Welcome to Emoland

**DISCLAIMER** I, by no means, try to offend anybody here. If you're emo -and proud to be one- go ahead and carry on. Really, I have nothing against emos; this is just my point of view.

I live in Mexico and a few months ago there was a riot in the Insurgentes Roundabout, in Mexico City. Apparently, the Punks were claiming that the Emos had stolen their fashion ideas, such as skinny jeans and studded belts. The Punks were yelling insults while the Emos just sat there, sulking. The row got so big, the Mayor had to intervene and call for a press conference in order to ease down their differences.

I don't know what happened in the end. Last thing I new, the Insurgentes Roundabout is home to all sorts of "neo tribes" that hang around there: the Punks on one side, the Emos on the other.

But this is just a brief example of what's happening society right now. People seem to have the need to deny their neighbor in order to reassert their own identity: if I call you a homo, that'll make me more straight. Not quite.

A lot of kids in their middle teens are becoming emo. I understand teen angst, I went through that too! As far as I know, Emos have a philosophical statement to make by dressing the way they do and by acting they way they act, but I'm afraid that the Punks are right, and Teen Emos are just into the whole fashion thing. Not all of them, of course; but -and correct me if I'm wrong- the moment you wear skinny jeans and black converse you are immediately seen as an Emo, whether you're one or not.

Being Emo goes deeper than just using certain articles of clothing. Is about being in touch with your feeling, I guess. My Emo friends are always telling me that they are extra-emotional: if they feel sad, they feel extra sad; if they feel angry, they feel extra angry.

But still, I don't quite understand the whole thing. Can somebody please explain it to me? What is the essence of being Emo? Why do you feel the need to become Emo? Is it just fashion thing? Why is it only affecting teens? I have yet to see people my age (in their middle twenties) acting like Emos.

My theory is that the whole "neo tribe" thing I spoke of is a totally post-modernist concept. Blame it on the mass media. Yes, really, do it. We feel the need to rebel against something, against a society that doesn't always fulfill our wishes. Against the pretty models on magazines (heck! nobody can look like that) and take refuge in music, art and literature. Why? Because we've realized that we're living a lie; we live in a sham society, a pretending society. We pretend to have a social network in Facebook, but we don't. We pretend to have a conversation on Skype or MSN, but we're only typing letters. We pretend to be writers on Mibba, but we're just expressing our thoughts, hoping that other people will read it.

It doesn't matter whether you're Emo, or Punk, Goth, Hippie or Pop. If you feel the need to make a statement, make it, but understand why you're doing it first. Don't just do it because skinny jeans are in, or because you're friends are doing; do it because you want to tell the world something.