...are a dissolute and shapeless bunch. They have lost their purpose, their drive, and instead cling to old bands like a Muslim clings to his religion. All new bands are rejected out of hand for being "not REALLY Goth," and all newcomers to the scene are disdainfully titled "babybats," in an attempt to keep them in awe of the older members of the clique. This insistence that you must listen to their music, and NO OTHER MUSIC EVER is their downfall. What group grows if it clings only to old traditions? What culture ever got anywhere by never changing?

Also; in their rejection of the mainstream, and unthinking acceptance of only a few bands, they have become what they reject. They are the mainstream, accepting only people who are dressed correctly, only people who listen to "the right music." They are a clique, just like any other clique in every way. They have membership rules. They demand that everyone be, if not the same, than similar. They look at other cliques and think 'We're so much better than them.' They are them.

Revitalization is crucial in this late stage of the illness. First, new music must be pumped into the veins of this dying subculture. Secondly, they must realize that not everyone could or should be the same. Thirdly, they must realize that a clique is not just about music, but is instead a way of thinking, of looking at the world. Fourthly, they must rid themselves of their pointless disdain for what they call posers. If they would just accept that some people like Nightwish more than The Cure, and move on, maybe people would stop laughing at them when they start shitting pretension everywhere.


END RANT