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starcat_jewel:
This is an actual circular that was sent out by a church. I first read about it here, and decided that it needs to be memed. So here’s how this works. Go through the list below and bold all of the symptoms of goth that apply to you (or, perhaps, applied when you were a teen). If you have more than five bolded at the end…
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Listed below are some warning signs to indicate if your child may have gone astray from the Lord. Gothic (or goth) is a very obscure and often dangerous culture that
young teenagers are prone to participating in. The gothic culture leads young, susceptible minds into an imagined world of evil, darkness, and violence. Please seek immediate attention through counselling, prayer, and parental guidance to rid your child of Satan's temptations if five or more of the following are applicable to your child.
(I'm bolding the ones I would have bolded as a senior at MSMS.)
-Frequently wears black clothing. At the time, my wardrobe contained little else.
-Wears band and/or rock t-shirts. Only one, but I wore it often.
-Wears excessive black eye makeup,lipstick or nail polish. Parents wouldn't let me wear any at all.
-Wears any odd silver jewelry or symbols. This may be a bit of a stretch, but all my jewelry that I'd purchased myself at that point was silver
-Shows an interest in piercings or tattoos.
-Listens to gothic or any other anti-social genres of music. (Marilyn Manson claims to be the anti-Christ, and publicly speaks against the Lord. Please discard any such albums IMMEDIATELY.) This was actually before I found heavy metal, and I don't think Elvis Costello counts. It applies now, of course.
-Associates with other people that dress, act or speak eccentrically. Like, the rest of the school?
-Shows a declining interest in wholesome activities, such as: the Bible, prayer, church or sports. This was the year that the infamous "racist Bible study incident" occurred.
-Shows an increasing interest in death, vampires, magic, the occult, witchcraft or anything else that involves Satan. After sitting on it for a year, that was the year the "occult" came looking for me.
-Takes drugs.
-Drinks alcohol.
-Is suicidal and/or depressed. Only the last part of the year, after the Imzadi and I broke up.
-Cuts, burns or partakes in any other method of self-mutilation.(This is a Satanic ritual that uses pain to detract from the light of God and His love. Please seek immediate attention for this at your local mental health center.) Ditto
-Complains of boredom. Ha! Hahahahaha!
-Sleeps too excessively or too little. Again, this applied to the entire student body.
-Is excessively awake during the night. Atypical for me, and for MSMS, both. I had been far more nocturnal previously, and became so again at Rice. At the time, though, I was priding myself on never having needed a lights-out extension. I'd bold this now.
-Demands an unusual amount of privacy. Considering that my parents didn't think I needed any privacy at all . . .
-Spends large amounts of time alone. Questionable - I probably spent more than most people, but at MSMS it was really quite difficult to be alone much of the time. I'd've bolded this for my time at Rebel High.
-Requests time alone and quietness. (This is so that your chid may speak to evil sprits through meditation.) No, it was so I could do my AP Physics homework.
-Insists on spending time with friends while unaccompanied by an adult. Um, hello? Isn't this the primary intent of almost all teenagers?
-Disregards authority figures; teachers, priests, nuns and elders are but a few examples of this. Questionable. I was deferent and then ignored their directions, in most cases.
-Misbehaves at school.
-Misbehaves at home. I tried to be at home as little as possible.
-Eats excessively or too little I'm actually not the binge-eater that my weight would suggest, but that was the year I came closest.
-Eats goth-related foods. Count Dracula cereal is an example of this. *snerk*
-Drinks blood or expresses an interest in drinking blood. (Vampires believe this is how to attain Satan. This act is very dangerous and should be stopped immediately.) I'm not a blood fetishist, but I knew at the time at least one person who was, and I've met plenty more since then. I have no idea what these people mean by "attain Satan" in this context.
-Watches cable television or any other corrupted media sources. (Ask your local church for proper programs that your child may watch.) From Nickelodeon to MTV . . .
-Plays videos games that contains violence or role-playing nature. Go, Infocom!
-Uses the internet excessively and frequently makes time for the computer. This was before the Internet was widely accessible, although I did spend an excessive amount of time on the school's intranet and a local BBS.
-Makes Satanic symbols and/or violently shakes head to music. I hadn't been introduced to the joys of banging head yet.
-Dances to music in a provocative or sexual manner. I've always danced like this.
-Expresses an interest in sex. I am now firmly of the opinion that I should have laid the Imzadi.
-Masturbates. See previous comment about all teenagers.
-Is homosexual and/or bisexual. What does this have to do with being goth? I'm not sure whether I should count this, as I was furiously repressing my girlcrushes at the time, but I was at least aware that I was repressing something.
-Pursues dangerous cult religions. Such include: Satanism, Scientology, Philosophy, Paganism, Wicca, Hinduism and Buddhism. May I just say that I, Aristotle, and the Hindus are grossly offended to be placed in the same category as the Scientologists? I'm counting this because I was actively pursuing heresy at the time - I didn't discover Paganism per se until the next two years.
-Wears pins, stickers or anything else that contains these various phrases: "I'm so gothic, I'm dead", "woe is me", "I'm a goth".
-Claims to be a goth.
If five or more of these apply to your child, please intervene immediately. The gothic culture is dangerous and Satan thrives within it. If any of these problems persist, enlist your child into your local mental health center.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Goth count: 21! Go, me!
starcat_jewel:This is an actual circular that was sent out by a church. I first read about it here, and decided that it needs to be memed. So here’s how this works. Go through the list below and bold all of the symptoms of goth that apply to you (or, perhaps, applied when you were a teen). If you have more than five bolded at the end…
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Listed below are some warning signs to indicate if your child may have gone astray from the Lord. Gothic (or goth) is a very obscure and often dangerous culture that
young teenagers are prone to participating in. The gothic culture leads young, susceptible minds into an imagined world of evil, darkness, and violence. Please seek immediate attention through counselling, prayer, and parental guidance to rid your child of Satan's temptations if five or more of the following are applicable to your child.
(I'm bolding the ones I would have bolded as a senior at MSMS.)
-Frequently wears black clothing. At the time, my wardrobe contained little else.
-Wears band and/or rock t-shirts. Only one, but I wore it often.
-Wears excessive black eye makeup,lipstick or nail polish. Parents wouldn't let me wear any at all.
-Wears any odd silver jewelry or symbols. This may be a bit of a stretch, but all my jewelry that I'd purchased myself at that point was silver
-Shows an interest in piercings or tattoos.
-Listens to gothic or any other anti-social genres of music. (Marilyn Manson claims to be the anti-Christ, and publicly speaks against the Lord. Please discard any such albums IMMEDIATELY.) This was actually before I found heavy metal, and I don't think Elvis Costello counts. It applies now, of course.
-Associates with other people that dress, act or speak eccentrically. Like, the rest of the school?
-Shows a declining interest in wholesome activities, such as: the Bible, prayer, church or sports. This was the year that the infamous "racist Bible study incident" occurred.
-Shows an increasing interest in death, vampires, magic, the occult, witchcraft or anything else that involves Satan. After sitting on it for a year, that was the year the "occult" came looking for me.
-Takes drugs.
-Drinks alcohol.
-Is suicidal and/or depressed. Only the last part of the year, after the Imzadi and I broke up.
-Cuts, burns or partakes in any other method of self-mutilation.(This is a Satanic ritual that uses pain to detract from the light of God and His love. Please seek immediate attention for this at your local mental health center.) Ditto
-Complains of boredom. Ha! Hahahahaha!
-Sleeps too excessively or too little. Again, this applied to the entire student body.
-Is excessively awake during the night. Atypical for me, and for MSMS, both. I had been far more nocturnal previously, and became so again at Rice. At the time, though, I was priding myself on never having needed a lights-out extension. I'd bold this now.
-Demands an unusual amount of privacy. Considering that my parents didn't think I needed any privacy at all . . .
-Spends large amounts of time alone. Questionable - I probably spent more than most people, but at MSMS it was really quite difficult to be alone much of the time. I'd've bolded this for my time at Rebel High.
-Requests time alone and quietness. (This is so that your chid may speak to evil sprits through meditation.) No, it was so I could do my AP Physics homework.
-Insists on spending time with friends while unaccompanied by an adult. Um, hello? Isn't this the primary intent of almost all teenagers?
-Disregards authority figures; teachers, priests, nuns and elders are but a few examples of this. Questionable. I was deferent and then ignored their directions, in most cases.
-Misbehaves at school.
-Misbehaves at home. I tried to be at home as little as possible.
-Eats excessively or too little I'm actually not the binge-eater that my weight would suggest, but that was the year I came closest.
-Eats goth-related foods. Count Dracula cereal is an example of this. *snerk*
-Drinks blood or expresses an interest in drinking blood. (Vampires believe this is how to attain Satan. This act is very dangerous and should be stopped immediately.) I'm not a blood fetishist, but I knew at the time at least one person who was, and I've met plenty more since then. I have no idea what these people mean by "attain Satan" in this context.
-Watches cable television or any other corrupted media sources. (Ask your local church for proper programs that your child may watch.) From Nickelodeon to MTV . . .
-Plays videos games that contains violence or role-playing nature. Go, Infocom!
-Uses the internet excessively and frequently makes time for the computer. This was before the Internet was widely accessible, although I did spend an excessive amount of time on the school's intranet and a local BBS.
-Makes Satanic symbols and/or violently shakes head to music. I hadn't been introduced to the joys of banging head yet.
-Dances to music in a provocative or sexual manner. I've always danced like this.
-Expresses an interest in sex. I am now firmly of the opinion that I should have laid the Imzadi.
-Masturbates. See previous comment about all teenagers.
-Is homosexual and/or bisexual. What does this have to do with being goth? I'm not sure whether I should count this, as I was furiously repressing my girlcrushes at the time, but I was at least aware that I was repressing something.
-Pursues dangerous cult religions. Such include: Satanism, Scientology, Philosophy, Paganism, Wicca, Hinduism and Buddhism. May I just say that I, Aristotle, and the Hindus are grossly offended to be placed in the same category as the Scientologists? I'm counting this because I was actively pursuing heresy at the time - I didn't discover Paganism per se until the next two years.
-Wears pins, stickers or anything else that contains these various phrases: "I'm so gothic, I'm dead", "woe is me", "I'm a goth".
-Claims to be a goth.
If five or more of these apply to your child, please intervene immediately. The gothic culture is dangerous and Satan thrives within it. If any of these problems persist, enlist your child into your local mental health center.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Goth count: 21! Go, me!
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no subject
Date: 2005-05-20 03:16 am (UTC)This seems like a fun story to hear.
Wanna share?
no subject
Date: 2005-05-20 03:22 am (UTC)So, um, if I'm a perkygoth... can I count "chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles"?
Pleeeeease?
(I still have vivid memories of my mom commenting during my freshman year of college, "You know, they say that teenagers wearing a lot of black clothing and religious symbols are a sign of Satanism." <pause> <pointed look> "Of course, by 'religious symbols' they probably don't mean 'pewter cross that you got on a church youth retreat'...." Hee!)