Saturday, December 02, 2006

Proud to be Emo

An unsettling element has manifested itself in our immediate society, and I wish to eliminate right here and now.

I'm afraid that over the last few years emotions have become a bad thing. Through our constant negative references to emo kids we have made discussing our inner emotions something that is not acceptable.

Think about it. Emo kids are people too, just like the French are people. In my reality though, both have become nothing but negative memes. My vocabulary has adapted to have "French" represent cowardice and 'I surrender!'. Do I really think that the French are pansies? No, not at all. They're people too, I recognize that. Right now it's just the easiest way for me to make a joke about running away. Everybody recognizes the representation. It's popular, people get it, and it's an easy way to represent something in a humorous fashion.

I fear that this is what has happened to Emo Kids. When I say "Man, I feel like such an emo kid..." I mean something along the lines of "I'm feeling depressed and have a lot of emotions going on right now that I want to talk about but that I'm afraid to because they won't be accepted, this sucks." It's much easier to say "I feel like an emo kid" than it is to repeat the aforementioned sentence.

Emo kids have taken on a very negative connotation. Nobody wants to dye their hair black and wear fun clothes. Nobody wants to go through the whole day not smiling. Nobody wants to be like that.

I don't think all emo kids are like that. Not the way that we use it at least. And even if they are, so what? They're people too.

There's an easy way to say this. As a direct result of "emo kid" representing a sad individual who nobody likes and our constant use of "I feel like an emo kid" whenever we have emotions, we've come to see having emotions as socially unacceptable and weak.

I really do believe it.

I'm the guiltiest one. You can always hear me saying "don't be such an emo kid" whenever someone does get the courage to share a few feelings. I don't share feelings like I ought to. I've been stuck in the trap.

I broke loose twice. Only twice in the past forever. Both times I've been driving Brad home. He lives far enough away that there's time to talk. I don't have anything to fear from telling him stuff. There's always a mood of mutual respect when we get to talking. We don't have to make jokes, and we can both be serious and appreciate the things we're talking about.

It always feels good, to be free and talk about stuff. It doesn't happen often enough.

I'm tired of this culture of emophobia. We're better than that. We are mature enough to respect and appreciate another's emotions. Nick is a real person too, and I'm big enough to realize that the emotions he's feeling are vitally important to him.

Hiding and bottling is getting old. It's not good for you. It's a deception of yourself and of others, we're too good for it.

Don't be afraid of emotions. We started it unintentionally and now it threatens our well-being. Emo kids are people too. Tonight, I'm proud to be the emo.

And so friends, I'm pleased to take a stand. My 183 centimeter tall frame is standing up for emotion. I'm standing up for the ability and privilege of not being ashamed to admit that you feel like you've never accomplished anything great. I'm standing up for the guy that wonders if deep down, maybe it is just him. I'm standing up for the one who worries about knowing what to say. I stand up for those bad days and those contemplative nights. I stand up for a realization of our equality and weaknesses. I stand up for not being able to make it alone. I stand up for strength in unity and power in love. I stand up for you and for me. Together, we will make it through.

Here I stand.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I couldn't have said it any better myself... I was actually thinking about that today. I wanted to just tell somebody how I was feeling, but like you said, being "emo" is such a "bad" thing now, that nobody can ever say how they really feel anymore. To be honest, I was thinking about this while people were up there bearing their testimonies and crying and stuff. I thought "how cliche." That's how bad it's getting. I hate myself for it... and I'm going to try to break out of it. But I can't do it by myself, everyone else has to choose to be accepting of my emotions if I'm going to decide to let them out, or else I'll completely drown. So I thank you, Thatcher, for writing this post. People listen to you, they follow your suggestions. Maybe this will be the turnaround.

Anonymous said...

Hmm. On one hand, I don't agree with the emo kids who just do it to fit in, which is a lot of 'em, the ones who wear makeup and dress up. Acting like someone you're not just to fit in with people who like you for your facade is not cool.

On the other hand, I do have emotions, just like every other human being on the planet, no matter how much they deny it or hide it.

On the other hand, thanks for blogging, Chris. Huzzah.

Anonymous said...

Way to stand up. Thank you. And remember, you have people standing with you. You're not alone in this. I agree with you and I'll try everything in my power to assist in the turn around.

Karlito said...

Isn't it ironic that 3 out of the 4 comments that came before me were Anonymous? DONT YOU SEE!! You dont have to be anonymous anymore, we can let our emotions out...well not that doing so was ever an issue for me (those who know me best understand)...we can stand on our own two feet when we comment on someones post, we can say, hey i like that girl, (or guy if your gender inclines you to such) or i like your dress/ridiculously modest clothes, or even you look nice today without fear of ridicule and debauchment.

So in short, go Thatcher go, this could be the start of a beautiful thing.