Insert an ingenious title here later on
Walking into a mall, you might be looking for new pants or earrings. An
unexpected movement catches your eye. All you managed to see was a mass of
black shuffling in your periphery. But now, as you look head on, you can fill in the
blanks of the rest of the image. Decked with a skull shirt, a coffin purse, and a
stuffed dead animal, it seems as though you have come across your first goth.
What is a goth, you ask? A goth is nothing to be afraid of.
Goths may seem scary at first. In a world that boasts an insanely profitable
tanning industry, that pushes the lack of clothing all around and often will deny the
existence of negative feelings and emotions, the goth is a rather unusual sight. It
is merely an exotic, white-faced tourist from a foreign land, possibly one of Tim
Burton’s creation. They may appear to be rather doom and gloom, but if you go up
to talk to them, you may find a unique new ally, full of ideas never heard before.
In the words of Voltaire, a gothic musician and comedian, the goth
subculture is “an appreciation for things that are romantic and passionate and
sometimes dark or melancholy.” These are things which are part of a normal world,
no matter how much they are denied. Goths will embrace that which is considered
taboo or dark in an attempt to understand it. Despite this, it is not a goth’s
intention to make people hurt or be miserable. They just have some different
perspectives.
While followers of the gothic subculture may seem strange and unusual, they
think rather differently about globalization and the emerging unified America that so
many countries are becoming. “Goths share the belief that freethinking and
self-creativity are the most vital freedoms. One of their biggest fears is that the
media will force an international conformity.” (Phillips 1) Being artistic or intelligent
is prized in the goth scene. There is no fear among the Goths to have new or
unusual ideas. Philosophers such as Nietzsche and his ideas are often discussed
and debated among them.
It is because of this freethinking value that there are so many kinds of people
in the goth subculture. Preston A. Elder, the creator of a goth forum writes that
“The goth scene is just as widely varied as society in general. There are many
different professions represented in the scene, from highly skilled professionals
like doctors and lawyers, to tradesmen, to technically minded people to clerical
workers.” There is no ‘goth job’ as it were, even though there are some careers
that might be considered unusual by the average person. All across the board are
Goths, and they might not even be realized.
If they’re really so normal, why are they blamed for stuff like Columbine? It’s
because people want answers, and Goths make an easy target. The perpetrators
of Columbine were dressed in black and looked unusual in comparison to their
peers, as do many Goths. Jodi Wilgoren of the New York Times writes that
concerning the trench coat mafia of Columbine were “Just a tiny clique of boys
long seen as losers, finally finding a place.” Harris and Klebold were not in the
trench coat mafia group picture, not included in the group even before they
unleashed their fury upon the school. Many people will find their place within the
goth scene because there is so much openness to new things that can’t be found
in other scenes. For many, goth is a scene where they can be whoever they really
are way deep down.
Goths are by and large quite pacifistic and non-violent. While thousands of
people get into fights every day, it is unusual to see these among Goths. Yes,
they occur, but they are very much a rarity. If a goth sought revenge, they would
likely do it in a much more subtle manner. Being that it is uncommon to see a
goth involved in heavy sports or other intensely physical activity, it would make
sense that a goth doesn’t normally pick a fight. For them, creativity and
intelligence are more important than six pack abs and attractive biceps.
