Emo…
We all rip it off, even this blog has taken a lot of shots at Emo,
even though the purpose of it has been to provide a more-or-less
objective view of the subcultures I discuss.

Because of that reason, the purpose of this article is to provide an objective
defense of Emo. I’m going to respond to common criticisms of, and
insults aimed at, the Emo subculture. Not all of my responses will
shine Emo in a positive light, since that wouldn’t be objective, but
I’m also not going to unfairly castrate the culture completely
either.

In all honestly a lot of Emos are actually really
amazing people. Yes, they have their serious character flaws,
but then, who doesn’t?

Okay, enough blabbering, lets get this started.

“Emos Lack Drive, They Moan But Do Nothing To Fix
Their So-Called problems”

Truth be told, Emos do live up to this specific derrision.

The problem is that Emos are so involved in their own
self-perceived problems and inadequacies that they
completely fail to realise that they can do
anything to fix them. They lack faith in themselves and
their ability to do what needs to be done.

Largely this can be blamed on the rest of the world’s perception of
the Emo: the middle-class suburban white kid, who takes drugs
and cuts himself to get the undeserved attention of his peers.

The problem here is that both the Emo
and his detractors are at fault.

The Emo is a self-indulgent
creature. Living in himself and playing out his own little soap
opera, expecting everyone else to somehow take him seriously.

The critic of the Emo is abusive and intolerant. When someone is living
in a private little world, usually there’s a reason: he’s shy and
lacks the ability to confront real life without falling apart. Leave
him to grow on his own.

Emos are children at heart, even if
you don’t feel that they should be.

All children grow up
evetually. The girls who, at twenty, still go on about their love of
pixies and fairies and all things magical, have that same child-like
spark and,you know what? It’s beautiful!! If someone can somehow
exist in this messed-up, horrible world and still cling to their
childish innocence it’s something miraculous.. Nurture it, don’t
destroy it.

“Emo
Music Sucks”

Well…
Unfortunately this is a ridiculous statement, the percentage of
non-Emos who can honestly and accurately make this claim is roughly
the same as that of Emos who can refute it.

Emo music no longer exists.

It died out in the early 90s and bands that
are listened to by Emos are not, in actual fact “Emo”. Emos
listen to Punk, Melodic Metal and pop rock.

Bands that are called “Emo” actually deny themselves having
any affiliation to any such sub-genre. Emos can claim no true allegiance to any
individual brand of music.

Thus, Emo music doesn’t actually suck… And if you think it does go find some real
Emo and make the same claim.

“Emos Don’t Stand For Anything”

It has been said that the Emo movement lacks the substance of the Punk
and Metal movements before it. It doesn’t stand for anything, it’s
just made up of kids who want to hurt themselves and complain about
problems they, themselves have created.

At present, with all the prejudices and violence being directed
at Emo kids around the world, most notably in Russia and Mexico, it cannot
seriously be denied that Emos stand for something, even if all it is that they
stand for is being Emo.

I bitched and moaned at one stage that
the Emo movement was an embarrassment to all thealternative
subcultures that came before it. I would go on about how being a Punk
or a Metalhead or even a Goth meant that at some stage, you had to
put up with the prejudices of the rest of the world and fight for
your right to express yourself in whichever way you chose to. I
stated how Emo was a “cool” and “trendy” culture and didn’t
have to fight to preserve itself.

The very mentality that
caused me to make those claims is what has fueled violence against
Emo at the hands of Metal and Punk. It is that same aggression that
has proven that Emos are willing to stand for something. They have
been beaten down, beaten up and kicked all over the street because of
what they wear, and you know what? They’ve not backed down. They
still wear the same gay clothes and sport the same retarded
haircuts.

We may not like the way they look, or what they seem
to have done with the alternative history they’ve inherited, but
they’ve had the balls to not care. That deserves some respect.

“Emo Is So Gay”

Erm….
uh….. Well, yes.. But then, so is Goth.

In Conclusion

Emo has been the target of derisive abuse from all corners, from the
mainstream and from us in the alternative cultures, the very ones who
should be taking care of them. In the 80s fans of punk and metal clashed
heavily…
When Goth originally stuck its shrouded face out of the shadows, it found it’s nose bloodied by the leather clad, studded
fists of the older Punk and Metal movements.

The alternative cultures have been a field of vicious infighting as the
adherents of each group fight for the right to be the “true”
outcasts and freaks.

Come on people… Grow up…
Yeah, I don’t like Emo either, I think it’s an annoying waste of space.
The point is, though, that that isn’t important. The fact remains that Emo
has as much right to exist as any other group of weirdo freaks. Let them
breathe and keep your attacks to cheap verbal jabs now and then.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 at 10:35 am and is filed under "alternative" subcultures, Emo, Subculture clashes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.