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April 29, 2006
Barking mad
Goths of Alberta are up in arms about negative vampire stereotypes in the wake of a triple-murder in Medicine Hat. Goth Sugar objects!!!
"Now I don't know about any one else, but I'm completely outraged by the information they actually printed in this article, it hints at every single person fitting this �description� to be a murderous blood fending vampire!!!"
Quite right. Manitoba goth, Creepie Kitty adds "... music or fashion doesn't tell you to kill someone. You make the choice yourself." Spot on. It should also be pointed out that aside from dating a fifteen-year old who subsequently turned out to be twelve and then presumably murdering her family, Jeremy Allan Steinke has reportedly claimed to be a lycan, i.e. werewolf. So, not a vampire as it turns out and rather more metal-sounding than goth.
I can see why many people would find "goth culture" irritating. The same might be said for country/western or hip hop and yet these subcultures manage to attract media coverage independent of school shootings and other mayhem. It is no surprise the press is drawn to a story involving not only a murdered family and a radically inappropriate relationship but black clothes and the usual moral panic around internet social networks. But all of this attention might be better directed toward asking what on earth a twelve-year old was doing with unsupervised internet access in the first place. This is not to blame the parents for their own deaths. That responsibility lies squarely with Steinke should he be convicted. But a media-created contrast between an idyllic family life and threatening vampire wannabes is nevertheless an incomplete and inadequate picture of events.
Any questions that are eventually asked about privacy, supervision and internet access should not overlook an issue that has gone unremarked in the traditional media. The information gatekeepers now painting a lurid picture of VampireFreaks.com and all the rest are the same folks providing enough details to ensure the twelve-year old at the heart of the case has no hope of maintaining the privacy she is entitled to under the law. Her name, photos and other personal details are only two or three clicks away for anyone who is curious and remotely familiar with internet search engines. In this light, a little more sympathy is due not only the murdered parents and a girl who was clearly out of her depth. Some might be spared for all those goths of Alberta for whom internet message boards are a life-line. With these murders and their attendant media coverage I imagine their lives have just got more difficult.
Posted by Ghost of a flea at April 29, 2006 10:27 AM
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Comments
Plaving devil's advocate here, what do you make of Poppy Z. Brite's famous quote along the lines of "You can only maintain a gothic frame of mind for so long before you either go crazy or kill yourself"...?
I always thought goths were way too passive-aggressive to actually go out and kick ass.
Posted by: Chris Taylor ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.ghostofaflea.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at May 1, 2006 08:51 AM
That's a great Poppy quote. I had not heard it before. Though I think she may be over-stating things somewhat due to the constant pestering she gets to return to her vampire novels.
That said, I have never seen a goth in a bar fight. I was more or less serious in saying I think this Steinke fellow is more likely to be a metalhead. Such are my own street-tribe prejudices.
Posted by: Ghost of a flea at May 1, 2006 09:21 AM
I will say that based on youthful remembrances, metalheads are far less reticent to get into brawls. But most of the ones I knew grew up and got real jobs. The ones that didn't became stoners and moved out west.
Posted by: Chris Taylor at May 1, 2006 10:30 AM
