Visions of the Apocalypse

If you think being a religious liberal in the Bush regime is tough, think how bad the goths have it now. After the most recent school shooting (the worst since Columbine) the press was quick to jump on the “goth promotes violence” bandwagon.

“He was a Goth. He had no friends and he did not communicate.” – Allan Mosey, 14

“Describing Mr. Weise’s black, spiky hair and black Goth clothes, Ashley Morrison, a fellow student at Red Lake High School, told The Associated Press, ‘He looks like one of those guys at the Littleton school.’” – The New York Times

“Jeff Weise, 16, a retiring boy who was teased a lot, followed “Goth culture” and had fantasised about shooting up the school.” – The Telegraph

“‘Goth’ Minnesota student kills 9, self” – United Press Headline

Some papers are starting to print statements from other Goths about the issue, trying to explain that goth isn’t about Nazi fixations or killing people.

“Please don’t talk about this incident and stereotype Goths. This was a troubled kid. That has nothing to do with what Goths are about.” – Cordell Draeger, Star Tribune

“There’s nothing about the music I grew up with and got me through high school and now college that precipitates hurting or killing another human being. There are other forms of music that glorify violence, like hip-hop, that I would consider far more of a risk, but I don’t think anybody who wears baggy pants should be interrogated, either.” – Nathan Hall, Pioneer Press

The marriage between “goth” and violence in the media has been so rampant that it caused the site religioustolerance.org to create a special page just for the goth culture to help dispell myths.

“Why discuss the Goth culture on a religious web site? In the aftermath of the student and staff murders at Columbine high school in Littleton CO in 1999-APR, some of the media searched for simple reasons to explain the terrible tragedy. Some reporters bypassed the obvious causes (two teens having easy access to handguns and rifles; sustained ridicule, harassment, and rejection by their peers; their lack of respect for human life; their lack of hope for the future; etc.). Some reporters mentioned that the alleged perpetrators followed the Goth culture. A few reporters have incorrectly associated Goth with Satanism, violence, white supremacy and intolerance. The implication was that the Goth culture had been the cause of the alleged perpetrators’ obsession with revenge, and thus is at least partly responsible for the homicides.”

Being a public figure in the goth scene I take these things seriously and so should every faith leader. Goths come from every faith tradition you can think of and are for the most part smart, creative and caring people. Not the types that go shooting up schools. It is up to us as people of conscience to correct members of our faith traditions who blame “Goths” or “Goth Culture” for the shootings, or to ease the fears of parents who see their kids “going goth”.

For those who want to learn more (especially if you do a lot of youth outreach) I suggest picking up the book “The goth Bible : A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined” by author Nancy Kilpatrick. It is a good overview that talks to a cross-section of people invovled with the scene.

Tags: Neopaganism