Cav's Place

I just want to translate a piece of news that I bumped into. It apparently first appeared in Ziua de Vest (in Romanian), on May 17th. The fact that I don’t see it in other places is sort of weird, and that newspaper’s archive isn’t operational right now either so I only had Google‘s cache to go on. There are a few places that picked up on this but didn’t post it in full, just linked to the newspaper and the link was only to the section where the news originally appeared, which is naturally no longer valid since that section now contains today’s news. The TV station I picked this up from did post a small note about it on their site, but it’s only a few lines. I don’t rule out the possibility of a hoax, but I’m very much inclined to believe it.

Chief-commissioner Sandel Palade, chief of Timis police, declares open war to the members of the emo community. He formed, in Timisoara, a special squad made up of 12 officers that will monitor emo high school students non-stop. The anti-emo squad is led by himself. The officers who will track “misunderstood high school students” come from all departments and they will be joined by representatives of other qualified institutions and perhaps even the secret service.

We bump into them daily, but rarely pay any attention. Youth with strange hairdos and faces full of make-up and piercings. Youth who consider themselves misunderstood by their parents, feel inferior to the others and listen to certain rock bands. Youth who end up hurting themselves and may, according to specialists, commit suicide at any moment. To put it simply, members of the “emo” community or “emo-kids”… The case of the 12 year old girl from Bucharest, adept of the emo movement, who killed herself by throwing herself from the tenth floor, sparked the interest of the entire country. In Timisoara, a group of about 30 high school students is the main focus, though the number of teens who claim to be emo is certainly far greater. “We have created a group of 12 officers, from all departments, who will look for possible anti-social behavior from certain members of the emo movement. Emo adepts are usually found in high schools. We have exact information regarding the places and the way in which we need to operate,” says chief-commissioner Sandel Palade.

It’s hard not to recognize them. They wear heavy make-up around their eyes and have long hair which covers one eye and is usually black but may be a mix of black and certain bright colors. They dress very strangely. They are kids who see parents and society as a constant torment, and who find life meaningless. One of the schools where most emo adepts study in Timisoara is Lenau High. At least that’s what unofficial police sources claim. Their meeting place is a bar very close to the high school. Elena Wolf, principal of Lenau, doesn’t think being emo is the most important problem regarding Timisoara’s teens. “I heard of them, but I didn’t try to find out exactly how many children are drawn to this movement in this school. We have guidance teachers and counselors who talk with the children daily. The problem is that school is not the only place that can teach you how to live your life.”

Chief of Timis police, Sandel Palade, thinks the emo way of life is inherently harmful and promises that the anti-emo squad will talk with the principals of all the schools where, according to their information, there may be adepts. “Police officers from all departments, as well as other crime prevention institutions, will work to determine where the members of this group come from. They are, usually, in high schools and that’s why we will talk with all the principals from these educational institutions. Emo is a harmful movement that makes teenagers kill themselves. We will monitor those who might do such a thing day and night,” Palade says.

All I can say is… What the hell? I said before that I find them weird because depression and caring enough to look in a certain way don’t add up from my point of view, but this, if true, is outrageous! It blows everything way out of proportion and it’s discrimination, pure and simple. What does it hope to accomplish? Protect them from themselves? I’m sorry, but you can’t do that. And if you’re talking about the genuinely depressed ones, you certainly won’t convince them that things can get better by treating them like criminals! But… 1984, here we come.