and Europe.

A few of the bands popular among emos today are My Chemical Romance -- whose debut album, released in 2002, was "I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love" -- Fall Out Boy, Escape the Fate, Paramore, Glassjaw, The Used and Funeral For a Friend.

"Emos describe themselves as melancholic and searching for solitude. But I see it as more of a fad, and in that sense it shouldn't be surprising that the group is also full of contented people," said Leipen.

Fausto Pretelín, a researcher of social issues at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico, said "the ornaments of unhappiness form part of the emo aesthetic, which is complemented with styles and other elements that give them a Hollywood special effects look."

There are no reliable estimates of the number of emos in Mexico. But like other subcultures, the group is a minority, and many people were not even aware of its existence until video footage of the early March beating of three skinny emo kids in Querétaro was broadcast on TV newcasts.

Officials in different cities have called for tolerance, and have even organised meetings between different social tribes in an attempt to combat the wave of hatred

But some officials have taken a different stance. Mayor Gerardo Hernández in Celeya, a city in the state of Guanajuato, said emos should be removed from downtown public squares.

"We wouldn't want them to be in the city centre," said Hernández, who belongs to the conservative governing National Action Party (PAN). "They hurt our image and set a bad example. They should congregate elsewhere, where they don't hurt the city’s image."

The governmental National Council for the Prevention of Discrimination called for an investigation of intolerant statements and measures by officials, and an in-depth probe into the origins of the anti-emo threats.

The chairman of the Council, Gilberto Rincón, said that "a small, eccentric, easily identifiable group is an easy target of stigmatisation and discrimination," and urged the authorities and society as a whole to show tolerance and take legal action when necessary and appropriate. (END/2008)

Of course in the UK we shouldn't fel too smug. Look at this comment in the paper on Leeds corn Exchange which as we pointed out earlier was recreated to deliberately exclude emos, goths etc.

Everyone's got an opinion on the transformation of the Corn Exchange into a food emporium.

When I popped in the other day it seemed most of the dozen or so people in there were gazing wistfully at the rows of empty units as if imagining how it used to be.

As I stood there I overheard a man explain to his companion that the shopping centre had suffered because of youths hanging around outside. He was referring to the Emo kids – easily confused with Goths as they all dress in black and live by the rule that you can never wear too much black eyeliner.

So I almost fell over laughing when he added: "Yeah, you know the sort – those emu kids"!

"Emu" kids really would have got the security team in a flap.

Help! I think I'm turning into Cat Woman
Yorkshire Evening Post, UK - 8 Apr 2008

Attack on 14 year old left her feeling suicidal

This is exactly why something must be done now. This girl's life has been turned into a living hell.

Attack has left me feeling suicidal
Glasgow Daily Record, UK

Apr 14 2008 Joan Burnie

Q - I AM a 14-year-old girl. I have a lot of problems in my life but most of them are based around one thing.

More than a year ago, I was attacked by a group of girls a few years older than me.

They only did it because I dress as a goth and have long red hair.

Before this happened my life was more or less perfect. Everything was going right.

But I have been extremely afraid to leave the house since. In fact, I don't leave my house unless I really have to or go to school.

I have also lost my best friend of nine years because I won't go out. I know it's my fault but after I got attacked, I was shattered and my confidence went down the drain.

I have also been depressed and thought about suicide. I still think about it but I would be too scared. My attitude has also changed towards my family.

I hate my father. I know it doesn't sound like much but the worst of it is losing my best friend. I am nothing without her.

The thing that would help me build my confidence back up most is probably a little help from my so-called "best friend", although she tries to bring me down all the time.

She slags me off for things she used to do herself. She's a real hypocrite. I am always left out of things. Worse, one minute we are all good friends, then she treats me badly.

Also, when my mother asked why I never go out I told her, then a few weeks later she asked again, so I gave her the same answer.

But this time she told me I was talking nonsense. I don't know what to do with my life and I am really scared. I don't see the point in me being here any more.

A I'M sorry about the attack. It must have been a terrifying experience. I'm not surprised it's had such a devastating affect.

I don't myself understand why Goths, who are about as mild a group of people as you could get, invite this level of hostility, especially from other teenagers.

It's a huge pity you didn't report it at the time. Even if they hadn't caught the culprits, you'd have been directed towards victim support. It's not too late.

Contact them on www.victimsupport.com. You haven't said why you hate your dad, so it's hard to tell you what to do about it and I'm sorry your mum has chosen to disbelieveyou were assaulted.

As for your friend, have you tried to explain why you're frightened to leave the house? If not, give her a chance to understand.

I think you also tell your guidance teacher about the assault, as well as the bullying.

Finally, next time you have these suicidal thoughts visit www.samaritans.org.uk and contact Breathing Space's helpline on 0800838587 between 6pm and 2am.

It's time you got the support you desperately need.

This reminds me of the suicide of another glasgow goth girl bullied to death Nichola Raphael in 2001.

Meanwhile in Wrexham guess what another skate park has been vandalised. Exactly the same sort of problem as seen in earlier cases of skate park vandalism that we have noted here before.

Yobs trash £250000 Flintshire skatepark
Wrexham Leader, UK - 8 Apr 2008

NME covers Sophie plus Whitby Memorial

We got mentioned in an excellent article in the NME which highlighted the problems.

Following the murder of Sophie Lancaster, NME focuses on the dangers associated with subcultures. From mods to MCR, what is the resolution behind this subjective abuse? Gavin Haynes investigates.

Whitby Memorial ceremony details:

Plus there are plans for a coach from Whitby to the sentencing at the trial. Or if you are near Preston you can go separately .

On Monday 28th April 2008 the Sophie Lancaster hearing reaches it's conclusion. The sentencing takes place of Ryan Herbert and Brendan Harris, found guilty of her murder.

The family have asked for support and the plan is to hold a silent vigil outside the court, no shouting, no placards or banners, just a silent gathering of alternative people, a dignified protest and a show of defiance and strength.

If anyone would like to be a part of this then a coach trip is being arranged, leaving Whitby in the morning, and then returning later that day in time for the evenings festivities. If you would like to be a part of this, please contact martin oldgoth via www.thirteen13.co.uk with your name and email contact so that we can gauge the numbers.

At this point in time we have no idea of cost, but it will be kept to a minimum. All you will need to do to secure your place is to visit the info stall before midnight on the saturday and pay your fare.

Car sharing is also encouraged, and anyone not going to Whitby but able to make it is also welcome

Article in the Sunday Times on public violence mentions Sophie:

Too scared to stop the violence
Times Online, UK - 12 Apr 2008

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Russia Mexico coverage

More on emos in Mexico:

Experts point to intolerance when violence against teens jumps ...
Houston Chronicle, United States 6 Apr 2008

Meanwhile in Russia violence flares when Anti fascist punks organise a demonstration about being targeted by neo Nazis (check out numerous earlier posts about Russian Neo Nazis):

Anti-Fascists Chased by Police

Friday, March 28, 2008

Sergey Chernov / The St. Petersburg Times

Anti-fascist protestors participating in an unsanctioned march along Nevsky Prospekt on Tuesday evening.

A large group of anti-Nazi youth activists walked down Nevsky Prospekt, St. Petersburg’s main street, in an unsanctioned march protesting neo-Nazi violence in memory of a murdered activist this week. Twenty six were detained by the police soon afterwards.

More than 150 young men and women belonging to unaffiliated the Antifa (militant “anti-fascism”) movement, most with faces covered with scarves and carrying flares and banners, marched 1.5 kilometers from Alexander Nevsky Ploshchad to Ploshchad Vosstaniya during a heavy snowstorm at around 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

The protesters carried two large red banners reading “Make Nazism History” and “Trash Nationalism” and chanted slogans, such as “Antifa,” “Go into the Street and Take the City Back,” “The World is Multi-Colored, Not Brown” and “No to Nazis of Any Kind — from the Street to the Authorities.”

The march was held to mark nine days since the death of Alexei Krylov, a 21-year-old anti-Nazi activist who was stabbed to death by an estimated 15 neo-Nazis on March 16 as he was heading to a punk concert near the club Art Garbage in Moscow.

It was reported that the attack was planned using a website for fans of the Moscow Premier League soccer team Spartak. Three days later an anti-Nazi march that reportedly drew 300 activists was held in the center of Moscow.

Anti-Nazi activist and punk musician Timur Kacharava, 20, was killed in a similar attack in St. Petersburg in November 2005.

In St. Petersburg, the marchers distributed leaflets about Krylov’s murder and asking for financial help for his mother and two younger sisters. Another leaflet described the ideology of “Autonomous Antifascism” and called for street-level resistance against neo-Nazism.

“Antifascists went down to the demonstration to state that they are not going to tolerate neo-Nazi violence, which has become an acute problem in Russia. Reports about attacks on foreign students and killings of migrants have ceased to shock anyone. They have become routine,” said the Antifa group in a statement on website www.piter.indymedia.ru.

“Attacks are also committed on representatives of countercultural youths who try to resist neo-Nazis. Over the past 2 1/2 years, five anti-fascists from different cities were killed for their convictions, St. Petersburg musician Timur Kacharava among them.

“The whole history of the anti-fascist movement shows that it can only be a success if it uses all available tactics of resistance (not excluding direct physical counteraction).”

The police, which has disrupted most demonstrations with no official permission issued by the authorities in recent years — even though the Russian Constitution guarantees freedom of assembly — were not aware of the march, which had been organized in secret, and only reacted when the march was almost finished, as protesters reached Ploshchad Vosstaniya.

Apparently taken by surprise, several policemen tried to stop the marchers from crossing Ligovsky Prospekt, and when they failed, blocked the entrance to Ploshchad Vosstaniya metro, so the group went down Ulitsa Vosstaniya and then turned in the direction of Ulitsa Mayakovskogo.

Arrests started near the Novotel hotel where a policeman attacked a straggler, pushing him to the ground. The protesters’ leader, who gave commands through a megaphone during the march, was detained soon after, along with other activists who tried to run away through courtyards but found themselves trapped.

After reaching Ulitsa Zhukovskogo, the main group ran away in an organized fashion. The police failed to catch them.

“Twenty six citizens were detained, but five of them turned out to be minors and were immediately released and turned over to their parents,” said Vyacheslav Stepchenko, the spokesman for the Interior Ministry in St. Petersburg, by phone on Thursday. According to Antifa’s statement, the minors were only released after 11 p.m.

According to Stepchenko, the activists were detained according to two clauses of the Administrative Code, Article 19.3 Part I (“Failure to Follow a Policeman’s Lawful Orders”) and Article 20.2 (“Violation of the Regulations of Conducting Meetings, Marches, Demonstrations and Pickets”).

The rest of the detained activists were released on Wednesday afternoon, when the court ruled to send their cases to their local courts. Failure to follow a policeman’s lawful orders is the gravest offence of the two and can lead to up to 15 days in custody.

“We didn’t inform the authorities about the march because they wouldn’t have permitted it anyway,” said a participant, who asked that his name be withheld, by phone on Thursday.

“We also didn’t need to advertize it because we can gather that many people without any publicity.”

This year has seen a rise in racially-motivated violence in Russia, with St. Petersburg following Moscow in the rate of incidents reported.

An Uzbek man and a woman either from Yakutia or Buryatiya, were reported to have been stabbed to death in St. Petersburg this week, in addition to three other racially-motivated killings and a number of beatings this month.

For a change someone is doing something positive in the States:
Students talk acceptance and friendship at summit
Greeley Tribune, CO - 4 Apr 2008
But I see people in school going, 'oh, they're emos,' or 'they're gangsters' and stuff."

a:

Monday, April 7, 2008

Academic study says dress codes in schools don't work

S-burg considers tougher dress code- The Pocono Record

April 03, 2008

Similar arguments are often made in favor of school uniforms, but their impact may be neither so dramatic nor positive, said David Brunsma, associate professor of sociology at University of Missouri-Columbia, who has studied the issue.

Brunsma, author of "The School Uniform Movement and What it Tells Us About American Education: A Symbolic Crusade," said efforts to standardize dress over the past decade often were surface attempts to solve deeper problems in schools.

"They kind of resonate with the public," Brunsma said. "After all, if our differences are perceived as the core cause of the problems we see, then trying to eradicate that difference makes sense."

But his research found that uniforms have no direct impact on behavioral problems or attendance, and negatively affect academic success in public schools.

"The simple fact," he wrote in the Journal of Educational Research, "is that policymakers who are interested in raising academic achievement should not count on school uniforms to deliver an academic miracle."

Sunday, April 6, 2008

More on Mexico

Beatings and abuse give Mexico's emo teens plenty to feel ...
The Observer, UK - 21 hours ago
Burgeoning anti-emo sentiment exploded here last month when hundreds of young people in the central city of Querétaro heeded a call to rid the central ...

Why Are Emo Kids Getting Attacked In Mexico?
MTV.com - Apr 4, 2008
They shoved the three against a wall and began kicking and punching, shouting, "Kill the emos!" and filming the incident on their cell phones.

This article tells the usual unfounded lies about goth/emo. How about considering whether the parent in this case bears any responsibilty for the actions of his children rather blaming music.

Knowing what teens are into helps parents stay step ahead
Winston-Salem Journal, NC - Apr 2, 2008

“Unlike the Goth subculture of teen angst and disenchantment with society, emo is a cult of self-loathing,” he wrote in a recent e-mail, referring to kids who favor the forbidding “Goth” look of black clothing and dyed black hair. “Emo turns the malcontent a Goth may have towards the world unto the self. A disturbing aspect of emo is the use of self-mutilation to extract revenge for perceived slights from family and friends.”

Palmer Edwards, a Winston-Salem psychiatrist who works with adolescents, is familiar with emo and the acts described by Gene.

“The term has been around for several years,” Edwards said. “Basically it means emotional.… Emo kids are thought to be very emotional and down on themselves.”

Calling every kid who wears dark clothing and combs his (or her) hair down over the eyes “emo” would be a vast overgeneralization, but any sudden change in a kid’s behavior is certainly worthy of parental inquiry and investigation.

“Goth is so common that there’s a store in Hanes Mall that caters to the look,” Edwards said. “I’m not sure how rebellious something is if it has its own store in the mall. However, there could be some depression going on. It can range from the mild end that would require a period of adjustment to super severe in which a psychiatrist may be needed.”

Gene and Edwards agree that not every kid in dark clothes is considering suicide or self-mutilation.

“Parents should be leery and may want to speak with their kids about it,” Gene said.

More Sophie Events

Rock band's gig for Sophie
This Is Lancashire, UK - 22 minutes ago
By Helen Korn AN ACCLAIMED rock band have decided to end their UK tour with a tribute concert to Sophie Lancaster. Dear Superstar are hoping to raise cash

The number of events dedicated to Sophie continues to grow on her website with the next Whitby and MatStock III, a WOLFPACK FESTIVAL in NORTH SOMERSET, a three day festival, plus this event in Dudley.

Plus there are a number of smaller events in Spalding, Sheffield, Ipswich, Accrington, and Burnley

18 Apr 2008