Emo, the new scapegoat in music?

There have been a lot of fights, bashing and talk of banning the emo subculture lately. While I'm not a fan of emo, I find it disgraceful that metal fans around the world have joined in the fight against the emo fans and not embraced them as our own. Most every time I hear a metal fan talk about emo kids, the term 'gay' is not far behind. Personally, I find emo more hetero than metal at this point. If you take a look at the makeup of emo fans at a concert, there are actually girls in attendance in large numbers. Most metal shows I have been at lately have a small number of females in attendance.

The stigma that emo music and the subculture promotes suicide is a complete fallacy. Metal fans and artists went through this exact ordeal in the 80's. Two metal icons, Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest, stood trial for fans that killed themselves after listening to the bands albums. Like metal, emo has garnered a lot of negative press lately that is very reminiscent to the metal scene 20 years ago. The press has been all over the suicide of Hannah Bond the same way it condemned metal for the suicides of James Vance and Raymond Belknap in 1985. What the news fails to mention is these kids had problems with drugs, alcohol, school and the law.

In 2006, the Islamic authority placed a ban on black metal in Malaysia. Datuk Shukor Husin of the National Fatwa Council stated "Followers of black metal could be prosecuted under Islamic law. It has been established that black metal practices are way against the syariat and every effort must be taken to stop its spread. Black metal culture is unacceptable for Muslims and can cause listeners to rebel against the the country's prevailing religion." Soon after, Ebay banned the sale of all black metal music for its lyrical content. As recent as last month, the Russian parliament was convened to discuss the countries ethics. Among other items included in the bill was a call for a ban on people who look 'emo and goth.' There was also a provision to regulate emo and goth websites calling them a "social danger." Unfortunately this bill is expected to become law.

It is only a matter of time before the anti-emo movement hits the US. It won't be long before some troubled kid will shoot up a school and investigators will find a My Chemical Romance or Panic at the Disco song on his ipod creating a mass hysteria among parents. The same happened to Marilyn Manson after the Columbine Massacre in Colorado and the shooters weren't even Marilyn Manson fans. The goths and metal fans were an easy scapegoat like emo fans are now.

In Mexico, punk fans have been fighting with emo fans for several months. Most likely they are too young to remember the clashes the punks had with the metal fans in the 80's in the US. The attacks in Mexico are nothing but witch hunts. It is the same prejudice that dictated the Nazi persecution of minorities.

Fans of metal, emo, and goth should unite and let the press and government know we won't stand for being labeled as scapegoats. Every youth subculture has aspects which seem despicable to those outside of it. Judging teenagers for the way they look is prejudice. Teenagers tend to express themselves through appearance more than through words. Emo fans tend to explore their darker emotions and come to terms with them. They don't condone suicide or violence. We need to identify ourselves as who we are, not who we hate.

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Tags:  emo, goth, heavy metal, suicide, teenager

Jason Fisher    July 24, 2008