Beware of Emos

06/10/2010 Lusine STEPANYAN

Our citizens have started to react to the article published in the previous release of our newspaper, which was entitled, “Alert – Emos are making young people to commit suicide.”

Let us recall that the word was about the destructive Emo movement, which has long ago penetrated into the Armenian schools, cultural and educational institutions and public life. The members of the Emo movement, who from time to time attempt to commit a suicide, are given the prophecy of “gradually planning their suicide.” And many of these attempts are having a tragic ending. In the streets of the capital city, in the underground passages and in certain parks we may see graffiti and young people, who are so different from the rest of the youth with their outfit, hair style and makeup. “The children already know them. They say, “Mom, this is emo.” Moreover, this style is very attractive to the school kids because the youth thinks that this style is modern and fashionable. We have gathered with parents and have tried to survey the ideology of the Emo and thus are very concerned. Because of that many fights are starting,” told us one of the parents. Two days ago we received a letter from a parent (we are not writing the name of the sender because of understandable reasons). “Thank you very much for periodically adverting to the issue, which is so dangerous for the society and our youth, which is called the Emo movement. I am writing to you by understanding the fact that you speak to this issue. We have been going through the park of Saryan street for two days now and what I have seen I can’t take out from my mind. They are burning the dry grass, making their logo out of the rocks and conducting some ceremony. And if in the past we could easily walk in this park now we can’t do it in the afternoons or evenings because it is quite dangerous. You don’t know if you will get home or not. You don’t know if you’ll get home or not. I personally know a few families, whose children having been in this movement, have committed a suicide. Let’s hope that the government and the church will try to preclude this movement and there wouldn’t be any more unhappy families in Armenia because of this. Please go to that park, take the photos and post on your website. Please, try to elucidate this movement as much as you can.” Yesterday we visited the park of Saryan street and witnessed what the woman has been talking about. The walls of the park were decorated with the images and symbols of the Emo movement. Among those images the most prevailing were the red and black colors, which portrayed crying faces of boys and girls, skulls, which were crossed. As we already mentioned in the philosophy of Emo infliction and suicide are key elements. Each loyalist should have a plan of suicide in mind. We tried to find the code of the images online. The existence of the symbols is explained by suicide. As a rule they write the word “END.” There are also many petitions written down in English – “Get lost life, kingdom, power and book,” etc. All this is written in swear words most commonly used by them. We have already mentioned that according to their philosophy and the “sacred book” of Emo the word that it most commonly used is “fuck.” In the most incredible part of the park, on the stairs and on the rocks of the fountain the very same word was written in various interpretations. The most terrible thing is the ceremony of the Emo members as was mentioned by the letter writer. In the park they have really burned the dry grass and made certain symbols and logos out of the rocks of the fountain and the nearby ledges. We have also noticed that in the burned area there was the fried leg of a bird, which mostly looked like a rooster leg or a chicken. The burned part of the park witnessed of one thing. They are holding special ceremonies and they are doing that in the most populated parts of the city and the central parks. While taking pictures we have noticed that the chain of images goes all the way through the tunnel, which takes to the Children’s railway park and the gorge of Hrazdan. Perhaps it would be better if the National Security Service inquired through what might be going on in that tunnel at the late hours. In the tunnel, on the walls one can see inscriptions in red elucidating the necessity of death and end. In all the inscriptions swear words are written to life, even to relatives, concrete people and addresses. Emo-End is the most commonly used graffiti. We also spoke with the guard of the restaurant located in the vicinity of the tunnel. “I don’t even know what to tell you. One day you should come here and stay with me. That’s when you will see what’s going on. Those are mostly young kids, who get here, decorate the tunnel and then walk through the tunnel in groups. I don’t know what they are writing but they come back crying when coming back from the gorge of Hrazdan. I only guard the front of the tunnel and I don’t know what’s going on in the other end of the tunnel.” But what we have witnessed we cannot analyze because it’s hard to see the codes in thee scratches and the images All I can say it really looks mysterious and dangerous. On the walls there were also Satan-worshiping symbols, which is perhaps one of the symbols of the Emo movement because it also has an inclination of suicide and self-infliction. The interesting thing is that it is impossible not to notice the rock-made symbol of the Emo movement built in the center of the park but the passersby cannot even assume that the young people gathered there are planning suicides, curse the life, family, parents and themselves. By the way on the Internet it is possible to find Armenian blogs and forums on the Armenian Emo movement. For example, in one of the blogs it’s written, “One of my best girlfriends has certain Emo features. She learns drawing. Recently during the class she scratched and inscribed “Tokyo Hotel” on her hand with a pencil sharpener. She says, “Look, how pretty.” Tell me, what I can do. I don’t want her to go to a psychiatric clinic.” Another blogger wrote on the forum, “I know that the Goths (one of the branches of the Emo movement) frequently visit cemeteries and stay there for quite a lot to prove that they are not scared of death. I was just wondering if the Emo admirers do the same.”