Being Emo Kills

[Ayingel 24]

but, like, one out of every three people i see is emo...>.>

[Mara 29]

It's just like any new trend. Gradually the trend becomes to NOT be in the trend.

Or people start calling people "emo" or other adjectives and descriptions just for the heck of it. Words tend to lose their meanings over overuse.

[Ender 8]

Just like every other subculture, be it the beats or the hippies or the punks, what was cutting edge and rebellious is absorbed into the mainstream.

But emo is s***ty, in every single way, anyway, so I don't understand why we care.

[Jake Durron 23]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7IxliAPjAk

nuff said

[Winters 0]

Well, actually, that would conflict with my English Major side... and I know... but i still capitalize it because it's a single letter...

[Andy 60]

Hahaha Depress-a-me Street.

Although I will say emos aren't really depressed... They do it for the attention. Just like any subculture they just want to be different to "normal" people and fit in with their friends. Depression is entirely separate to the emo issue. It's possible there are a lot of depressed emos, because most emos are teenagers? lol

Edited May 10, 2008 by Andy

[Aurelius 1]

?the black parade? - a place where ?emos? believe they go after they die.

Ok.... I've never heard that one before

[Andy 60]

Yeah, I think they made that up.

If they DID believe that then it would be a cult, not a subculture. lol

[Princess 35]

Wow, a kid comes home and says "I'm going to kill myself" and all her parents say is "Don't be silly?" That's ewoked up

[Pandora 77]

I was wondering when someone was going to comment on something OTHER than the fact that she was an emo.

Actually, Princess, she really doesn't fit the usual profile for a suicidal. Her parents should have taken it infinitely more seriously, that's for damn sure, but it doesn't appear that she was depressed. Keywords here are "popular schoolgirl." This is not so much an illustration of what "emo-ism" does to teenagers, but a prime example of why cliques are so destructive. According to the article, her suicide note said she was hoping to be an "inspiration" to other teenagers. In other words, she'd conquered the social structure of her school and was working on the rest of the world. Her interest in My Chemical Romance and the emo trend only served as her method of seeking fame (or infamy, is probably more apt).

Now here is where her parents failed her. I don't know how it is in the UK, but in America, suicide is the third leading cause of death among children and teenagers. As morbid as this may sound, it's a subject that should be discussed, whether or not a child is displaying the warning signs that s/he may attempt suicide (or self-destruction like drugs and cutting). Popularity can be more difficult for some teens to deal with than the opposite situation. It puts unneeded (and ridiculous) pressures on kids that they are not emotionally mature enough to handle. If your kid wants to dress in black and abuse the kohl pencils, that's one thing. If you ae worried that she may be cutting and she wears armbands to cover her wrists, make her show you, or more simply, look while she's asleep. Furthermore, if you ever hear any variation of the following, take it seriously:

"I want to kill myself."

"Maybe it'd be better if I was never born."

"The world would be better off without me."

"Too bad that car stopped before it hit me"

Etc.

The point here is that it does not matter if she was emo or not, who failed whom, or any of that. What matters is only THAT she killed herself and that it is too late to help her, but not someone else.

Okay, I know I've been on this big Disturbed kick lately, but this is a link to their new music video, "Inside the Fire." I warn you it is EXREMELY graphic. There is no sex and really no profanity, but if you can't handle the sight of a corpse, DO NOT WATCH IT! But it is a powerful video and one I think the vast majority of the teenagers in the world should see and pay close attention to. Those of you out of the States won't be able to see this link, however, because it's restricted to the US. I think Kia found it on the Canadian YouTube for Drake. If you can't find it with the intro by David Draiman, it's best summarized that the video is about suicide, and if you or someone you know is in crisis get help (and it gives the number for the suicide prevention hotline).

Inside the Fire - Disturbed

Edited May 13, 2008 by Pandora

[TheUnknown 39]

I think Pod is on to something. (I also think she is on something, too. )

Additionally, I think we may be on the verge of a whole new witch hunt. Back in the 1990s it was Doom and Marilyn Manson. Now, it might be emo. While I think these things do have an effect on people, I think you have to realize that there is something cyclical about it as well. A lot of people listen to depressing music because they're depressed, don't know how to express it, feel alone and maybe subconsciously feel there is someone else who feels their pain. This is the thing that is always missed. It's easier to blame music, movies, and video games than it is to examine society, parents, and psychology.

[Pandora 77]

Yes, exactly, although I'm not the kind of person that blames "society" so easily. Personally I'm more likely to start with the parents. Kids can only be held accountable for so much, like the difference between right and wrong. Knowing how to deal with the consequences of ones choices is not. That's what parents are for (in a perfect world). Hell, most adults don't know how to handle their emotions, how can we expect kids to figure it out on their own?

And the only thing I'm on, Unknown, is the same thing that's made me decide to pursue psychology: Kids kill themselves and that is wrong.

[Andy 60]

In my view, blaming parents is pretty much the same as blaming society, as parents should be the most integral part of their child's upbringing. We have to remember that the disenfranchised youth of today are the parents of tomorrow's society.

And I had already pointed out that the fact she was depressed was entirely separate from the fact that she was emo. People get these things the wrong way round.

Emo doesn't make kids depressed; depressed kids become emo.

You can't solve violence from society by removing violence from film/TV/games; you have to solve it from society to remove it from the media.

IMO, of course.

[Ayingel 24]

personally i just think that depressed kids are just depressed. when they're not able to get help, they "help" themselves in the way that seems appropriate...or they get rid of the pain the best way they know how (that's what my thought process was a few years ago at least...)

i think she was "emo" because it was the "cool" and "rebellious" thing to do and because of the fashion of it.

[Pandora 77]

All good points, I think, especially about being emo because it's "cool."

A kid that is truly depressed probably won't make a transition from "normal" to emo. Depressed people don't take on extra work, which is what changing a style is. A depressed person will look the same as they do when they're not down, except they have irregular eating and sleeping habits, slack off more, are quieter, and seem generally apathetic. The emo ideal of "screw the world" isn't really the same thing as giving up your place in it.

[TyranaRaptor 0]

This is why emo's fail at life. Literally.

Literally.

Dammit I cant help it, I lol'd ewoking hard.