You know your particular cultural niche has come of age when a fundamentalist adds it to the lists that enable parents to determine which particular sub-culture their children belong to.
Remarkably, this list seems very similar to a list I saw in the 80's about signs that your child might be into the "Satanic grip of Dungeons & Dragons".
I dont' usually respond to newbies who make one post and then disappear, but you bring up an important point in the Christian faith: God examines the heart and soul and our relationship with him. The style or sub-culture of dress we choose is a matter of taste, not faith.Hello allI have joined up with this site in order to hear some views on a topic i have. For you people who use Myspace, you will know of the Bulletin page. I read one sent by a friend eariler, and it has got me thinking. Please read on:
If Your Child is a Gothic, Reform Through the Lord!
Listed below are some warning signs to indicate if your child may have gone astray from the Lord. Gothic (or goth) is a very obscure and often dangerous culture that young teenagers are prone to participating in.
The gothic culture leads young, susceptible minds into an imagined world of evil, darkness, and violence. Please seek immediate attention through counselling, prayer, and parental guidance to rid your child of Satan's temptations if five or more of the following are applicable to your child:
-Frequently wears black clothing.
-Wears band and/or rock t-shirts.
-Wears excessive black eye makeup, lipstick or nailpolish.
-Wears any odd, silver jewelry or symbols. Some of these include: reversed crosses, pentagrams, pentacles, ankhs or various other Satanic worshipping symbols.
-Shows an interest in piercings or tattoos.
-Listens to gothic or any other anti-social genres of music. (Marilyn Manson claims to be the anti-Christ, and publicly speaks against the Lord. Please discard any such albums IMMEDIATELY.)
-Associates with other people that dress, act or speak eccentrically.
-Shows a declining interest in wholesome activities, such as: the Bible, prayer, church or sports.
-Shows an increasing interest in death, vampires, magic, the occult, witchcraft or anything else that involves Satan.
-Takes drugs.
-Drinks alcohol.
-Is suicidal and/or depressed.
-Cuts, burns or partakes in any other method of self-mutilation. (This is a Satanic ritual that uses pain to detract from the light of God and His love. Please seek immediate attention for this at your local mental health center.)
-Complains of boredom.
-Sleeps too excessively or too little.
-Is excessively awake during the night.
-Dislikes sunlight or any other form of light. (This pertains to vampires promoting the idea that His light is of no use.)
-Demands an unusual amount of privacy.
-Spends large amounts of time alone.
-Requests time alone and quietness. (This is so that your child may speak to evil sprits through meditation.)
-Insists on spending time with friends while unaccompanied by an adult.
-Disregards authority figures; teachers, priests, nuns and elders are but a few examples of this.
-Misbehaves at school.
-Misbehaves at home.
-Eats goth-related foods. Count Dracula cereal is an example of this.
-Drinks blood or expresses an interest in drinking blood. (Vampires believe this is how to attain Satan. This act is very dangerous and should be stopped immediately.)
-Watches cable television or any other corrupted media sources. (Ask your local church for proper programs that your child may watch.)
-Plays videos games that contains violence or are of a role-playing nature.
-Uses the internet excessively and frequently makes time for the computer.
-Makes Satanic symbols and/or violently shakes head to music.
-Dances to music in a provocative or sexual manner.
-Expresses an interest in sex.
-Masturbates
-Is homosexual and/or bisexual.
-Pursues dangerous cult religions. Such include: Satanism, Scientology, Philosophy, Paganism, Wicca, Hinduism and Buddhism.
-Wears pins, stickers or anything else that contains these various phrases: "I'm so gothic, I'm dead", "woe is me", "I'm a goth".
-Claims to be a goth.
If five or more of these apply to your child, please intervene immediately. The gothic culture is dangerous and Satan thrives within it. If any of these problems persist, enlist your child into your local mental health center.
That, is what was posted. Now, i would like to say, i am not here in anyway to offend your religion. Simply because i am intrested in what you think to this.
I am a 16 year old male. My everyday image goes as followed:
Band T-shirt (all colours)
Blue or black jeans
black and white trainers
white studded belt
I have 5 piercings in all. earsx3 and lipx2. I occasionally wear a layer of makeup, such as foundation and eyeliner, but nothing o.t.t.
As the list goes on, i fit with almost all of the things listed. Yet, i belive in God. My views are not set, but i do belive there is such thing.
If you are a person who agree's with the list, from my point, you are being very cruel to other humans, simply because they are a little different to you. It does not mean that you can label people in such a way. Being this age, attending school, and going out with friends every now and then, i know what its like to be abused in the street for the way i look, so why do i carry on? Its because i belive in people looking the way there souls tell them. I dont dress this way to fit in with a culture, i do it simply because i am into this image, and belive i have my own choice when it comes to my looks.
Dont get me wrong, im not allways in full black, listening to metal music, talking about death (well, i never do that last one). Infact, i have no thoughts of death, the devil, murder, or anything 'evil' in that view.
Im a happy kid, living my life the way i like it, but its things like this, that make me angry, and wonder why people are like this (meaning people who go by this list)
I will maby post some more about myself, to do with this topic if anyone takes intrest. I am here at the min to see your views on the topic.
Remember, im only, 16. Dont be to complicated unless your going to explain it afterwards (haha)
Thanks for reading
Worried?...Is there something wrong with those things?Is your teenager a member of an ancient Germanic tribe originating in Scandanavia?
Does he or she sacrifice captives to the god of war?
Do they insist on spending time alone in the 3rd and 4th centuries?
Do they always manage to find time to sack ancient European cities?
If any of these apply to your son or daughter then you really should be worried.
peace
Remarkably, this list seems very similar to a list I saw in the 80's about signs that your child might be into the "Satanic grip of Dungeons & Dragons".
Is your teenager a member of an ancient Germanic tribe originating in Scandanavia?
Does he or she sacrifice captives to the god of war?
Do they insist on spending time alone in the 3rd and 4th centuries?
Do they always manage to find time to sack ancient European cities?
Hello allI have joined up with this site in order to hear some views on a topic i have. For you people who use Myspace, you will know of the Bulletin page. I read one sent by a friend eariler, and it has got me thinking. Please read on:
If Your Child is a Gothic, Reform Through the Lord!
Listed below are some warning signs to indicate if your child may have gone astray from the Lord. Gothic (or goth) is a very obscure and often dangerous culture that young teenagers are prone to participating in.
The gothic culture leads young, susceptible minds into an imagined world of evil, darkness, and violence. Please seek immediate attention through counselling, prayer, and parental guidance to rid your child of Satan's temptations if five or more of the following are applicable to your child:
Hey. I'm gay and like D&D. You'd be surprised how many of us there are out there.Interesting. I'd have thought they'd have been more along these lines...
Does your child not wear band/music t-shirts?
Does your child spend insufficient time alone with friends?
Does he or she refrain from drinking alcohol?
Behaves too much at school?
Does not express an interest in sex?
Is straight?
...
peace
Hey. I'm gay and like D&D. You'd be surprised how many of us there are out there.
As someone who is Straight edge, just to clarify the vegetarianism came in after the foundations, it is possible to be straight edge without being a vegan or vegetarian..There is even an entire hardcore movement called Straight Edge that advocates zero drug or alcohol use, vegetarian lifestyle, and no promiscuous sex. There is also a significant Christian hardcore movement and even a 'Christian Hardcore Brotherhood.'
As someone who is Straight edge, just to clarify the vegetarianism came in after the foundations, it is possible to be straight edge without being a vegan or vegetarian..
Source (song): Straight edge by Minor Threat
jmverville, it sounds to me like you just knew a particularly bad group of goths. My experiences have been nothing at all like yours. When I was in high school (late '90's) the goth kids I knew were in honors-level classes, polite and well-behaved, stable, and generally in committed relationships. We had one goth couple who were the most adorable couple you could have asked for. The groups far more likely to get in trouble or experiment sexually were the preppie/popular kids. After high school, the people in the goth movement that I've encountered have been intelligent, mature, self-aware individuals. There is nothing inherent in the goth subculture itself that makes a person more likely to get in trouble, experiment sexually, or kill himself. People don't kill themselves because they're "goth." People kill themselves because they have problems and don't know how to deal with them. They may at first seek out a subculture that will understand and accept "misfits" like them, and that may help for a while, but no subculture can provide psychological counseling or the kind of help that people with suicidal tendencies need.
I think you probably had experiences with a particularly bad group of goths. Presumably, as you are part of another subculture that has strongly-negative and more positive groups within it, you understand that something similar can be true of other subcultures?
Certainly, blindly following ANY subculture is not an exceptionally desirable thing. However, parents need not worry if their child adopts the musical or fashion tastes of the goth subculture, as long as those parents have a solid, open, trusting relationship with their child. Alienating a child with accusations of satanism and throwing away belongings is counterproductive to developing this sort of relationship.
I see what you are saying, but here is a question:
If someone is willing to commit suicide, is it more likely for that person to be a goth?
jmverville said:I think that for some people being gothic is a method of expressing their sadness and frustration. For others, it is really a fashion and a way of life.
I am sure there are good goths, I have known a few who were very intellectual and honors classes students, but at the same time... I have known others with problems.
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