Is The Media Backing 'Emo' Bullying?

Is The Media Backing 'Emo' Bullying? There’s been a lot of discussion in the media recently about how bands are to blame for teenage suicides however is this a simple misunderstanding or is the media trying to play the blame game?

When one stands back and observes how often bands such as My Chemical Romance and The Used are blamed for teenage suicides you have to wonder how these people who have never experienced the recent harshness of teenage bullying. It isn’t just name calling anymore, some people have even been killed recently as mentioned in a recent article here on Mibba.

After standing back and having a decent and thorough look at the evidence there have been many conclusions drawn. Bands such as My Chemical Romance aren’t driving people to suicide, the media and bullies are. How often is a article in a magazine or newspaper blaming people other than themselves?

In many newspapers such as The Daily Mail have claimed that music interests were partly to blame for a young mans death recently which was mentioned in a article by bobkat here on Mibba. Warnings have even been posted in the widely read newspaper, urging parents to monitor what their children listen to and dress like. Poetry has even been mentioned in the article as a part of the apparently ‘emo’ culture. However if that’s true would that make some of the most celebrated writers such as William Shakespeare ‘emo’ too?

Teenage children these days insult other teenagers who they have never talked to based solely on what they wear or what they listen to. However this is quite an injustice. At Glendale Technology High School in Australia the school uniform is long, black pants with a white button-up shirt as a unisex outfit. There is also a black, blue and white skirt available for girls. However students still label other students as emo despite the fact that they’re wearing the exact same thing.

The media is encouraging bullying by pointing out the so-called ‘emo’ qualities in society. It isn’t helping to solve a ever growing problem, it’s worsening it. By pointing out things that make other people different you are only giving people an excuse to exclude them or point them out. There is no point in fueling a already out-of-control fire.

Why should people be excluded because they have different dress styles, make-up or music preferences? They shouldn’t.

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