Russia considers ban on emos and goths

You would think that the Russian Authorities have more important issues to deal with.

You are so right on the 5 points you listed rob. Do they really think by banning this, the society and the world would all of a sudden be happy?

Freedom and expression and this "democratic" society we thought we were living in is slowly eroding away.

Codi Grifiti has contributed a photo to this story.

Soooo ok.. this is an ex-girlfriend.
Photo was taken in 2005
And she's actually as evil as she looks.
No, we havent spoken in like three years so please dont ask me how to contact her.
You couldn't handle her anyway..

xAntiVenxm has contributed a photo to this story.

now im gonna throw my two cents in with the rest of everyone else's loose change.

Suicide = stupidity.

No change in the music you listen to
or the clothes you wear
is going to make any change to
the fact that you're an idiot.

Thx for hving my photo btw.
ive got more, my current girlfrann's an indie cindie
I've got a blonde streak in my hair.
and most of my mates are scene in one form or another.
Yay stereotypes!

In my day they said OZZY was a bad influence ! Oh...wait...he probably was...BUT not as bad of influence as Whitesnake, but.... I digress.

This is a Parental Issue, let the kids be kids, but all the while they need parents with a brain to guide them and rein them in when needed.

HELL I'd be 100% Goth if it wasn't for wearing black trench coats in 120 degree heat.  I am far to woosie for that, not too mention I am not willing to dye my long blond hair black for the much needed effect.

Russia has far more woes than Goths and Emos to contend with

They think you can ban sadness and despair. Silly governments!

I think that they don't know how to deal with the real problems.so go and ban what ever is new or looks scary.haha.well sorry guys the Goths aren't scary.they think off live and all that gomes with it,so yes also death,but that doesn't mean they are agressive or suasidel (excuse my bad englisch)I am a goth and my 17 year old son too,I feel no need to kill myself.I love life....hate wars.and murder...hey I am a hippy wearing black clothes.

let the Russian govermenth take a look at their own shit,they made a mess off their country.

boy's are killing eachother in the army,with those stupid Frat games.submarines are sinking killing hundreds off people (were  they also Goths and Emo's)

there are so much worse things in the world,stop looking at clothes and music...go and help were it is needed.not in the Goth world.....

This is so disgusting, how on earth can GOVERNMENT decide to ban 'fashion', music or a way of life as some people see it?

In my opinion it is a way of life, and its the way i choose to keep a-fucking-live.

If someone said to me, you have to stop wearing your clothes and stop listening to the music that inspires you and makes you want to actually go on, what the hell would i have to look foward to or look happy about? Fuck all.

Im sorry but the Government cannot blame the Emo, goth or punk followers for anyone elses decision to commit suicide. I have never heard of a song that says 'come cut yourself, die, its good?' That's absurd! Plus, that would be shit music...

If the stupid idiots actually understood the music of emo or goth then they would realise that it't not promoting suicide or negativety. It is reflecting feelings and ocurances in their lives possibly about those things and expressing them as a way of release.

So what, they plan to sentence Mariah carey to death because she wrote the song 'I can't live if living is without you?' Well... I suppose that's different. Because she's not Emo or Goth. 'Let her live because her music is not heavy!'

Also, If some kids want to get the wrong impression and think that the lyrics mean 'kill yourself now', then it's their fault for god's sake!

Are they trying to turn this world into some poksy land where nothing goes wrong?

Well, stop focussing on clothes and music, and focus on murders or rapes for christ sake.

Try aiming to sort the problem of children wanting to kill themselves, rather than banning them from what the like doing. Surely that will have the reverse effect and make them worse?

GIVE THOSE PEOPLE HELP! Don't fucking deny them their way of life.

Makes me wonder what the fuck we pay tax for!

No matter how hard these wankers try, they will NEVER stop something big like this.

It it massively respected and followed now. And it will not be stopped! haha :)

If anything, trying to stop it will cause anarchy! Good luck GUVNORS!

This is so ridiculous!  If they ban emo/goth culture there are some serious problems-lie how to you identify it to ban it in the first place-will wearing black be illegal?  Also, if it's banned it will just go underground and also give all emo kids a real reason to kill themselves-sice they can no longer express themselves and are forced to be someone they're not.  This is asking for trouble.

This is a wonderful woman who noticed the feline me (http://www.flickr.com/photos/solomon_tigcelot/2255764019/ to see what I mean!) from a balcony and took my picture during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter 2008. I had to return the favor!

Solomon Tigcelot has contributed a photo to this story.

*laughs hysterically* Oh this is ridiculous. You can't just BAN a self expression. Doing that will only up the rates of suicide because teenagers who are put under WAY to much pressure by adults and peers will have no way of expressing themselves. Just because you dress a little on the dark side doesn't make you evil. I dress like a punk sometimes because it's an awesome sense of style. (That's not me in the photo though, it's my sister) When will people get it? Banning something doesn't make it all better, it just confines people and makes their problems harder to deal with. This is insane.

shadow-hostage has contributed a photo to this story.

I never drink...wine

eventide2020 has contributed a photo to this story.

Oh boy! I have alot to say on this!

 Russians have too many issues in their sociological infrastructure to worry about what teenagers are wearing on their streets. Just because kids wear dark eye make up and black clothes doesn't make them children of the damned. They are expressing themselves as an artist would do. I'm an artist and a Goth. I think I'm pretty well adjusted. Goths, Emo's, Punker's, Gays, and anyone who wishes to break with archaic customs and taboo to be themselves have a right to be what, and who they are. It is the human condition. It's called freedom. Anyone is entitled. Everyone deserves respect. No one likes to be told how to live, I know I don't. If what you do makes you happy, and it doesn't hurt anyone, you should be allowed to live as you see fit. Look what the Nazi's and other totalitarian regimes did around the world in our past, and now in our present. The Russians have just come out of such and now their government wants to alienate and frighten their people once again? Picking on their youth? Shame on them!

Perhaps alittle rebellion against the status quo is healthy now and again in every generation. The fiftie's had Elvis and Little Richard, Greasers, James Dean and hotrods, the sixtie's the Hippies, Beatnicks, Andy Warhol, Woodstock, and the Beatles, the seventies saw the Woman's rights movement, Bruce Lee, Punk Rock, and Goth, and in Japan, the Gothic Lolita fashion movement started to take shape. Hell, Japanese kids in the eighties were tanning themselves so dark they looked black, and many listened to R&B and later Hip Hop and rap,  and gave themselves afros too. Here in the states, during the eighties, we had heavy metal, parachute pants, break dancing, Depeche Mode, Goth and New Waver fashions.

I can't believe the Russians are getting pissed over a style of clothing! What a stupid thing to fear.The clothes and the music of the subculture is not effecting the kids, they are identifying with it. The darkness and depression was already there influencing it. Maybe the subculture, in their eyes, reflects the maloncholy of what they see every day on their streets. Drug and alchohol abuse among the adults is rampant and out of control not just the youth. Child abuse and abandonment is extremely high. There are so many orphans there that the government can't keep up with housing them all. Their parents and other adults they are supposed to be protected by, inspired by, are killing themselves. Suicide among the adults is just as alarming, especially among the men. The kids see people dying in the streets and in their homes before their eyes. The Russian government neglects it's country's cities as much as it's youth. There are few positive role models for the youth to look up too. Perhaps they immitate what they see in their society? It has nothing to do with fashion nor music. I have known plenty of people here that are "normal' by societies's standards, who are not Goth or Punkers or Emo's, who do not listen to any type of music that is associated with those subcultures, and are or have been depressed and suicidal. People succeed of fail based on their own merits or maybe life just happens to throw them a curve ball. It has nothing to do with what they wear.

The Russian male population, as scientists say, will be extinct in no less that 20 years and that the Russian genome will be lost in less than 40 years. They will cease to exist as part of our world as a genetically unique people. We will see their extinction. The Russians have started "breeding" programs, inticing young couples to marry by paying them to do so, giving away free housing and a car to each of them to get started. Yeah. I'd say they have alot more to worry about than Goth music and angsty teenagers.

Well I read about This whole making Emo illegal in Russia on Kerrang! and decided to look it up more, so I stumbled upon this lovely website. 

I think everyone on here that is against making Emo and Goth illegal and who thinks The Russian Government has way better things to worry about than "emo kids" is right. 

I'm a kid who IS labelled as "Emo" and I'm not depressed or want to die or anything like that. I'm an everyday regular kid who goes through everyday and has the same teen problems as every other teen. The only real issue I have that's different from "normal" kids issues is that I have to go everyday being made fun because I dress differently and listen to different music. But in reality, I'm no different than the people who make fun of me, we're all the same. I'm just the bigger person because I don't hate them for the way they look or what kind of music they listen too. I don't like them because they believe in what they hear about emo kids, that they really do think all emo kids want to die and the fact that they judge me before they really know me. If these people would look beyond what I look like then they might actually realize that I'm a nice, happy person who has friends and family who care about me.    

This was a pic I took of my friend at an anime convention. In Japanese culture, the idea of "goth" has expanded into the subculture of "Gothic Lolita", which can be happy, childish, and exude a more innocent look rather than gloomy.

KusanagiRobin has contributed a photo to this story.

this is a really stupid law so now should everyone dress like clones ? if we dont stop these idiots now where will it end there trying to take control of every aspect of peoples lives if people cant express them selves where will it lead to? why dont we let some tree year olds run russia? they would do a better job and would probly sort out more important issues this is just sterotyping people

Starting to see how it might have felt for the Jews. And yeah yeah, spare me the 'trivializing the holocaust' thing, because I am aware of the importance and sensitivities of it. People have been attacking people who either are or are identified as being 'emo' for close to a decade now. The longer stuff like that goes on for, the worse it gets, because the haters accumulate ammunition in the form of rhetoric, fear (i.e. physical violence in numerous cases) and other haters. The majority bourgoise and non-emos who aren't haters generally fail to care about the stereotyping and, now, getting close to essentially hate crimes, or they simply go along with milder attacks such as jokes and humour, which nonetheless contribute to the growing trouble.

I honestly feel that once we start naming groups based on a stereotype, it only leads to problems. I think 'Goths' are the only subgroup with a group name which doesn't have an underlying negative connotation in the media and everyday conversation. Even in a lot of recent news and internet postings, people, including people who deride emo or attack emo, afford goth some slightly better attributes.