And what may I ask is wrong with those ages? For me, between 13-18 has been a real treat! Sure, that stage of my life has a very negative side, but also a very positive side. Then again, so did my childhood, and so will my adulthood. After all, I was 17 when I put on the world’s gutsiest, and naughtiest, U.S. history presentation, a priceless memory that I will forever see as a highlight of my life…

Being a teenager can be really, really fun.:)

There are many different variations of every counterculture, too. For example, you are not just Goth, but Romantigoth, Cybergoth, etc. And most Emos are into the scene, and are into the passion, but are still functional and have other facets to their lives. The bottom line is, whether you are in a counterculture or the mainstream, it is impossible to conform conpletely to anything. Every person is themselves, no matter what. And it is impossible to be a total non-conformist, because there are certain things that every human has in common, and as naturally social beings, we want that. We all want to belong somewhere, to be loved, and so on. So to me, this whole debate over conformist vs. noncomformist makes no sense. We are all, in a sense, both, and we join countercultures because we do not fit in with *most*; it is not about being a totally separate individual. Otherwise, there would BE no culture.

Back to the story itself, I would be very interested in the backgrounds of these teens, and the other members of these self-harm clans. People who are that desperate for sympathy DO have other issues, and obviously, people like that have a counterculture of their own, but it has a harmful side to it. It reminds me of Munchausen (by Proxy) Syndrome. People feign illness in themselves or others in order to receive attention and sympathy they cannot get any other way.

When it comes to pain, we all have pain, for different reasons, and to different degrees. Often, it is not apparent to outsiders, but it is there. Other times it is obvious. People with mental illness do not suffer the pain of a physical illness, but they are just as sick. How do we grade pain? Some people definitely suffer more than others overall, but any time there is any suffering, it should be reated before it gets worse. All the major sufferings started out as mild ones, and pain is pain, when you get right down to it.
What’s the point of this tirade? You mentioned how hard-core Emos are not swayed by stories of what children in third-world nations experience. They are uninterested in anything but their own pain, and often, it is not real. They try to find every excuse to feel suffering, and to milk it for all it is worth. They are emotional masochists (not that I have much right to accuse others of being masochists, lol). The idea is that ALL pain is important to empathize with and address, but Emos take it to a whole new level. And it is because all pain is important that we must do what we can to extend our help to others. You have to take just as much care of yourself, because if you are run ragged you are no use to anybody, but do not be selfish, either. Besides, if you help others, others may help you. I speak ONLY of hard-core Emos here. Most Emos are nothing like those that committed suicide as part of their indulgence. All in all, I understand the intent of this article, and will not go medieval. I am partially Emo myself, although I really prefer Goth/BDSM.
Acually, there is ‘The Emo Song,’ told from an Emo point of view, that calls Emo a “bad, cheap imitation of Goth.”:) Well, I cannnot argue completely.:)

The article is actually about different angles of EMO culture. A sudden surge of interest in EMO culture among those over 30 was triggered by the very unusual and public event (ie on My Space prior to the events) of a teenage double suicide.

Sociologists explore cultural events and movements and this is something people will explore as a cultural phenomenon to be understood, although for the families of these teens it may always be felt as a highly personal event.

Perhaps my message that the actions of these teens needed to be unclouded by pity and my belief that understanding was more constructive than pity is not that which you personally wished to hear but I’m in fact simply a human being in a world of information trying to understand a cultural movement of which these teens were cited as being a part of.

In any case I’ve respected your desire to make your response public.

… Donna.

How dare you write this stuff about muy daughter. You haveno idea what she was like and I am disgusted to see this crap on the net.
What is wrong with you perople?

Just leave us be….. PLEASE!!!!!

Rob

seems you have a somewhat autie pedigree there

they say all of us are only 6 degrees removed from each other.

so someone always knows someone who knows someone who…….

good to see you dropping by.

“you cant do anything these days without copying someone, or “conforming”. And in the unlikely case you do its not for long because people will like what your doing and do the same”

loved this bit you wrote…. SO TRUE
I’m weird enough without trying and generally pretty pleased to leave that be, but yep, you betcha, its somehow contagious. Clones are scary.

I can promise that yes, the glossies create a scary world of G-stringed Bratz-mutant Barbie-borgs and MTV clones with one emotional tone- disrespect, selfishness, aggression - yo, yo, yo and I’m screaming my head off, what happened to the subtlety, where’s the diversity… and all I hear sometimes is echo,… then gladly I’m autie enough to lose track again and end up of in the createssphere somewhere. I’d sure hate to be 13-18 again…. aiaiaiai.

disillusionment sure has its sound bases these days, but I’d hate to see it become yet another one tone track. People are becoming like ice cream flavours these days. What happened to good ol fashioned multiplicity

feel free to drop by http://www.auties.org by the way and see if you’d like to list your bass playing skills. It’s all free.

Sorry my explorations sounded like ‘I know everything’ but whilst I’m totally ‘matter of fact’, I’m certain I’m no expert on youth culture. Heck, I’m almost 45!

Donna *)

Emo is short for Emotional. People seem to think this means depressed, but emotional is a far broader term than just that. Why does everyone ignore the rest of the human emotions?

rebuttle time (this is the part i like alot)

1. i wasn’t meaning to imply that “straight edge” people wished to achive perfection and flawlessness, they merely believe that they dont need any assistance in being happy or having fun (alcohol and drugs) and they are not neccesarily religious.

2. you cant do anything these days without copying someone, or “conforming”. And in the unlikely case you do its not for long because people will like what your doing and do the same, and so on consuming a large population in a short time. Besides, it gives people a sense of belonging and comfort which is a good thing, unless (in the case of a magazine publication) they are telling you that you should idolise anorexic people for how thin they are. Or how to have really satisfying sex. Or how to seduce selected sex, which is more than just a common occourance in magazines like “dolly”, “girlfriend”, “Ralph” and “FHM” who’s target audience is tweens to 16’s. The last magazine I read, and that most alternative kids would be reading contained CD reviews, band interviews and (hang on i’ll just go get it)….band merchandise….and some artworks. Hmmm….lets find out whats on in Girlfriend magazine. OOhh! a web poll. “What’s the worst kind of boy behaviour around?” options “Being distant, Dumping you without a good reason, Lack of sensitivity to your feelings, Playing games”. Catty much? Oh, and theres a contest to win this make-up which they deem “essential”. So i guess none of us can live without make-up. Lovely. Amusing: “a look so hot, you’ll need to put it on ice.” (in reference to the makeup)…….reading on makes me sick. i’ll just leave you with this link
http://au.blogs.yahoo.com/girlfriend/1627/five-dating-lessons-you-can-learn-from-celebs/
Have a bucket ready you it is a real possibility that you will be very sick.

I think i’m more comfortable worrying about what gig to go to with my friends than “recycling your ex” (as mentionen in the link).

I took the article much the same as i did researching the lead singer of the Vine’s articles on Asperger’s. People say things like “OMG HE’S RETARDED!!” etc. do you see what i mean? It wasn’t posed quite like a (quote) “philosophical exploration” as much as it was a ‘matter of fact, i know everything about this.”