Cultural Snapshot

EMO KIDS

We all know this kid:

Whether in our high school, our ward, our class, or even our family. The real question is though, how do we treat them? Are they just another face in the crowd? Do we mercilessly mock them? Do we exclude them? Isolate them? Do we go so far as to beat them? Even kill them?

Seems absurd, right? Why would anyone want to kill these kids? Because they are different? But oh, they do. According to a news report emo kids are experiencing quite a bit of prejudice and persecution from many.

This video shows it well, here is a cultural group being persecuted just for being different.

This video says it all; here is the majority culture saying that we don't want this group because they aren't like

us. We want them to assimilate into what we believe is the better culture and if the group doesn't conform to

majority culture's way then they are persecuted. As seen in the video the "emo kids" resort to negative

resistance theory; they are persistently rejected by the majority culture and as such do their best to contrast

with the group and stand on their own, isolating themselves even more. Is this really how we want to treat

people? We really want to force people to feel even more like outsiders?

The Emo world is getting a bad reputation from the media. All over the media articles are being displayed that

tell of emo kids committing suicide or of engaging in risky behaviors or of having suicide pacts. The media says

that this group is bad and that they are influencing teens everywhere to engage in this suicidal behavior.

An article about a 13 year old emo girl committing suicide hit the news a year ago. The uproar began as

concerned parents everywhere began blaming this culture for the suicide. They blamed bands like

My Chemical Romance for the tragedy. But why the obsession? Why in a tragedy we must find someone to

blame? How could one culture, one band, really force this young girl to end her life? The reality is they can't.

Emo culture doesn't promote young 13 year old girls to kill themselves, it doesn't idolize death or pain, it

doesn't promote self mutilation. The sub-culture exists for the same reason so many other sub-cultures exist...

it's a sanctuary, a place where these kids who feel like "outsiders" belong. They like a particular genre of music,

they dress the same, they can relate to one another. No one in the group asks them to assimilate, to deny where

they come from or how they feel in order to fit in. They aren't worried about acculturation or biculturalism,

all they are concerned with is being with people who understand them.

This article puts it well; are these kids just the scapegoats for some of the horrible things that happen in this world?

Should they really be blamed for things they can not control? Should they really be blamed for just wanting to

fit in somewhere?

This person seems to think they shouldn't be. A blogger wrote about their feelings toward this attack on the emo

kid in this blog. Maybe this blogger is on to something...maybe we all need to be a little less judgmental.

So what does this all mean? Clearly, the emo kid is getting a bad rep from the media and people everywhere are

responding. Some with anger and force and others with just sheer hatred. Is this racism? In one form, I would

say; absolutely. Maybe in the school it comes across as passive racism; a comment here or there, from a

classmate, a parent, or maybe even a teacher. But racism is racism, right? Maybe it's our own

experiences that have shaped us into being anti-emo kid, maybe it's that individual racism, but does that excuse

the poor behavior shown toward this cultural group? I say no. So what do we do? As teacher, as parents, as

classmates?

A child who identifies himself or herself with this group will be in our classrooms as teachers, so how do we

treat this child? Do we allow the media to tell us what to think about this child or tell us how to treat this child?

Do we recognize the stewardship we have other these children and use the pygmalion effect properly?

Or do we judge these children? Do we expect less of them and see a self-fulfilling prophecy as these

students live up to our expectations, or lack of expectations, for them? We need to break that deficit theory.

We need to LOVE these children and teach them. These are the micro factors, the things we can control, and

we can control how we treat one another. As a teacher it is our job, our responsibility, and our stewardship to

see to it that all the children in our classroom feel safe, and welcome. No child should come to class feeling

unaccepted. As we foster a classroom of respect and unity, as we show love and understanding to this group

the other students will as well. There are children that identify with this group and as such it is their culture.

We have to accept that, we have to rely on our own opinions of the student and judge them on their own merit,

not base our opinions off of the media. If we do that with EVERY group we will never really know the truth.

Be open minded, think for yourself and love, not judge.