Home > Uncovering Mexico > Archives > 2008 > March > 20 > Entry
Emos under attack
In the last couple of weeks, a particular subculture of Mexican youths, who dub themselves “emos,” have come under violent attack throughout the country. Two weeks ago in the otherwise quiet colonial capital of Queretaro, mobs of kids attacked the emos in an attempt to force them out of the city’s main plaza. A week later, the violence arrived in Mexico City, when emos who hang out at the Insurgentes Metro stop were attacked by gangs of punks and soccer fans. Rumors of more attacks in Mexico City and the northern state of Durango are floating around the Internet.
So who are these emos, and why so much hate? Emos here in Mexico are bound by a specific fashion style (black clothes, tight jeans, huge bangs, black eye makeup) and ideology: according to several Internet sources, a strong chord of sadness, depression and sense of being misunderstood by the larger society runs through emo thought. Bands like Good Charlotte are emo favorites. And self mutilation is apparently common among kids heavily into the emo scene.
Anger against the emos has come from many quarters: punks and goths who think emos are ripping off their culture, homophobes who don’t find emos masculine enough, and those who simply seem threatened by a group that is so different than the mainstream.
Here are a couple examples of anti-emo anger from a Mexican website: “I HATE EMOS!!! They are not even people, they are so stupid, they cry over meaningless things…My school is infested with them, I want to kill them all!” and “We’ve never seen all the urban tribes unite against one single tribe before…Emos, their way of thinking is for crap, if you are so depressed please do us all a favor and kill yourselves!”
Emos have begun to fight back, organizing marches in Guadalajara and Mexico City. And voices have begun appearing warning of a creeping intolerance in Mexican society. Gilberto RincĂłn Gallardo, a columnist for the El Porvenir newspaper, argued this week that tolerance is the foundation of any healthy democracy. “If a group of young people like (emos) decides to get together and live life in a certain manner, and doesn’t hurt others, it’s the obligation of the Democratic state to protect them…It’s easy for an eccentric and easily identified minority group to be stigmatized and discriminated against…It’s the responsibility of the authorities to make sure the threats aren’t carried out and the aggressions are punished.”
Emos are by no means a Mexican phenomenon. They are yet another example of a fashion and subculture that has leapt across the border. Yes, the U.S. has its own emos, as this slightly alarmist TV news segment shows us.
Comments
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By omg
March 21, 2008 6:30 PM | Link to this
wtf. dude. seriously. that definition that you gave in your artcicle is not even remotely close to its true definition. emo is one thing only. emo means emotive hardocore which stands for a type of music. that and nothing more. oh and i mean bands like silverstein and atreyu even hawthorne heights, but not some pop-rock band like good charlotte. that stuff said about ripping off from goths is way outta hand. no. emo kids dont state that their life is crap and that the want to kill themselves- not even remotly close. thats just crap. the only way youre an emo kid is if you listen to emo music. its people like you and the media who give emo a bad name. so if youre going to write an article on something like this atleast get your facts straight. and dont get quotes from teenagers at school who dont even know the true definition of an emo kid.
By Mayitzin
March 23, 2008 3:26 AM | Link to this
Emotive Hardcore?
WTF!! HARDCORE??? Hardcore is about energy, power, even headbangin’… but nothing related to emotive. Never combine both words, that’s stupid, like sayin’ “Satanic Kinder”… it’s just really stupid.
By verdad
March 26, 2008 7:23 PM | Link to this
mmm…. what’s wrong with emotive hardcore? emotive means containing emotion… and if you listen to emotionless music than pity you.
angst is an emotion… and i’ll leave it that to avoid drawing the argument all out for you.
it’s just a bunch of teens getting excited… the sign of lively passion, hopefully the violence doesn’t go beyond this. it’s already becoming a sensationalized issue.
By NotCrazyAboutEmosButWhatever
March 27, 2008 10:59 AM | Link to this
Hey OMG, the definition of “emo” here in the US is pretty loose to start with, but you’re wrong to call BS on this writer. His use of the phrase “Emos here in Mexico are…” is a dead giveaway that he’s describing “emo” culture in Mexico, not the US. Try reading the article before your next lowercase rant.
By silnlo
March 27, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this
Um, “omg” — you’re obviously a purist, and more power to you. But if you honestly believe that “emo” still refers to “emotive hardcore”, stuff like Rites of Spring or Sunny Day Real Estate in 2008, you’re mistaken. Whether you like it or not, and you obviously don’t, “emo” now refers to the kids who love the music you hate. It’s not the media that has given emo a bad name — it’s the lousy bands who use the tag incorrectly, and are a million times more popular than any ’80s hardcore group.
And Mayitzin, you might want to stop writing comments about things you know absolutely nothing about. Hardcore is “about” all kinds of things.
By matthew
March 27, 2008 11:47 AM | Link to this
to omg: emo has become indicative of a larger cultural and fashion movement. for better or for worse, it no longer simply means emo music: it could also mean a specific way of dressing, acting, viewing the world etc. And yes, it has become more generic and appealing to younger crowds—this is what happens to all counterculture movements. rock and roll, punk, hip-hop, indy rock all started out underground and became the status quo once marketers figured out they could use it to sell and appear cool.
to mayitzin: “emotive hardcore” is indeed the earliest form of “emo”. far from modern bands such as good charlotte, atreyu or (shudder) hawthorn heights, emo started out as very abrasive hardcore that happened to have introspective, soul-searching lyrics. look up moss icon, rites of spring, embrace, nation of ulysses- all much closer to hardcore yet seen as the primal beginnings of emo. sunny day real estate marked the switch from hardcore to prog and pop sounds for emo, while still retaining abrasive guitars and sometimes frenetic drumbeats. mid-period emo bands such as jets to brazil, mineral, braid, or the promise ring are much poppier than early emo but still retain the punk DIY ethic and focus on energy and passion more than musicianship. and now, emo has become a larger catch-all, encompassing pretty much any mainstream alternative rock music with introspective lyrics. a far cry from its hardcore origins.
sorry for the long-winded history lesson, but it needed to be said—emo has changed tremendously and not really for the better.
By omg2
March 27, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this
*(ed.) wits: We can all read Wikipedia, too, for the variations on Emo. The violence? Same old, same old: males’ **(ed.) fall off at the thought they might be gay, cuz they wanna be so much.
By Rose
March 28, 2008 10:42 AM | Link to this
The author’s definition of “emo” might not represent your personal definition of emo, or even the definition of “emo” as understood by many Americans, but his article does explain “emo” in the context of how many Mexican youths understand the term.
By bawwww
March 28, 2008 11:46 AM | Link to this
Baww, that’s all that can be said. BAAW. Whiny little **s (ed.) got what was coming, and I hope it carries over into the states.
By higby
March 28, 2008 3:13 PM | Link to this
nation of ulysses is awesome…
anybody ever hear boys sets fire’s demo tape, with “my life in the knife trade” ? yeah….
By Will Sellari
March 28, 2008 3:22 PM | Link to this
Maybe this will give them something to write songs about other than the last days of summer, swing sets, ex-girlfriends, and rain.
By Rory
March 28, 2008 8:15 PM | Link to this
This is excellent and should have happened much earlier. Although now that it is happening hopefully we can expect to see more of it elsewhere. We must remove every trace of this pathetic trend.
By Karlia
March 29, 2008 1:41 PM | Link to this
WHY DO PEOPLE HATE ON EMOS? OK IM AN EMO I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THEM DOESNT MEAN LIKE IF UR AN EMO YOU STUPIDA**HOLES. WHO MAKE FUN OF EMOS?
GEESUS STOP MAKIN FUN OF BACKGROUND RELIGONS STUPID EMO HATERS…
By sickofthis
March 29, 2008 3:37 PM | Link to this
How can people just go around and beat up kids just because of hair and clothes and the music they like? Are you all really THAT ignorant? Its a stuid label, get over it. A high school stereotype, a fashion statement (though, not so much anymore). If your going to beat up kids just because you think they are ‘worthless peices of s(ed.)’, maybe you should get over yourself and get to know the person behind the clothes. I can’t believe this. I can’t believe labels have gotten to the point where people will beat up other kids for pointless reasons such as this. And, sure, people got beat up back then for being a certain label, but I’m sure it never started a riot such as this. If you have a problem with something like this, contain it inside your frigging head, don’t beat the **** out of people because of something you are ignorant to and don’t understand. Everyone has a different opinion on what emo is, maybe to you its a peice of ****, but to them, they may just like the clothes, or its a possible way of fitting in. Its pathetic ‘emo’ even got this far in the first place. If you hate it so much, then forget about it and move on with your life, don’t try to put it down in a history book as the ‘biggest massacre in the world carried out by teens beating the s out of people they don’t understand’. Get over it already.
By Chris
March 29, 2008 7:32 PM | Link to this
(Grunt). It’s called “Emotive Hardcore” because actual hardcore (not s*(ed.) like “pantera,” hardcore isn’t and was never on the radio,) had always been political before “emo” bands. “Emotive Hardcore” as opposed to “Political Hardcore.” Someone needs to start keeping better track of stupid, music-oriented pop culture…
By just the way it goes
March 30, 2008 7:24 PM | Link to this
This is a bunch of bull. If you consider me “emo” and you want to attack me, seriously, I don’t care. I wear black T-shirts and skinny jeans and i sport long bangs, oh and my favorite band is My Chemical Romance. If you get to know me you’d relieze that if I’m “emo”, then emo is nothing. do I cut myself? no, have I before yes. Do I hurt people? no I try to help people. wow, big f-ing deal, some kids get upset and are intolerent ***** but it is stupid that people who look “emo” get treated like this.
By Jackie
March 31, 2008 7:12 AM | Link to this
This is ridiculous! Emo, is a syle, a label, not a reason to be beat up and jumped! The one’s who are beating up “the emos” are chilidish and stupid. Saying that every “emo kid” wants to kill themself over little stupid things, would be like me saying that all goth kids are angry and hate their parents because the parents didnt love them as a child. i have plenty of goth friends with a great relationship with their parents, its just they style they chose! Its not a big deal, and its not worth fighting over, an whoever thinks it is, you need to grow up.
By Anonymous
April 3, 2008 4:08 AM | Link to this
this is just stupid. punks and goths beating up emos because they “stole their style” they derived from you, as did goths from punks, we never saw tons of violence there did we? (correct me if im wrong about that) People consider me emo. do i cut myself? no do i wear black a lot? t-shirts yeah. do i wear girl jeans? no do i listen to fall out boy? okay 2 songs admittedly… do i love my chemical romance? no actually i hate the band. what is my favorite band? slipknot or slayer. do i only listen to metal? no i listen to various bands from techno bands to metal to bands such as simple plan, i dont stick to one music genre. Honestly i think it is sad that mexicans are fighting like ignorant morons. i have never gotten along with mexicans in the first place (i dont openly look emo so dont say thats why.) they always come off as narrow minded idiots to me, im sure there are smarter ones of you out there, i just have yet to see one.
By drfeelgooder69
April 7, 2008 2:42 AM | Link to this
I think its pretty funny in a way.. I mean if your an honest “emo” kid that enjoys self mutilation then getting the ** kicked out is right up your alley, but if your just into the trends and music then it’s really ignorant.
By maria
April 8, 2008 10:23 PM | Link to this
as far as i know punk and goth are really popular in mexico city, the fact that they organized marches to protest the assaults really says something about how seriously they take the emo concept, of course the author doesnt mention any details (how big were they etc.), it almost seems, well, ridiculous…but this dark emo/punk/goth culture seems to be a window into the pessimistic culture of a classist, bigoted society in mexico, and how the youth rebel
oh, and anonymous from april 3, you’re an idiot
By Nurse
April 12, 2008 11:24 PM | Link to this
I’m a school nurse & you wouldn’t believe how many of the “emo” kids cut. They call themselves “emo,” by the way. We’ve sent at least a dozen kids to the local psychiatric hospital for self-injury and suicidal ideation just during this school year. I was pretty confused about the whole “emo” thing until one of the kids showed me the website http://whatisemo.bravehost.com/. Once I saw that site, I understand the issue much better; please take the time to view this and protect yourself and your loved ones.
By magu
April 16, 2008 5:45 PM | Link to this
que p2 con esos vatos estan pen*(ed.) pero las chavas si me gustan a ellas si les queda esos peinados
By Alix Malice
June 17, 2008 9:54 AM | Link to this
Emo is a fashion get over it. Emo has become so stereotypical. “Emos cut” and “Emos hate there life.” Its dumb ok thats not EVERY emo in the world ok. I’m ‘emo’ i party i have the short/long mullet type hair. I love my life and i love to go to shows ok. Yea i’m ‘emo’ i’m also smart a good soccer player. Is that in anyway related to your whole thought on emos? I think not if you just saw me would you assume all those things? I bet you would so just get over it. There are plenty of good soccer, football, and basketball players that are emo in highschool and colledge
By EMO sarah GIRL
June 24, 2008 1:30 PM | Link to this
u dont have to cut yourself or hate your life to be an emo , I’m an emo kid and I’m proud to be a one , and i dont care what others say about me , coz the dont know what rael emo is so evreyone join my group in face book : http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=16332368271
By jamili
August 8, 2008 12:51 PM | Link to this
+100. Respect. ;)
By Lebny Pargas
October 10, 2008 9:15 AM | Link to this
wdf!?!? man emos r KOOL!!!
By Miyu
November 14, 2008 12:02 PM | Link to this
To emo kids? Stop whining about how everything sucks, because it could be a lot worse. To the bashers? Stop beating kids up just because you can or because you hate them. People are being stupid about all of this. Live and let live, don’t bash people just because they don’t think like you. let’s try not to be a communist country.
By Crista*Alberts
November 17, 2008 10:41 AM | Link to this
Wow! thats all i have to say to all of your dumb comments. If your not emo then why are you on here anyway?
By Shawn Brock
January 12, 2009 1:37 PM | Link to this
All i can say is put them all in one room and send 500 nukes at them. that will settle things for good dont you all agree. email me if you want to agrue about this or agree with me cuz i will give a better reason for everything on how emo ppl should not be here!
By Pre-Emo
January 28, 2009 6:25 PM | Link to this
Honestly, this is not really about beating up “Emo” kids more than any other isolated group in the past. And this HAS happened before. Look at the violent history associated with “Punk” and even further back to “Zoot Suit” style. Both were examples of fashion and music hybrids representing a minority or “othered” voice. As per Emo stealing from “Goth” or “punk” or even “Raver/Skittle” kids, that’s nothing new either. I, myself, come from that PRE-EMO era of the late 90’s. I was wearing crazy colors in my hair, black clothes, bright colored make-up/ jewelry and when I look at kids today, I see my high school styles slightly modified. But you know what? When I was in high school, all my Aunt could see was her old high school styles slightly modified: which is to say, it was a throw back from 80’s style. It’s all passed down. Just look at the revival of vintage and rockabilly styles right now. That’s 1940’s, people! The same arguments are still going on as to what defines Punk or Goth or what have you. It’s all the same thing: people identifying with an aesthetic and expressing themselves through it. As per the violence, I can only hope it DOESN’T spread any further. We do NOT need any more kids killing kids.
P.S. Near as I can tell, kids who consistently talk about killing themselves or hurting themselves are just kids who need at least one of the following: Attention (maybe they don’t get it at home). A Creative Outlet (maybe they just need something to inspire them) Professional Help (maybe they are genuinely depressed)
What they don’t need, is to get the * beat out of them. Have a little humanity people.
By Mrcia
February 1, 2009 8:28 PM | Link to this
The question really isn’t why do you hate EMO, or why do you think it stupid. The question is what makes you think that you are any better and you are so angry that you go nuts on someone that is wearing somthing stupid? Cos I guarantee that whoever you are, you probably look stupid to somebody. They just don’t hate that enough to end your stupid ***.
By So whats the problem?
February 1, 2009 8:36 PM | Link to this
I think EMO is pretty silly. But then any style carried to that extreme is silly. In my school I see it. But someone that starts beating up on another kid because they look strange needs to have their head examined. Literally. If you see red and need to hit anytime you see black eyeliner and tight pants, you are effing nuts and should commit yourself to an insane assylum unil your problem goes away. I don’t see EMO’s whinning here. I see you people whinning about EMO’s. If you think only ****** complain all the time(I do) then STOP complaining about EMO’s! Cos thats even more sorry.
By roxxie
February 22, 2009 10:15 PM | Link to this
nono you all have it all wrong… all emo people are just emotiona… thats where the word emo comes from…EMOtional… they just have diffrent feelings… they feel sad… lonely… feel like crying…. thats all .. ya they may have a different style but theres nothing wrong with that… whatz up with ya people?? hating on emo people….
By John1320
May 18, 2009 4:47 AM | Link to this
Very nice site!