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Liisa Ladouceur

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Adam Lanza Was a Killer, Not a Goth

Posted: 12/17/2012 11:26 am
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The Newtown, Connecticut killer is not a Goth. And so I shouldn't even be writing this. And yet here we are. Again.

"He was a nerd, genius, Goth": Profile of gun killer Adam Lanza" (Daily Mirror UK)


"Adam Lanza Described As 'One Of The Goths'" (CBS Connecticut)

'Brilliant but remote': Police still hunting for motive that drove 'goth' Adam Lanza to kill 27" (National Post, Canada)

"SCHOOL MASSACRE SUSPECT 'ONE OF THE GOTHS'" (Breitbart.com)

The first I heard of this alleged Goth connection was Saturday afternoon, from someone who suggested it might prove to be good publicity for my book. How you could even think the word "publicity" in connection with this massacre of children, I simply don't know. (And I'm someone pretty prone to macabre thought.)

So I'd like to start by saying that I'm not writing this post to bring attention to myself, or to my work. Rather, because I have something to say about what happens when you link a criminal, especially a mass murderer, with an entire subculture of people he or she has absolutely nothing to do with. How it not only doesn't help to answer the question "why?", it actually causes more hurt, more harm. And most importantly, to flesh out what I tweeted yesterday into more than 140 characters: dear media friends, please stop calling the killer a Goth in your headlines. Not because I'm Goth and it gives us all a bad name, but because it's not the truth.

The fact that the most media outlets who have run with this are generally tabloids or right-wing is not a surprise. That's what they do best, inflame and demonize. And so they picked up on one comment from one rather dubious source. The Associated Press quotes Newtown-area parent Catherine Urso outside a vigil on the Friday night as saying her college-age son knew the killer. "He just said he was very thin, very remote and was one of the goths."

And so the wire story goes out and some newspapers decide that of all the heartbreaking, shocking, absurd things about this crime and this killer -- his mental health issues, his mother's interest in doomsday prophecy and shooting guns for just two examples -- what they're going to run with for the headline is the "goth loner" tag. Based on a description offered by someone who does not appear have ever personally met the killer, whose son may or may not have ever spoken with the killer and may or may not have any clue at all what a Goth is or isn't.

The fact that AP didn't bother to check on this, or even add a phrase explaining what Goth is, isn't just a result of tight deadlines and a chaotic environment in those first few hours after the massacre (let's remember media outlets originally mis-identified the brother as the culprit and also claimed his mother worked at the school, which she didn't). Rather, it says alot about how Goth is perceived by the public at large.

Most people do have an idea of what the subculture is, and that idea includes the potential for violence. They got that idea because other messed up school shooters have been described as Goth (namely, the Columbine killers). But those reports were wrong. Just like this one is wrong.

I'll say it again: Adam Lanza was not a Goth. At. All. There are no photographs of him dressed as a Goth. Just because someone dresses all in black does not make them a Goth. That's like saying someone is a jock because they wear track pants. Declaring yourself a Goth makes you a Goth.

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  • Twenty-seven small U.S. flags adorn a large flag on a makeshift memorial on the side of Highway 84 near the Newtown, Conn., town line as residents mourn victims killed by gunman Adam Lanza, Monday, Dec. 17, 2012. On Friday, authorities say Lanza killed his mother at their home and then opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, killing 26 people, including 20 children, before taking his own life. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

  • In this photo taken with a fisheye lens, a message honoring the victims that died a day earlier when a gunman opened fire at an elementary hang from a bridge near Hawley Pond, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

  • Mourners carry ornaments to decorate the Christmas trees at one of the makeshift memorials for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, Monday,Dec. 17, 2012 in Newtown, Conn. Authorities say gunman Adam Lanza killed his mother at their home on Friday and then opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, killing 26 people, including 20 children, before taking his own life. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

  • Crayons sit on a table outside of a barbershop a day after a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in the Sandy Hook village of Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

  • Crayons sit on a table outside of a barbershop a day after a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in the Sandy Hook village of Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

  • Tamara Doherty

    Shop owner Tamara Doherty, paces outside her store just down the road from Sandy Hook Elementary School, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

  • Tamara Doherty, Jackie Gaudet

    Shop owners Tamara Doherty, left, and Jackie Gaudet, right, meet outside their stores for the first time since being neighbors, just down the road from Sandy Hook Elementary School, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

  • Kristin Hoyt

    Kristin Hoyt, 18, of Danbury, Conn., ties a balloon to an overpass up the road from the Sandy Hook Elementary School, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

  • A Newtown, Conn., resident, who declined to give her name, sits at an intersection holding a sign for passing motorists up the road from the Sandy Hook Elementary School, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

  • A snowflake ornament with the name of 6-year-old Noah Pozner hangs on a Christmas tree at a makeshift memorial in the Sandy Hook village of Newtown, Conn., Monday, Dec. 17, 2012, as the town mourns victims killed in Friday's school shooting. Pozner, who was killed Friday when gunman Adam Lanza opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School, will be buried Monday. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

  • Twenty-seven small U.S. flags adorn a large flag on a makeshift memorial on the side of Highway 84 near the Newtown, Conn., town line as residents mourn victims killed by gunman Adam Lanza, Monday, Dec. 17, 2012. Authorities say Lanza killed his mother at their home and then opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, killing 26 people, including 20 children, before taking his own life, on Friday. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

  • Jamie Duncan, 16, of Newtown, Conn., lights a candle at one of the makeshift memorials for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, Monday,Dec. 17, 2012 in Newtown, Conn. Authorities say gunman Adam Lanza killed his mother at their home on Friday and then opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, killing 26 people, including 20 children, before taking his own life. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

  • A mourner carries a giant Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal to place at one of the makeshift memorials for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, Monday,Dec. 17, 2012 in Newtown, Conn. Authorities say gunman Adam Lanza killed his mother at their home on Friday and then opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, killing 26 people, including 20 children, before taking his own life. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

  • A hearse arrives at B'nai Israel Cemetery with the body of Noah Pozner, a six-year-old killed in an elementary school shooting, during funeral services, Monday, Dec. 17, 2012, in Monroe, Conn. Authorities say gunman Adam Lanza killed his mother at their home on Friday and then opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, killing 26 people, including 20 children, before taking his own life. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

  • People arrive at B'nai Israel Cemetery during burial services for Noah Pozner, a six-year-old killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Monday, Dec. 17, 2012, in Monroe, Conn. Authorities say gunman Adam Lanza killed his mother at their home on Friday and then opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, killing 26 people, including 20 children, before taking his own life. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

  • Veronika Pozner

    Veronique Pozner waves to the assembled media as she leaves after a funeral service for her 6-year-old son Noah Pozner, Monday, Dec. 17, 2012, in Fairfield, Conn. Noah Pozner was killed when Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    Twenty seven wooden stand in a yard down the street from the Sandy Hook School December 16, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty-six people were shot dead, including twenty children, after a gunman identified as Adam Lanza opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Lanza also reportedly had committed suicide at the scene. A 28th person, believed to be Nancy Lanza, found dead in a house in town, was also believed to have been shot by Adam Lanza. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    Newtown residents Claire Swanson, Kate Suba, Jaden Albrecht, Simran Chand and New London, Connecticut residents Rachel Pullen and her son Landon DeCecco, hold candles at a memorial for victims on the first Sunday following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 16, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    U.S. President Barack Obama waits to speak at an interfaith vigil for the shooting victims from Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 16, 2012 at Newtown High School in Newtown, Connecticut. (Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    Eknoor Kaur, 3, stands with her father Guramril Singh during a candlelight vigil outside Newtown High School before an interfaith vigil with President Barack Obama, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    New London, Connecticut resident Rachel Pullen (C) kisses her son Landon DeCecco at a memorial for victims near the school on the first Sunday following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 16, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    US President Barack Obama speaks during a memorial service for the victims and relatives of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 16, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty-six people were killed when a gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary and began a shooting spree. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    A woman covers her face as US President Barack Obama reads out the names of children killed during Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting at a interfaith memorial for victims and relatives at the Newtown High School on December 16, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty-six people were killed when a gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary and began a shooting spree. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    A woman pays respects at a memorial outside of St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. On Friday, a gunman allegedly killed his mother at their home and then opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    Residents wait for the start of an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012 at Newtown High School in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    Cheryl Girardi, of Middletown, Conn., kneels beside 26 teddy bears, each representing a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, at a sidewalk memorial, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children.(AP Photo/David Goldman)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    Connecticut State Police officers respond to a bomb threat outside of St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. Worshippers hurriedly left the church Sunday, not far from where a gunman opened fire Friday inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    Ava Staiti, 7, of New Milford, Conn., looks up at her mother Emily Staiti, not pictured, while visiting a sidewalk memorial with 26 teddy bears, each representing a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    This photo provided by the family shows Jessica Rekos. Rekos, 6, was killed Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Conn., killing 26 children and adults at the school, before killing himself. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Rekos Family)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    A U.S. flag flies at half staff outside the Newtown High School before President Barack Obama is scheduled to attend a memorial for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    David Freedman, right, kneels with his son Zachary, 9, both of Newtown, Conn., as they visit a sidewalk memorial for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    A man reacts at the site of a makeshift memorial for school shooting victims in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012. A gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the town, killing 26 people, including 20 children before killing himself on Friday. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    People wait in line to attend an interfaith vigil with President Barack Obama, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    Residents greet each other before the start of an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012 at Newtown High School in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    Residents greet each other before the start of an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, at Newtown High School in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into the school Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. President Barack Obama is to scheduled to speak at the event. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    Residents greet each other before the start of an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, at Newtown High School in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into the elementary school Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak during the vigil. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    This image provided by the family shows Grace McDonnell posing for a portrait in this family photo taken Aug. 18, 2012. Grace McDonnell was killed Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., killing 26 children and adults at the school. (AP Photo/Courtesy of the McDonnell Family)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    This Nov. 18, 2012 photo provided by John Engel shows Olivia Engel, 6, in Danbury, Conn. Olivia Engel, was killed Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Conn., killing 26 children and adults at the school. (AP Photo/Engel Family, Tim Nosezo)

  • Emilie Alice Parker

    This 2012 photo provided by the family shows Emilie Alice Parker. Parker was killed Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Conn., killing 26 children and adults at the school. (AP Photo/Courtesy of the Parker Family)

  • Noah Pozner

    This Nov. 13, 2012 photo provided by the family via The Washington Post shows Noah Pozner. The six-year-old was one of the victims in the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Family Photo)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    This handout image provided by ABC News, shows Nancy J. Lanza mother of suspected mass shooter Adam Lanza at an unspecified time and place. Twenty six people were shot dead, including twenty children, after a gunman identified as Adam Lanza opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Lanza also reportedly had committed suicide at the scene. A 28th person, believed to be Nancy Lanza was found dead in a house in town, was also believed to have been shot by Adam Lanza. (Family of Nancy Lanza / ABC News / Getty Images)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20121215/us-school-shooting-victims/?utm_hp_ref=homepage&ir=homepage">Lauren Rousseau, 30,</a> had started a job as a full-time teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School this fall. She was killed in the Dec. 14 shooting at the school.

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    School psychologist Mary Sherlach, 56, was killed during an attempt to stop gunman Adam Lanza during the Dec. 14 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20121215/us-school-shooting-victims/?utm_hp_ref=homepage&ir=homepage">Sherlach and school principal Dawn Hochsprung</a> reportedly both lunged at Lanza in an attempt to protect the school's students and teachers. Both Sherlach and Hochsprung were killed.

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    Victoria Soto, a 27-year-old teacher, was killed in the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Her cousin, Jim Wiltsie, told ABC that Soto, a teacher, died while shielding her young students from the gunman, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20121215/us-school-shooting-victims/?utm_hp_ref=homepage&ir=homepage">according to the AP.</a>

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/14/sandy-hook-principal-dawn-hochsprung_n_2303944.html">Sandy Hook Elementary School Principal Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung</a>, 47, was killed as she, along with school psychologist Mary Sherlach, attempted to overtake gunman Adam Lanza during the Dec. 14 mass shooting at the school. Hochsprung and Sherlach reportedly both lunged at Lanza in an effort to defend the students and teachers at the school. Both women were killed.

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    This photo posted to the Emilie Parker Fund Facebook page shows Emilie Parker. Fighting back tears and struggling to catch his breath, Robbie Parker the father of 6-year-old Emile Parker who was gunned down in Friday's school shooting in Connecticut told the world about a little girl who loved to draw and was always smiling, and he also reserved surprising words of sympathy for the gunman. (AP Photo/Emilie Parker Fund)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    Shop owner Tamara Doherty paces outside her store just down the road from Sandy Hook Elementary School, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at the school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    This photo posted to the Emilie Parker Fund Facebook page shows Emilie Parker and her father Robbie Parker. Fighting back tears and struggling to catch his breath, Robbie Parker the father of 6-year-old Emile Parker who was gunned down in Friday's school shooting in Connecticut told the world about a little girl who loved to draw and was always smiling, and he also reserved surprising words of sympathy for the gunman. (AP Photo/Emilie Parker Fund)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    Robbie Parker, the father of six-year-old Emilie who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, fights back tears as he speaks during a news conference, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    Isabella Jimenez, 12, reacts while talking to reporters about the shooting rampage from a day earlier when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. Jimenez said she might know the victims because she has done volunteer work with small children. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

  • Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

    Newtown, Connecticut mass shooter Adam Lanza is third from right in this 2008 yearbook photo. <a href="http://abcn.ws/UlqIyn">(ABC News)</a>

There is no evidence that he did this, or listened to any Goth music, or participated in any Goth communities online or in his school. In fact, since there are no area Goth kids quoted in any of the news reports reacting to this claim I think there's a pretty good chance that there were no Goths in Newtown for him to a be "one of."

An article in England's Daily Mail quotes Urso (identified as Kathryn because, you know, it's not like spelling the names of the sources right matters) as adding, "He and his brother hung around with a weird little gang." We now know that he and his brother were actually estranged so that seems unlikely. But who cares if it's true or not....because he was WEIRD. A-ha.

You see, shitty sensationalist journalism doesn't just doesn't just make for First World Goth Problems™ like arguing with your parents that wearing black nail polish doesn't make you a Satan worshipper, or getting turned down for a job because the HR person secretly suspects you may be a psychopath. It affects the quality of life for all manner of misfits.

Video gamers. Heavy metal headbangers. Fans of gory horror movies. Geeks of all kinds. All these young(ish) people hanging out in the shadows, keeping to ourselves. We all seem suspicious to some parents, teachers, religious leaders, law enforcement authorities. In the worst of the worst-case scenarios, you end up on death row because you were the weirdest looking guy in town when some really bad shit happened and someone, anyone, needed to be locked up. (See: The West Memphis Three.)

I'm not suggesting there is a Goth witch-hunt afoot, or would be even if the Newtown murderer was a card-carrying member of the Siouxsie Sioux or Emilie Autumn fan clubs. I'm saying that when the media flashes "Goth" and "Killer" in the same headline it does more than just make a bunch of strange kids angry on the internet. It reinforces the notion that one kind of deviance directly leads to another, worse, kind.

It implies that subcultures, no matter how harmless they may seem, are inherently filled with unstable, anti-social people, who are up to no good and shouldn't be trusted. Something less than you, or less than human.

I understand the need to do this. To distance ourselves from what we fear is evil. To say "those people are not me." But the truth is, most Goths and other freaks are not that different from anyone else -- just different from what someone else expects of them. That's all.

The thing with Goths is, we choose to be misfits. Death-obsessed misfits, sure. But not because we hate the world and want to destroy it. Because it makes sense for us, of us. Goth may look evil to outsiders and sometimes we play that up for humour or shock value, but it's really not. In fact, it's a shield -- a weapon even -- against the evils around us. Because evil does exist, I am convinced of that. On Earth. In nature.

How else to account for how over in England back in 2007 five teenagers stomped on Goth girl Sophie Lancaster and her boyfriend until they were unrecognizable, until they slipped into comas, and she died -- simply because of the way they were dressed? And how could anything explain why a young man could murder an entire classroom of innocent children -- people's babies, at Christmas time -- without some motive?

You can try to find a way to explain by pointing out how he dressed, who he hung out with (or didn't) or what he considered fun. You can even delve into the dark and complex topics of gun control and mental health care in America. But all you're doing is distracting yourself, and worse, fueling the culture of fear.

No, all we can really do is to counter evil with love. And that doesn't come from focusing on our differences, or stirring up hate for young people who dress funny and act strange.

No doubt over the next few days and weeks every aspect of Adam Lanza's life will be dissected. (Not to help heal the hearts of a community, a nation, or to prevent further tragedy, but to feed the 24-hour news cycle.)

And it's possible we may discover he had a Goth phase. Maybe there's a Cure album under his bed or an actual plastic skeleton in his closet. At that time, we can talk about it. Until then, live and let live. Oh, and fact-check.

Peace.

 

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The Newtown, Connecticut killer is not a Goth. And so I shouldn't even be writing this. And yet here we are. Again. "He was a nerd, genius, Goth": P...
The Newtown, Connecticut killer is not a Goth. And so I shouldn't even be writing this. And yet here we are. Again. "He was a nerd, genius, Goth": P...
 
 
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Andrea Giesbrecht
4 Fans
07:26 PM on 12/19/2012
"...all we can really do is to counter evil with love."

I wish more articles came to a conclusion like that. I'm not a Goth myself, but I know some, just as I know people in a variety of subcultures, and have come to the conclusion that We're All Human.

I don't know what kind of person Lanza was, but I know that he was a human being. As were the people he killed. And to marginalize and ostracize human beings for whatever reason is going to make such slaughter more common, not less. The differences between us that aren't moral are no more important than a person's taste in potato chips. Those differences we do consider moral are still best met with grace and mercy.

The wickedness native to our hearts is more than enough to explain murder. It does the victims no favors to blame anything else.
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KittyDelAmour
2 Fans
 
09:39 PM on 12/18/2012
Goths are not the victims here; those children are. Get over yourself.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Detra
The 7th time, I won't disturb you...
25 Fans
08:58 PM on 12/18/2012
thank you for this article. Fanned :)
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
OkieIntellectual
I AM the atheist in the foxhole.
471 Fans
06:35 PM on 12/18/2012
Excellent article and some excellent points were made. However, there is one thing that I want to speak on, the bit where the author is talking about wearing black nail polish and speaking to how goths are regarded because of their appearance, particularly the line "or getting turned down for a job because the HR person secretly suspects you may be a psychopath. I've been that HR person, and I can say that, like it or not, appearances DO matter, and people DO make judgements based on them. Perhaps things *shouldn't* be that way, but the simple fact of the matter is that they are. Humans are evolutionarily hardwired to make implicit judgements based on sensory input, and since our primary sense is vision, we make judgements based on appearance. Every. Single. One of us.
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quirty
1 Fans
06:32 PM on 12/18/2012
I was Goth. Along with other science nerds, computer programmers, brilliant artists and musicians...it was the best fun, most intelligent conversation, and coolest club scene ever.
I now have an MPH.
There is NO evidence of Adam's parents encouraging violence, or doing anything but their best to work with the school to help their son find his place in the world. When the school couldn't keep him calm and focused, his mom devoted her life to his care.
We now know that introducing guns to the household was a bad idea- but in a society where families with violent, but lucid family members over 18 have no way of placing them in ANY closed facility against their will, perhaps it's possible to grow isolated/overly optimistic about your child's mental health. Because isolation can do that. And that's what we are doing to family's dealing with kids like Adam.
The human predator is clever, and just banning certain weapons won't make these attacks stop. We need to re-vamp our mental health policies so
"You are not guilty of murder due to insanity and sentenced to...."
isn't the only way to keep the violent mentally ill from society.
We need to give families somewhere to report their suspicions before they become tragic reality.
But then...that's just the professional opinion of one nice (former, completely non-violent) goth grrl.
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VirgoLinnea
48 Fans
03:51 PM on 12/18/2012
You wouldn't have to write this article if the media, including the one you're writing for, and lazy Americans, like the ones writing comments below, would chill their emotions out and go do some research into what has already been looked it regarding people who mass kill. Goths wouldn't have to feel defensive if people would stop pointing fingers at whatever looks easiest and would just admit reality which says that mass killings are much more complex issue with many parts weaving into the big huge problem. I'm so tired of people blaming mental illness by itself, guns, video games, movies, violence in general, or even now autism. Grow up, America. You created this problem.
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whtdvl927
5 Fans
08:29 PM on 12/18/2012
Yeah, I'm American and know we are fubar , but um , one of the cited papers was Daily Mirror UK.
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Koderboy
11 Fans
03:45 PM on 12/18/2012
My best friend and I were described as "those two goth kids" in high school. She and I, although dark in appearance at times, still were very social and nice to everyone we encountered. She put it best saying we were the "happy goths" that enjoyed social interaction. Sure we knew some more quiet goths and punks, but even they were in general very nice and loving people. We forged many friendships that last to this day with people that used to be bullies and pricks, but we've all made changes since then to become somewhat happier, nicer adults.
It's sad that the media will throw labels and subcultures into the mix with no evidence. But I know, no matter what this killer was into, one thing is for certain: he was pure bat-shit crazy evil for what he planned and carried out. I live in Aurora Colorado, a place that knows all too well now that some people are just bad seeds.
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Shelley472
0 Fans
03:43 PM on 12/18/2012
Wonderful article. Thank you!
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L C Lusby
0 Fans
03:11 PM on 12/18/2012
Liisa, thank you for this. I completely agree with you about using the trappings of the subculture as a shield - I did this in high school so that people would leave me alone. And it worked.

This article is important for two reasons: first, because pinning blame on a certain group means you're not watching anyone else for signs of violence. Blaming Goths or Gamers or anyone else based solely on dress or hobbies is superficial - better to start screening for true risk factors such as access to guns and violent mental illness.

Second, many of us in various counter-cultures who were in school at the time of Columbine were unfairly singled out and punished for the actions of a shooter we'd never met, all the way across the country. It was a witch hunt, and it will happen again if we are not careful. But far be it from me to complain, I'm very grateful all we got was suspended instead of dying like so many of these school shooting victims.
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Miles Austin Cox
15 Fans
02:28 PM on 12/18/2012
I don't understand why every news source thinks "wearing a lot of black" makes you goth. Black goes with everything.
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BrianRogersTheGreat
24 Fans
02:15 PM on 12/18/2012
"Just because someone dresses all in black does not make them a Goth. "

That's like saying just because someone goes to church, it doesn't make them a Christian. Oh wait...
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John W Morehead
80 Fans
 
12:33 PM on 12/18/2012
Thank you for noting this helpful correction and the unfortunate stereotype. Related to this see the chapter by Beth Stovell in The Undead and Theology (Wipf & Stock, 2012) titled “Eat of My Body and Drink of My Blood”: Johannine Metaphor, Gothic Subculture, and the Undead," a part of a great volume I co-edited with Kim Paffenroth: https://wipfandstock.com/store/The_Undead_and_Theology/
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SharpObjex
Poking holes in arguments since 1984
140 Fans
12:28 PM on 12/18/2012
Personally, I find that metal music balances me out. It's a nice outlet for frustration, and it's never led me to do anything harmful to another person. Except maybe in a moshpit.
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whtdvl927
5 Fans
08:31 PM on 12/18/2012
Actually Goth isn't metal if you want to be technical. You may be thinking of Black Metal which has goth influences mostly out of Scandanavian countries. You're point though, like this article's, is well taken. If you use some of these people's logic, I'd be a real estate billionaire with all the monopoly I played as a kid.
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SharpObjex
Poking holes in arguments since 1984
140 Fans
11:20 AM on 12/19/2012
Well, I'm aware of the differences, but where I live the goth scene is completely gone and irrelevant.  Anyone who dresses "goth" is a metalhead. 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Warren Yuill
Jesus Built My Hot-Rod
221 Fans
07:40 AM on 12/18/2012
I think it will soon be revealed that this young man spent most of his life online playing first person shooting games.
His parents probably allowed it, simply because that was the only place he seemed to have any friends.
As his deveopment progressed into adulthood the games became less stimulating and fed his desire for the real thing.
So he convinced his mother to buy him an arsenal.
She may have rationalized the purchases thinking that by participating in a gun club it would broaden his acceptance into the community.
Maybe provide him with an opportunity to make some friends.
It didn't work out.
And in his madness, struck back at the community where he thought they would feel the most pain
I mean this is total BS and conjecture on my part.
But I don't think things like this just happen.
As if a switch is thrown in somebodys head overnight and they become a mass murderer of children.
Demons like Adam Lanza are never born complete.
They are nurtured.
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WingedWolfPsion
17 Fans
10:53 AM on 12/18/2012
That's your solution? Blame video games? Have you ever actually played a first-person shooter game? If you have, then I find your conclusion deeply disturbing, because of what it says about you. If you have not, then I can't imagine how you would come up with such a stupid idea. Children have been pretending to shoot each other since the first gun was invented, because playacting violence is an outlet that tends to help prevent real violence, and it's part of human nature. (What, exactly, do you think sports are?). To blame a game, or a past-time, or religion, or whatever, is to be so butt-ignorant that you fail to recognize the teeming hordes of people who engage in the things you're campaigning against, and yet, inexplicably, never harm a hair on anyone's head.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Warren Yuill
Jesus Built My Hot-Rod
221 Fans
03:20 PM on 12/18/2012
Sorry I said bad things about violent video games.Can we be friends now?lol
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The Green Life
0 Fans
02:18 PM on 12/18/2012
Please point me to any studies that actually show playing First Person Shooters as being a trigger for pushing a person into real world violent acts. If your juxtaposition of violent games and Sandy Hook is correct then we should have one of these massacres each day all over the world. Millions upon millions of people play these games and 99.99999% of them realize it is just that.... A GAME.

By your association we should ban driving a vehicle since many of them have been used in the commission of a crime, be it vehicular manslaughter or robbery or whatever suits your fancy.
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Sherwood Chumley
18 Fans
07:36 AM on 12/18/2012
Dear Liisa,
What a wonderful article. I hope you get a ton of readers.
Love,
Sherwood [an old guy]
"Go Gandhi!"
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