Emo music attacked over teen suicide

[Levis]

[big]Genre blasted again after 13 year-old 'emo girl' commits suicide[/big]

[smaller]May 8, 2008[/smaller]

An inquest in Maidstone has heard that Hannah Bond, a 13 year-old girl from Kent, committed suicide by hanging herself - and emo music has been blamed.

Both Bond's mother, Heather and Roger Sykes, the coroner who gave the verdict of suicide yesterday (May 7), suggested that the fact that Bond was an obsessive fan of such music was linked to her death.

The inquest heard that Bond had discussed with friends the "glamour" of suicide, and was obsessed with American band My Chemical Romance. She had a picture of an emo girl with bloody wrists on her Bebo page.

Bond's father Ray explained that his daughter had had an episode of self-harm prior to her suicide, which she told him was an emo initiation ceremony.

Heather Bond condemned emo music, saying: "There are [emo] websites that show pink teddies hanging themselves. She called emo a fashion and I thought it was normal. Hannah was a normal girl. She had loads of friends. She could be a bit moody but I thought it was just because she was a teenager."

As he gave the verdict of suicide, coroner Sykes said: "The emo overtones concerning death and associating it with glamour I find very disturbing."

Source: NME

[Viaene]

whoever came up with emo-music can hang himself right now, I see nothing good in it

[Red Fish]

people who want to be influenced by things will be influenced by them

especially thirteen year olds

and no i'm not defending emo music

[Jenny]

Sad, sad, sad that anyone would think it was a "fashion" to cut yourself and do harm to yourself.

This type of music is not new. It may not have been called emo, but it's been around a long time. It's this culture built around it nowadays that is disturbing. If this girl was truly depressed, then she has my sympathy. If she thought of hanging herself as a "fashion" or "fad", then she has my pity as well.

Edited May 8, 2008 by Guest

[Steel2Velvet]

Does the music follow the trend or does the trend follow the music?

[Viaene]

the answer to that question is like; what was first, the chicken of the egg

[Lea]

They call it a fashion statement here to and it's becoming a problem in the schools I think. It's just scary. I live in a small town and my 23yr old daughter says a lot of the young kids around here are into it and they cut themselves

I fear for the generations to come. I don't ever remember past generations being so violent to themselves or others. We had our problems of course but not the kind parents have to deal with these days.

[TheLizard]

If you're going to kill yourself, at least do it because good music told you to.

[Foolonthehill]

on the one hand, a lot of kids are "emo" because they enjoy the whole image

but on the other, it's usually not the music that makes you depressed, you listen to the music because you're depressed.

I don't think someone would commit suicide to follow their emo image

[Ombre Vivante]

Emo just sux. If I listened to emo, I'd have probably given up on having friends, going out, going to work, and flat out having a life.

[Otokichi]

Popular music has led to:

Liquor, drugs, and "flat women" (The 1920's)

Acrobatic dance injuries (The 1940's)

back seat sex (The 1950's, I think)

Legendary sexual promiscuity (The 1960's)

Mullets and trashy clothes (The 1970's?)

I could go on, but you get the idea, each generation has their music and unique way of horrifying their parents. Keep the lines of communication open, and watch for radical changes in mood/behavior.

[bazooka]

This all made me think of this song, which I haven't thought of (or heard) in years.

I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself

[smaller]Music by Elton John. Lyrics by Bernie Taupin [/smaller]

I'm getting bored

Being part of mankind

There's not a lot to do no more

This race is a waste of time

People rushing everywhere

Swarming around like flies

Think I'll buy a forty four

Give them all a surprise

Think I'm gonna kill myself

Cause a little suicide

Stick around for a couple of days

What a scandal if I died

Yeah I'm gonna kill myself

Get a little headline news

I'd like to see what the papers say

On the state of teenage blues

A rift in my family

I can't use the car

I gotta be in by ten o'clock

Who do they think they are

I'd make an exception

If you want to save my life

Brigitte Bardot gotta come

And see me every night

[Batman]

It's a true fact that teenagers didn't kill themselves before emo music was around, since they didn't have sad music so there was no reason to.

[invisible_r]

I think you will find that people have been self- harming for a very long time now, just didn't advertise it as much as emo kids seem to do, it used to be a private coping mechanism, not a trend. One of SYlvia Plath's poems (I think it's called ten red indians or something) indicates that she self- harmed.

And I am assuming you are joking Batman!

[Batman]

yes of course!

I read another article about this same incident that said something like "The teenage girl wrote about 'The Black Parade' in her diary, which is a place emos believe they go when they die."

[elie]

this suicide because of music is bullhit obiously the girl had issues i mean come on stop blaming the music and the thing that created the whole emo trend was not the music but labelising it and calling it emo

[elie]

labeling it sorry

[Viaene]

if you don't fight your problems they have that accumulated snowball effect.

Emo music can totally turn you down if you let it

That's probably the whole thing: there alwats has been depressing music, but the emo culture doesn't fight it and let's it totally influence them

[Red Fish]

yes of course!

I read another article about this same incident that said something like "The teenage girl wrote about 'The Black Parade' in her diary, which is a place emos believe they go when they die."

I find it hilarious how people have to turn everything into a religion just because it's in a form of entertainment they like. We already have Jedis and a church of gaming, and now we need an emo afterlife from a MCR song?

[Batman]

just to clarify, you do realize that emos don't actually believe they go to the black parade after they die, right? the magazine just had incorrect information or made it up or something.

[Red Fish]

i dont doubt that there are people who believe in this black parade thing, ive seen weirder stuff

but taken, i perhaps jumped to conclusions too quickly

[jonspeaks22]

Only idiots kill themselves because of music...as far as I'm concerned the parents should of raised their kids better if they are that easily persuaded by someone who is merely on the radio.

[Foolonthehill]

I don't think she killed herself because of music.

She probably killed herself because she was depressed...

[Steel2Velvet]

Ozzy Osbourne was acquitted while the defendant in a trial instigated by a couple whose son botched a suicide attempt (missed his brain and shot his face off with a shotgun) while listening to the song "Suicide Solution." I saw the documentary about this case.

Quite enlightening ... as well as depressing, which corresponds with two different ways to look at any situation.

[TheLizard]

The worst thing about that case is, the kid misinterpreted the damn song. Suicide Solution was what Ozzy called alcohol. It was solution as in liquid mix, not answer to a problem. The song was about Bon Scott, I believe.