Emo music blamed for teen suicide

Wow I didn't know anything about this until just recently. When I walked by my brother watching an old interview of My Chemical Romance and when the person interviewing them mentioned something about suicide I thought I would look into it a bit more. After reading so many arlticles to get the whole story I was really confused why they linked the two. Only a complete idiot would come up with this the girl was angery because she was told no. Just because she changed her fashion and cut herself isnt due to the music. If they really wanted to blame someone they should just blame LIFE every teenager goes through a phase of some sort maybe thats why she changed or maybe she just wanted to fit in its not anyones fault really just her way of coping with her anger that was messed up. But once again society has chosen to pin the blame on something they have no idea about.

Let us go for something.. I have listened to a LOT worse than *emo* in my life. When I was a teen bands like Radiohead, Placebo, Skunk Anansie and the like were in the charts. Now.. if Radiohead haven't been linked to any suicides, you can start calling me Nancy Drew from now on. Seriously tho.. wanna know the truth behind it?! I listened to their stuff to remind me that there's always someone out there worse off than you. These days I listen to "suicidal" lyrics from bands such as Metallica, eg Broken, Beaten and Scarred, and Slipknot, eg Diluted. Now.. seriously.. lyrically there are a LOT of songs that a LOT of groups, be it rap, metal, country, folk, so called emo, rockabilly.. WHATEVER.. they ALL do music which would bring on thoughts of depression and the like. But see at the end of the day? They wrote these songs because they came through something and DIDN'T end their lives. I agree with a previous comment.. the music HAS to be blame free.

BLAME THE SCHOOLS! BLAME SOCIETY! BLAME THE PARENTS!

God knows that, like a lot of people on this planet, I had a couple of flirts with suicide when I was a teenager.. it's a perfectly normal thing to question why you're on this planet, but a very very sad thing if nobody can influence you that killing yourself is not the answer.

Its all about acceptance now more than ever, and I see it every day from all the kids in our families being bullied WAY above the level we ever got it! And what has been done to prevent the bullying? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! The teachers pulled a blind eye to the teasing and name calling then, and they do so now. That aside I must admit I was lucky, as the school I went to was very socialistic with the idea of prevention, one of the kids in my class grassed my bullies in and they were all taken into the Head Tutor of our year and made to understand how it feels to be bullied, then ORDERED to befriend any kids they were bullying. I must admit, those kids ended up being the ones on the recieving end as nobody really ever spoke to them again and they dared not to talk to each other. But come on, schools NEED to do it off their own back.. it's not really part of the curriculum to understand the actual effects of bullying and indeed, the side effects for the bullies if they're ever found out.

I believe if the government got their finger out and tackled it NATIONALLY that they could stop blaming the music.

Grand Theft Auto, remember, was to blame for a few mass murders over in America. Why not realise these kids were the bullied ones making a stand, or the bullies themselves seeking revenge or suchlike. Don't blame the games and the music! If we can blame anything other than the schools and the parents of these children, then its the media, the TV shows, and the need to be *perfect* or to fit in to certain groups.

I listen to My Chemical Romance quite a bit and I've never tried to kill myself. While suicide is unfortunite, when someone makes that decision there is nothing and no one to blame but that person.

If emo means emotional doesn't that include laughing, loving, warm feelings not crying and feeling hurt? This culture is stupid, young people should not reflect on thier lives because there is not enough to reflect on.

I am a 14 year old girl and I listen to My Chemical Romance all the time, I love them, and have for about 4 years now. I'm not dead yet, I also listen to Hawthorne Heights, and Escape The Fate. I'm not dead yet. I don't even want to kill myself. When I'm sad I do poetry, art, or listen to music. If I'm depressed I often just sleep all day. 'Emo' music obviously has nothing to do with this girl's suicide. Emo yes IS in fact a state of mind, but, so is Gangster, Scene, Gothic, Prep, Jock, or any of these stupid labels people use. People have commited scuicide while listening to Rap, and Country but nobody bothers to post about that. This girl had obviously had a pshycological mishap going about and just gave up, and in this article it does say "her parents seemed to think her obsession and moodiness was normal, emo was just a fashion." but they didn't bother to check in or get the girl a therapist or any sort of mental help.

that is stupid blaming my chemical romance dude gerard way and the band r like totally anti suicide so i dont know where the hell u got that idea from cuz i love um and have done since 2001 when they first came out im a 13 year old emo girl i have almost been killed more than 5 times but my music is what keeps me alive and if u need 2 blame someone blame schools and there aparently anti-bullying cr*p we r emo cuz we care cuz we know that fighting is wrong cuz we respect others feelings and cuz we r and will always be ONE. the music we listen to is the only bit of happiness in our lives if u take that then there will be a lot of dead people on ur hands were not odd not weird not even different we r peace we r kindness we r trust not death freaks my life is harder than some peoples lives cuz my mum n dad dont whant my they disowned meat seven years old so if theres any emos reading this then long live emos AS THE REAST OF THE WORLD FALLS INTO THE DARKNESS OF HELL AND THE END OF TIME WE WILL NOT WE R STRONG AND U IN THE HOUR OF NEED WILL CALL UPON US AND BEG FOR HELP AND WE SHALL SAY"They Wont Understand You So Give Up Trying. Do What You Love & Fuck The Rest We're Afraid Of Death, But At The End Of The World We Fall." if anyone has bebo or msn add me its gerardloverx@hotmail.co.uk or billkaulitzx@hotmail.co.uk
only add me if ur emo goth mosher like tokio hotel like my chemical romance or anyone realy boys or girls i have friends of both :) keep it rockin dude

ha ha

lol

I'm an emo and I don't fink any music makes
me wanna kill myself, she must of been 1
strong emo, lol,

shannon x

no one kills themselves over music. or video games for that matter. it's tragic that this girl did this to herself but she did it because she did have psychological problems. as anyone who commits suicide does. the music may have given her a feeling or a sense that it was a better idea to do, but no one kills themselves over hearing someone else did it in a song.

I think this is stupid most "emo" people find "emo" music as more of an escape and it usally helps them through stuff not make them want to hurt themselves. Like I used to think of cutting a lot because i didn't feel pretty enough and i felt like i wasn't good enough for anything and no i'm "emo" i'm normal and "emo" music actually helped me through it. Listen to the dong "the way she feels" by Between the Trees" this is song helped me and it can help a lot of people but yeah i really don't think emo music is to blame emo is just a style of being different and i like being different and if people tease me then oh well because there to busy being all the same to be themselves.

i am a harcore metal head and i cannot stand emos purely because they have ruind everything that is gothic and/or metal they have destroyed the scene and now all that needs doing is a bit of soccial clenseing...i tell u when i have a kid im gona raise it right not like the things on the streets today.... im not saying all emo is bad because when emo was an underground cult where not to many had heard of it then it was pretty cool in a way but now emo isnt actualy emo anymore the likes of my chemical romance they are mainstream music i know serious chavs who listen to what young kids describe as emo music not what it realy is

i don't see how people think she killed herself because of mcr's music with their lyrics being things like "I am not afraid to keep on living i am not afraid to walk this world alone" lets just face it some people are generally depressed and "emo" music doesn't make people kill themselves

Its a win lose situtaition becasue some people would say its does and others would say it wouldnt its a subject that could be argued for ages.

They are trying to say emo is now a cult? And that to be initiated you have to cut your wrists? Seriously people every new generation there will be lots of suicides and who better to blame it on? The music and why? Because people cant face the truth. When some new scene comes out doesnt mean that it is a cult its just a trend and the whole emo thing just really irritates me because it really doesnt exist. Emo is a type of music (crappy music but still music none the less) and nobody can be music. And My Chemical Romance is definitely not emo music. People think it is but its not. Even the lead singer said he hates emo music so get your facts straight. And just because someone listens to a certain band isnt the bands fault. Yeah MCR may talk about death but if you actually read about them people would know their songs are for the lead singers and bass players grandmother who died. But really people if i killed myself right now they would probably try to blame it on Incubus....make sense much? Didnt think so. So stop trying to blame it on everything else but the real problem.

Oh my god what is wrong with you people!?
Music doesnt kill you

it saves your life!

to all anti-emos,I cant change your opinion but all 'emos' are asking for is acceptance and respect.

btw MCR freaking kicKs as s!DONT LABEL THEM

Man if kids are dumb enough to fall for the "emo" trend, I hope they all die. It will save a lot of us from looking at those idiots. Those bands suck anyway.

My mother bought all my Iron Maiden CD's for me when I was younger when she realized they were based off the lyrics of Edgar Allen Poe and some of Ray Bradbury's work. Another that made people want to read was early Metallica. Some spectrums of a metalheads house you might be looking for their book case.

Hell even Christian metal band Tourniquet read Edgar Allan Poe. Then they were descriptive about amputations and such. There was a lot of heat from Heavy Metal because of SLAYER early on too. Then you got the ones who didn't look at that side of metal and wanted to do drugs.

The ones who were high on pot were the ones who shot each other with M-16s. My step-dad was trying to get me going to church hoping that heavy metal would not be the thing I would listen to. When he realized he had younger brother who listens to the same stuff I do, "what's the use. Might as well let him. As long he's not involved with the drug side of it."

That was the thing they were the most afraid of when I got into heavy metal but the worst I did was collect newspaper clippings about homicides, political outrages then pasted them into a notebook then I would read them over and over for research. All the while I would blast Nine Inch Nails.

They looked at me like I was the sick one with it, but that was becoming something more.

First it was rap and heavy metal making people kill eachother, now it emo music making people kill themselves. As synical as this may sound, I think everything took a turn for the better. Keep pumpin out that emo to keep people off eachothers backs.

The whole concept of "emo" music is stupid. "Emotional" music?? That doesn't make any sense. All music is made with emotions. This is just a trend, that needs to end...

she must have been very sad inside and unable to get a grip on what would help her. infact she prabably thought she had no one. so often kids who are the biggest threat for suiside are the ones that show no signs at all. as for her parents thinking its just a fashion cmon are you gonna emo her coffin because thats what you think she would have wanted. parents pay attention wake up and talk to your kids even if you dont feel like it! its not the music its how she hears it and what she decides to let it do to her

I never understood the newer generation and there "want" to be sad. Most the people that fit that image I've meet don't even have any reason to be miserable. Other than they are just confused who they are or what they want. I can't stand that people are still to afraid to look at real reasons instead of going to music, video games, movies, books, and anything else they can possible think of other than them selfs.

How dare some of you blame the parents! I knew this girl and looked after her horses. Some of you need to get lives and think about more important things like how upset her family and friends are rather than blaming MUSIC.
At the risk of sounding harsh, have some respect!

that blows i hate to see the pretty girls go

i should be dead...i listened to bands like suicidal tendancies, mettalica, the smiths....have the smiths ever been linked to any suicides.... because their music was as depressing as it gets....when my mother heard me listening to black flag, she did not run to her congressman and say that black flag was going to her me by listening to them...she sat down with and talked about what it was i got of listening to it....she also bought most of my records for me...so i say thanks mom for buying ac/dc highway to hell for christmas one year...more parents should listen not only to what their kids are listening to but also to what they are saying

Im a very good friend of hannahs best mates, and was with her on the day.
"emo" music is not to be blamed. And nor is emo, so please dont be heartless. would be different i suppose if it were a "chav".
MCR should not be blamed either. Its a band that she liked, so? Just because she listened to it doesnt mean she committed suicide for that.
She wasnt a member of a secret "emo cult" and she didnt lead "2 lives" Thats all lies.
Dont you think maybe she was upset??
She didnt commit suicide to "impress other members" of this so called "cult" which doenst exist.
We also did not in anyway think of her death as glamerous, we're not sick people. "hope your okay in the black perade"-written because she liked the song and MCR. the black perade isnt a place where people believe they go when they die. The song is about the patient thats dying of cancer's memory of when he was a small child and his father took him to a perade - listen to the lyrics.

Please dont judge her or us, she was an amazing girl and i miss her so much.
No more lies. What ive written is only a small part of the truth, whereas what tabloids have written have been lies. xxx

Many of us prefer to blame others for our own failings most of the time an abstract being like the media instead of admitting its our own fault and taking responsibility. Therefore we give Media form in that of a faceless specter to take the blame for the short-comings and faults that lie within ourselves and the wrongs of the government. Yet only to then banish its dreadful form when there is nothing wrong, replacing it with a shape more cheerful and friendly whose company we want and enjoy.

Music can provoke many emotions in people, but it takes more than an emotion to end your own life. This girl, and any other people who commit suicide, have much more going on than what's playing on their radio.

My ex-girlfriend actually listened to them, but yeah I noticed a lot of controversy with every subculture out there. Hell I remember when my site, Writings From The Grave, launched in 1997 and there was a shitstorm that came with it because of the vampire murders.

The world gets more Twilight Zone like by the day and seeing something like this of a girl hanging herself. She's a year older than my sister. It would be interesting to hear from My Chemical Romance and the controversy around this one.

I bet their world right now is going to become more like something Rod Serling wrote. Kind of one of those twisted ironies to describe it because the vocalist of My Chemical Romance calls Emo, "Pure Fucking Crap" when I was looking them up on Wikipedia.org.

In some ways I feel bad about making fun of Emo kids. I am sure people will be discussing her death on LiveJournal on the different Emo boards.

I don't think it was the music itself that led her to have those kind of emotions. I know from personal experience that people tend to listen to music that expresses how they feel, before the music in place. You connect. Just as a depressed teenage girl listens to emotional music that describes how she feels, I listen to music that expresses my dislike for how the world is. Just as you find friends that like the same things you like, music is the same.

I'm getting really sick of hearing this stuff on the news and at school. My Chemical Romance does NOT cause kids to have suicidal tendancies. My MOM likes them. Music has always been an escape to me, and I wouldn't ever think of it as a cause of suicide. I think the people who we pay as doctors and psych evaluators should be taught that, and coroners too. I suppose the cause of death for everyone shot to death is "it was that rap music that killed him/her."

Seriously, go back to school and think logically. We'd have a mass-suicide if everyone who listened to MCR and Hawthorne Heights killed themselves.

Depression is not a symptom of listening to sad music. 1 in 4 American adults suffer from some sort of mood disorder. Blaming music for teen suicide is a common theme in our culture, however finger-pointing will solve no problems. Listen to some of the advice given by Frank Zappa during the PMRC hearings in 1985.

"Children in the vulnerable age bracket have a natural love for music. If as a parent you believe they should be exposed to something more uplifting..., support music appreciation programs in schools. Why have you not considered your child's need for consumer information?"

I think all emo's need to make a suicide pact.

I do wish my lawn was emo, so it would cut itself though. It'd save me a lot of time on the weekends.

THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU!
THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU!

another one not strong enough to face real life down and out. no complaints here. the only tragedy is the ones to blame will walk and by guilty i mean the parents

This echoes much of what happened in the 1986 when Suicide Solution came out by Ozzy Osbourne. I suffer with mental health problems but never saw the final sollution as a sollution for anything. My parents were paranoid that I do listen to Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica (when Metallica was doing things based off H.P. Lovecraft.)

So in some ways this echoes a lot of the controversy in the 1980s with the Ozzy controversies. Heavy Metal been blamed for as much homicide as rap is in some ways -- look at the Black Metal scene in the 1990s where they were torching churches in Scandinavia. Dee Snider was the one who did the commentary when VH1 wanted him to cover the 40 heavy metal moments. So I can see where heavy metal can be blamed for all of this but this is the first time, heavy metal been off the hook.

I will go more into detail about this via video when I do my next few videos down the line. I don't listen to Emo but know a few who do (very common out in the areas south of Joliet.) I am not going to make jokes about this but damn, it sucks to imagine someone mowing themselves down when they are exactly my sister's age.

List of other probable causes not included here which one or more is probably the reason:

1. . Nutritional deficiency makes teens crazy. In other countries they know this and research has shown that there has been a 1/3 reduction in teen violence.

OFTEN ADDED TO

2 Use of over the counter cold/allergy medication

OFTEN ADDED TO:

3. Use of antidepressant drugs to help the poor kids.

Mix this elixir all together and you get ..surprise astronomical high violence rates in the USA.

HERE IS WHERE YOU FIND YOUR RATING FOR THE DRUGS YOU ARE GIVING TO YOUR FAMILY:
http://www.askapatient.com/viewtopratings.asp

At some point, parents need to realize that they just *might* have failed at parenting, rather than find a scapegoat. Try talking to your kids. Try listening to what they have to say. Provide them with an open line of communication. This is also a good opportunity to promote the 1-800-SUICIDE helpline.

I undoubtedly must be to old because I have no clue what "emo" is exactly. Beside the point, where are her parents while she is listening to music that makes suicide "glamorous"? What did her parents think when she had a picture of a girl with slashed wrists?
Music is not the problem. Parents not raising their children right is. Parents need to stop trying to be their friend first. They need to be a parent first!!!!

i blame Bush

Keeshii you aren't kidding.

The problem with story's like these is that it's all speculation. We don't know, period. That's it. We weren't within that experience so we don't know what happened. And as far as glamorizing this young girls death, isn't it happening right now? Aren't we talking, speculating, making bad jokes? It's happening right now and we don't even know it.

everyone should listen to reggae music..it heals the soul. i promise.

haha, it's the economy.

That's pretty awful though, that yall would say that they should all kill themselves. Iono, you guys are entitled to your opinions (go ahead, disagree with me, I give you permission) but it was probably psychological problems that drove this girl to suicide, not emo.

This argument that music infuences emotions has been going on since music was made. I belive that it was Plato that suggested soldiers listen to music in the dorian and phrygian modes as opposed to ionian and lydian which would make soldiers soft. something liek that. I belive John McCain would remember the exact quote, seeing as he was there during the time that Plato wrote/said that.

People that listen to emo are still human beings (albeit human beings with bad taste) but humans none the less.

to paraphrase Bill Clinton

It's the parents stupid.

god i hope that was clinton i'm thinking of....

I'd kill myself too if I had to listen to those crappy bands. But seriously, people really need to stop blaming their kid's psychotic/suicidal behavior on the media. First it was books, then comic books, then rock and roll, now videogames (oh yeah, and rock and roll too).

If she was emo...Than she surpased the stereotype. She didn't only attempt suicide...But she actually went through with it. That's surprising.

The music shouldn't be blamed. Obsessions can be deadly.

emo/rock = suicide
rap = homicide
"techno" = untouchable!

The actions of this young teen are not to be taken lightly. The description of the suicide procedure, hanging by tie, would suggest that her neck did not break immediately. This would lead to more extreme suffering as she likely slowly suffocated. Imagine the all pain but still she went through with it. Why? Does music make you do this?

The girl looks strikingly similar to "Jane" from American Beauty.

"The glamor of suicide" isn't all that its cracked up to be kids. Theres nothing romantic about it. You are not a martyr. You just hate yourself cause your not happy though your emotions are completely based on how you choose to view the world.

Nothing beautiful about bleeding out or strugling and trying to get the rope off from round your neck cause the only thoughts you have when you kick the chair out from under you is "OH FUCK."

You die and then you rot in the ground. Oh, and if your religious, you go to hell for comiting suicide.

To take your own fucking life, thats the onlything you actually own in this world. Thats the only thing God has given you. You throw it aside like it means nothing, because you are so sad.

I have no pity for someone who pities themselves so much.

" People never blame the easy listening station they're are forced to listen at work."

Which I could've be quoted several times over the years as to saying the genre would eventual suicide. However, I managed to overcome those thoughts somehow.

How very sad, but Comic books, Rock & Role, Computer Games and Movies are also blamed. If a person is truly suicidal, the media they are interested is only a very small particle of a very complex mindset.

I agree, listening to emo music would make me want to kill myself.

On a serious not however, lets not blame the pressure our society puts on the younger children now to succeed in school and in life. Lets not blame the parents for not being there for their daughter when she needed them. Obviously she got depressed over any number of factors in her life, thus like every other teenager she found a group that was like her and listen to the same music, unfortunutly she did kill herself unlike the scores of other "emo" kids who do not, that should be proof enough it was not music. Its very sad that we put the blame off on other things, as long as we are doing that, we arn't searching for the real problem and so we can not find a real solution and then be able to offer aid to girls (or guys) like her.

Enough said since it was the obsession, not the music. People can get obsessed with a lot of things gambling, sex, drugs, guns etc. that lead to their deaths.

you wanna know who to blame ? blame "evolution" - blame the fact that our species ever developed the ability to make , record and distribute music .

The coroner is the one who suggested that an obsession with music caused her death. Enough said.

omg...another idiotic family is gonna sue, MCR because they were unsuccessful at teaching their child how look at music and art. Instead of adapting another person thought or even thinking a certain story telling may not be necessarily true. They failed at teaching their child individual thinking...

Dont blame the music!

This is a typical example of people who aren't motivated to find the real story. I'm not saying this is the real answer but on another note was there any deal with anti-depressants. A suprising (or unsuprising depending on who you are) amount of these stories have that somewhere behind the headline....Adderal or any of these millions of pills that have my whole generation on at once by diagnosing them with idiotic things that used to be labeled as "being a teenager".

There's no one to blame. I don't know why there always has to be a cause.

And I hate the term emo (I don't listen to the 'genre' of whiny complainy pseudo dark pop music, thank Allah) I just think its stupid to call the music 'emotional' when, to me, all music is emotional in some way. We place such shame on expression these days.

You can't blame sounds for suicide. That's ridiculous. The type of music probably made her happier or it satisfied her in some way, otherwise she wouldn't have liked listening to it. she was depressed so she listened to that music and found a niche in a 'scene'; It's not that she found a scene and then became depressed.
It probably comforted her, but it didn't urge her to be any happier. Happy people wouldn't want to listen to something depressing. And depressed people don't want to listen to anything happy.

Or not. What do I know?

Bah, the usual people rather blame something rather than face the truth. And sadly in the US more and more people rather accept the hype than the truth.

For the record I listen to Emo/Heavy Metal/Satanic Music play D&D, play GTA and other violent video games, watch porn, masturbate, speak my mind, search for the truth. But in today's world in the US just from that I can be branded a trouble person, a rebel, a pedo, a potential criminal, a terrorist.

Remember we are free because we fail to see the chains that bind us.

Listening to emo music would make me feel suicidal, too. But I don't think music can actually do that to someone.

oh, blame the music. Like it wasn't there choice in the first place to listen to it.

D & D was "glamorous" ? wasn't it Ozzy's "suicide solution" which held ascendancy over Iron Maiden so far as inducing untimely self inflicted death ?

Isn't that the same thing like they blamed Iron Maiden, D&D and video games?

Easier to project the blame onto something else more "glamorous" than the person's problems right?

The problems like this that are of society are usually blamed on the media, however most of the problems result from other ills of society, not just the media. Parents need to start talking to their children and the general public should realize that music is another form of entertainment.

This sort of story seems to come up every few years. People used to say that heavy metal led to teen suicide and then it was the goth rock. People never blame the easy listening station they're are forced to listen at work. People chose to commit suicide, they are not forced to by music.

No seriously we need to blame emo for this one.

Music doesn't make you kill yourself. That's a decision a person makes on their own. It is sad that this girl died, but even more upsetting is the trend to blame media for the concequences of our own actions. We all need to take a little more responsibilty as a society and not always look for a scapegoat when something bad happens.

Seems like parents are always ready to blame outside forces when they are clearly not talking and communicating with their kids. Did every drug overdose in the 60's become a result of the Beatles...

i'm not 13 , but if i were forced to listen to emo for more than 2 minutes i'd kill myself too .

The glamor of suicide, interesting phrase. Not exactly sure what's so glamorous about it, but I'm also not a 13 year old emo girl. I think the reason music is blamed is because a scapegoat is always needed for something like this. It couldn't have been because she was suffering from some sort of depression or other mental illness, no it has to be the music she's listening to, let's sue My Chemical Romance! But there has been a precedent for a band being sued because someone killed themselves while listening to their music. It happened to Judas Priest after two kids tried to kill themselves after listening to British Steel. It had to be the album, because God knows it couldn't have been the booze and drugs they were on. Priest was exonerated btw.

In a perfect world everyone that did listen to Emo WOULD kill themselves.

there is no such thing as emo music...

As 'logical' people we're always looking for something to blame when there doesn't seem to be any other explanation. For many people it's so much easier to point fingers. Why didn't they probe her personal life more?

omg I used to love MCR when I was 15....