How Is This Gothic?
 

My son goes to this school.

http://www.stjohnschicago.org/

Last October they held some sort of lame autumn festival instead of a Halloween party; because Halloween is far too pagan for a parochial school to celebrate but they still wanted the kids to have a costume party. Various local businesses donated merchandise to hand out to the kids. Most of it was promotional junk like pens, stickers or candy attached to a business card. One of the things handed out was tiny plastic pouches of polished Vesuvianite . My son recieved 2 packets and gave one to me. It ended up in my jewelry box until I rediscovered it a couple days ago. To my surprise, this is the text on the slip attached to the packet:

"Please Enjoy This Vesuvianite from www.gothicforever.com. Vesuvianite's rarity is classified as uncommon, and its metaphysical meaning is for removing negative attachment, knowing what you want, and the ability to reach what you want, or goals, bringing positive change, and excitement for life."

WTF?!? How is a stone gothic? I'll grant that some people (idiots) credit the stone with metaphysical power, but that doesn't make it gothic. I'll grant that many pagans (the idiotic ones) will believe in the stone's metaphysical power, but paganism and magic aren't gothic either. It seems the company that pulled this stunt just wants to use the word gothic to sell stones (stones is all they sell). They also assume all goths are pagans and assume all pagans have a literal belief in magic. Could this company possibly stereotype any more or miss it's targeted consumer by any wider of a margin?

Lastly, if these stones are so gothic and pagan and magic why did a parochial school that thinks Halloween is too pagan give them away at an "autumn festival"?

As you said, it's obviously just shitty marketing. I mean, it's not even Gothic in the pre-Goth rock sense.

It's poo. Leave it.

Whatever it is, it is repulsive. I suggest a change in schools, asap.

I think you're reading too much into this.

what I find that's funny is they didn't want a Halloween party, yet an Autumn Festival that handed out gothic stones.... How was this straying far from what they were trying to avoid in the first place?

I have some of those gothic stones in my backyard, they make pretty arrangements around flowers. Atleast i'm calling them gothic stones so they're more hardcore compared to my other stones.

They're not actually claiming that the stone is in any way gothic. They're just using a marketing ploy. As UO said, you're probably reading too much into it.

I wasn't weirded out or reading too much into it. I just thought it was fun to point out all the holes in their lame marketing ploy. You have to admit, this company deserves to be laughed at.