Today's Globe and Mail

[mbarrick]

Fatal mystery shakes Vancouver's Goths
By Mark Hume and Jane Armstrong
( Link )

Excerpts:

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Although it may seem unsettling, it is all in good fun, and not nearly as dark or morbid as mainstream society might suspect.

"Yes, there are images of death, but this is not a subculture that worships death, or anything close to it," Mr. Barta said.

Questions about the Goth scene were raised this week after the disappearance of Mr. Rempel and Ms. Adams

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Mr. Terpstra, who does the music for Sanctuary, thinks Goth followers are better educated and more musically literate than adherents of hip-hop or punk, for example.

He said the group tends to include educated, rebellious sorts who love night life and dramatic costumes.

"They're a little more courageous and well informed than the next person," Mr. Terpstra said.

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Comments

[opulence-9.livejournal.com]

I just wanna puke.

[mbarrick.livejournal.com]

This is head and shoulders above what the Province and Global TV have been doing. It's not a bad article, and it debunks a lot of the crap that has been in the press and on TV in general.

The way it is presented in the printed paper is a bit annoying, though. All the positive stuff is tucked away under the "continued on page A12" bit. Still, after the senational stuff the local papers have been doing and the Marcel-Marceau-with-eyeliner-by-Jackson-Pollack nitwit Global TV interviewed, I'm glad that this story in a national paper is about as good as it can get when a "norm" is writing the story.

Wilson directed them to the statement I have on the Gothic BC homepage right now, which was in part culled from the e-mail I sent to Jane Armstrong when I refused a second interview after Mark Hume's crap article yesterday and passed them to Isaac. They had their wrists slapped twice for making false linkages and Isaac was typically articulate. The articles and books they reference came from the references I've been putting up on Gothic BC.

All in all it isn't bad. If my work is any indication, the average person knows the sensational crap that has been in the local news is just that- sensational bullshit. I don't think the media was at all prepared for a bunch of well-educated people with educations in literature, arts, business, law, etc. and experience with interviewing, writing press releases, and general media-savvy to communicate amongst ourselves, organize and stand up and call them on their bullshit.

[seymour-glass.livejournal.com]

i saw that dood on global and i was like where the fuck did they "dig" (excuse the pun) this guy up from???

[valerian.livejournal.com]

Winston and azaraphale are being contacted by the media today to further discuss the origins of Goth, and whatnot. Winston's going to be on City TV (tonight I think), and Matt is being interviewed by either the Sun or Province regarding the music scene.

Suddenly, Goth is big in the papers. We are partially to blame for that - because we've finally gotten so sick of all the misrepresentation that we are speaking about it en masse, and it's making decent copy. GOOD! And you're right, I think they are very surprised how intelligent and articulate we are!!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_disdain_/]

It's been really great seeing the community in general stand up for itself and speak with more insight and compassion about the whole situation than some segments of the media.

One rather unexpected side-effect I have found quite interesting is seeing how the "average person" reacts to the media coverage. I haven't had so many questions at work ever about the "goth scene" as I have in the past week... many of these people seem to be aware of the "media slant" to the whole thing and find it rather distasteful.

I guess there are still some people out there who think for themselves... and for those that don't perhaps sharing an office with a goth forces them to realize most of us are pretty typical after all.

[mbarrick.livejournal.com]

I've been noticing a similar thing at my work. Everyone seems to know that it's all nonsense.

[sovietnimrod.livejournal.com]

I hunted down the work copy of the Globe & Mail this morning to see what they had to say. It's nice to see some more serious-based quotes (i.e. Isaac) and examples (yes, Goths too can and do hold down the same professional jobs that the mainstream deems to be the end-all and be-all) but was kind of hoping that they would have delved deeper into all the misconceptions raised by the mainstream. I felt that Isaac likely had more stuff to say but they shortchanged him. If something good does always arise out of the bad, then at least Isaac is finally getting the due recognition of his contributions to maintain and promoting the scene.

[mbarrick.livejournal.com]

Amen to that. Isaac has definitely been the hero of the day, taking the point on all this, and deserves the recognition.

[sovietnimrod.livejournal.com]

Even though I no longer consider myself as a participant in the 'goth scene', what really peeves me off with all these media assumptions is that they would never get away with applying the same blanket labels to - of, say - ethnic minorities for one example? Just like all blacks are not drug-dealing criminals (based on the image portrayed from that bastion called Harlem), neither are all goths obsessed with death.

I suppose the mansonites are the goths' answer to gansta-homies?