Goths

[CeeBee]

Okay, there are goths at my school. They are cool ppl. and all, but, well, they aren't religious. I know three go to Baptist church, one even goes where my mom brings me, and two are Catholic but don't go to church ever, so they aren't really Catholic. But anyway, I have gotten into religious arguments with them before lol but I didn't get anywhere really, they are so stuck in their atheist beliefs. Well, one is a Wiccan. I have given up on them, well I still pray for them, but I don't talk to them anymore. ANYWAY, lol, what is the Catholic view on goths? Not all are non-Christian, but most are. But ppl. at our school, of all faiths, pick on them, it is so messed up it angers me I try to take up for them but... Anyway, I just feel so weird taking up for atheists wen the reason for everything is their beliefes, but it is wrong of the other ppl. to pick on them. So, yet again, what is the catholic view of goths? Can you be a Catholic goth? Ya know, where the clothes and all?

 

[Dream]

I couldn't tell you the Catholic view, but my sister is into that whole "goth" trend. I just find it completly stupid.

 

[TexasCatholic]

Well, it isn't the right thing to do (I wouldn't imagine under ANY religion) to go around making fun of people senselessly. However, I don't think wearing some black clothes and painting your face white has anything to do with whether you are or are not a Catholic It's just a goofy high-school dress type of thing. Believe me, 6 months after high school, they will realize how ridiculous it is and grow out of it.... "Atheism" goes along with the peer-pressure to be in that particular group, most likely.

-Michael

 

[traviscatholic12]

I think it's weird and creepy, but I don't want to make fun of them. Because a.) that's not what Jesus would do, and b.) I think the fact that people make fun of them only fuels their choices.

 

[TexasCatholic]

By the way this "trend" is hilarious, IMO.... I mean.... they were doing this when I was in high school 1989-1993... And before that... Ever hear of The Cure?

-Michael

 

[PioMagnus]

I agree with Travis.

 

[Dream]

Ever hear of The Cure?

Unfortunately.

 

[ZooMom]

I agree that it is something that they will definitely grow out of. I mean, how many 30-something Goths do you really see out there? It kinda puts a real damper on job interviews to show up in black dusters, fishnets, and black lipstick. Especially for guys.

The real problem that I have with this 'trend' in young people is that their parents ALLOW it. I saw a girl the other day, couldn't have been but 13 or 14, wearing leather, fishnets, high boots, black lipstick, the works. She was with her mother. I was truthfully more shocked at the mom than I was at the girl. Her mom HAD to have bought those things for her, and let her wear them! WHY????

 

[geocajun]

The real problem that I have with this 'trend' in young people is that their parents ALLOW it. I saw a girl the other day, couldn't have been but 13 or 14, wearing leather, fishnets, high boots, black lipstick, the works. She was with her mother. I was truthfully more shocked at the mom than I was at the girl. Her mom HAD to have bought those things for her, and let her wear them! WHY????

good point. Wanna guess how often my girls will ever leave my house in fishnets and leather boots?

 

[ZooMom]

How much time will you give me to think about it?

 

[seebs]

As to the question of 30-something goths, I'm married to one.

Anyway... I think the Christian thing to do is stick up for them. If the witness you saw of "Christians" every day was that they picked on you for your taste in music and clothes, you'd probably think they were pretty vapid people, and not want much to do with them.

But... Don't be nice to them because it might convert them. Be nice to them because they're people, and because they're worth it. Treat 'em kindly, because there will come a time when you're a bit on the outside, and you'll want people to treat you kindly... And we are called to treat others as we would like to be treated.

(Hi! I'm not debating, really I'm not. I'm just friends with a lot of goths, and yes I remember the Cure; how could I not remember what is still one of my beloved spouse's favorite bands?)

 

[ps139]

There were a bunch of goths in my high school. I think most do it for the social thing. A lot seemed to not fit in anywhere else. I do get kind of disturbed by the dress. I think priests are the only ones who should dress in all black. But if you went to talk to them, they were (at least in my school) a group of really nice kids.
2 of the kids who hung out with that crew - well one is just the nicest kid you'll ever meet, the type that everyone everywhere knows his name, and everyone loves him.. another, he used to wear the fishnets on his arms and all that, but I started talking to him in my senior year and he was more Catholic than most of the kids in my school. He had a tattoo of the Holy Spirit on his arm, and the kid was always at retreats and was really very devoted to Our Lord. So, you never really know... as they say, "don't judge a book by its cover."

 

[frettr00]

Yup, it's a fashion statement or social trend I think, although some take it further than that.

There were a bunch of goths in my high school. I think most do it for the social thing. A lot seemed to not fit in anywhere else. I do get kind of disturbed by the dress. I think priests are the only ones who should dress in all black.

Kind of OT, but why do priests dress all in black?

 

[Caedmon]

Well, it isn't the right thing to do (I wouldn't imagine under ANY religion) to go around making fun of people senselessly. However, I don't think wearing some black clothes and painting your face white has anything to do with whether you are or are not a Catholic It's just a goofy high-school dress type of thing. Believe me, 6 months after high school, they will realize how ridiculous it is and grow out of it....

I know 20 to 30+ year old goths.

"Atheism" goes along with the peer-pressure to be in that particular group, most likely.

Not really. Gothic culture is tolerant of all belief systems.

 

[Caedmon]

By the way this "trend" is hilarious, IMO.... I mean.... they were doing this when I was in high school 1989-1993... And before that... Ever hear of The Cure?

The Gothic subculture began in the late 1970s.

 

[Caedmon]

As to the question of 30-something goths, I'm married to one

And there are hundreds, if not thousands, living in America and Europe, most being in Germany, with the highest concentration in Leipzig.

Anyway... I think the Christian thing to do is stick up for them. If the witness you saw of "Christians" every day was that they picked on you for your taste in music and clothes, you'd probably think they were pretty vapid people, and not want much to do with them.

Hey, sometimes I wear black clothes and parade-black-polish-shined steel-toe workboots, and I've been called just about everything. Unfortunately, this type of dress is only occasional, since the boots hurt my excessively wide feet.

But... Don't be nice to them because it might convert them. Be nice to them because they're people, and because they're worth it. Treat 'em kindly, because there will come a time when you're a bit on the outside, and you'll want people to treat you kindly... And we are called to treat others as we would like to be treated.

Unconditional love and acceptance. It's an amazing thing, rather elusive...

(Hi! I'm not debating, really I'm not. I'm just friends with a lot of goths, and yes I remember the Cure; how could I not remember what is still one of my beloved spouse's favorite bands?)

They just came out with a self-titled CD this year. They've diverged from the gothic sound over the years, but this new CD is a little more like their old school stuff. They're not my favorite band, and I can't sit through the entire CD without starting to feel a little annoyed, but hey, they're ok. Maybe I'm just biased toward neo-/industro-goth, who knows.

 

[Rising_Suns]

C.S. Lewis once spoke of how the greatest victories of satan rests on opposite poles, that is; on one end, disbelief in the existence of evil altogether, and on the other end, posessing an intense attraction towards it.

I can't help but feel that this trend in the gothic sub-culture stems from the latter pole.

 

[tjboie2001]

Goths to me are kind of creepy if you ask me. but you see I don't no any but I do have 2 friends that are skin heads.

 

[Caedmon]

So, yet again, what is the catholic view of goths? Can you be a Catholic goth? Ya know, where the clothes and all?

Sure. But question your motivation. Are you doing it to fit a stereotype and get into a clique, or are you doing it because you like it? Some will disagree with me, but in the true spirit of gothic tolerance, I believe that one could wear whatever she desired and still be gothic (and reject the title in the same breath ).

 

[Constantine]

"Goths" seem to be my only friends, yet I'm the complete opposite. "Goths" sometimes come across more real and easier to talk than most crowds at my school.

Just my 2 cents.