[om3gag0th666]

Originally Posted by Mick Ignis

You know, I have no idea where that stereotype comes from. I've been involved with the scene for years and I've never noticed any of the hopelessly depressed goth's people like talking about so much. Quiet the opposite really, all the Goth's I’ve met have very upbeat attitudes, a great sense of humor, and are much less vulnerable to criticism than the average person (most of the time poking fun at themselves).

In high school, none of us were angsty. We were very happy with ourselves. The insecure ones who seemed to be moody all the time were the more mainstream cheerleaders and jocks, who always strived to adapt and fit in with whatever the current trends were.

We may give off the depressing image, but it's just not the case. Take a look around the forum and try to find a person who's hopelessly depressed. Everyone seems pretty happy to me. If we weren't happy with ourselves, why would we continue doing what we're doing? We are human, and nobody likes being sad.

I enjoy sorrow, it reminds me that I am alive. I have a deep affinity with suffering, and pain, more so than the cliche. I find that ritually inducing such things reminds me that there is an opposite to all things in this world, and if I can feel such pain I can feel such joy as well. Still, something I experiment with from time to time.

That's not what I'm talking about. Those are all, once again, false stereotypes. The goth relationships I've seen in my experience are extremely powerful. The couple is never afraid to show their affection for each other, and do indeed share a sense of art, beauty, mind, and soul. The goth image revolves around a lot of mystery and a sense of eternity (both expressed with the afterlife and immortality). I have friends who have been together for over 10 years, and are no less in love than the day they started dating.

There are many people who love people very much too. Many people who exemplify all of this. I still find that the 'gothic subculture' is a very pretentious group of loners/outcasts and attention seekers.

I've never had that kind of experience out here. Maybe you've run into the wrong people, or maybe I just need to travel more, but the romantic nature I am talking about does take a lot form Byron, Shelley, Poe, and Shakespeare.

Take a better look at the community. You seem to a lot of misconceptions.

I appreciate Poe, Shakespeare, Byron, Shelley, Pound, etc. Still, they were not gothic, except for Poe who created gothic literature, which is very deep and complex. Most of what goths believe of him is a lie, he was not an alcholic, he was not a drug addict either. That was presented by his editor after his death in October 7th 1849.

His editor was a bastard, and he lied about Poe because Poe was so brilliant he often would go head to head with the man and show him up frequently. Still Poe loved him very much, and respected him, but his editor Griswold was a bastard.

Also, the romantic era is dead, it's archaic, or obsolete. I think that going back to those times is just representing how people are imbeciles and cannot 'get with it.' I'm a modernist, I find that things must go forward, all things must go forward, if things go backwards, or if people dredge the past for their thoughts and feelings, they are effectively playing in the realm of the dead, and will sever themselves from reality.

I used to write poetry using archaic words, etc. Then I realized that all of these poets did not write archaicly, they wrote from a modern tone, such as Emily Dickinson who was noted for her colloquial diction, which is something none of the gothic 'romance' seems to possess. It strives to seperate, and become archaic and despondent. I find that this is a deplorable route for a human being. We should take those lessons and put them against the grain of today, and strain out the best of it, and take the modern ideas and compare them with what they were saying. Transfer these ideas and translate them into a colloquial sense. I am sure none of them would have written the way they did then if they were to write again now.