Violence against emos sweeps across Mexico **

* Note: This post has been updated. See below.

A bizarre wave of mob emo-bashings is sweeping across Mexico. The movement is being generated on message boards and social networking sites by non-emo youth who highly dislike like the emo look and attitude.

The spark came first in Queretaro on March 7. An estimated 800 young people poured into the city's Centro Historico hunting for emos to beat the crap out of. They found some. The next weekend it spread to Mexico City, where emos faced off against punks and rockabillies at the Glorieta de Insurgents, the epicenter of emo social space in the capital. There's also been reports of anti-emo violence in Durango, Colima, and elsewhere.

The question on everyone's lips right now seems to be, "What the hell is going on?" Been reporting this story since it broke, and we're looking further into it. Updates in the near future.

* New material: Added source links at "More on the emo attacks in Mexico."

** THURSDAY UPDATE: Fresh post above, "The emos of Mexico are fighting back."

Comments

[Eva Ruiz]

Fascinating. I wonder what is so threatening about emo-ness for Mexicans. Passivity? Is this considered too feminine? Is it directed more at male emos? If so, maybe a manifestation of homophobia.

[love and hate los angeles]

Hey hi Daniel,
I think it has to do with anyone that is not in the "norm", they are in the fringe and are a minority.
As a mexican-american(pocho)- the "hispanic/latino culture is very conservative, traditional and catholic for the most part.
I think emos need to stand up and fight back and not let themselves get beat.
BTW- I love your website - informative and entertaining. You are truly a source of inspiration and motivation,and im a few years older than you, but you sure have accomplished alot.
You make us mexicanos feel proud, echale ganas.
- pocho from los angeles :)

[love and hate los angeles]

hey forgot, did you read this article the LA Times had in today's edition- March 22,2008
"Sea change for mexico city"- bringing the beach to el D.F.
here is a link-

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-fakebeach22mar22,1,6865472.story

[Daniel H.]

Thanks for the comments and the link! Yes, Eva, an undercurrent of homophobia is part of the equation.

[richard]

I also wonder the degree to which such a backlash is also informed by a certain nationalism or contra-americanism; that it's sort of a reactionary gesture against something seen as not mexican enough, or representative of what is the worst about the US. Either way it's not at all promising. These kids are blazin' trails.

When I was in Mexico City last year, I remember how some of the major papers were "profiling" 'emo' culture, with these trite caricatures identifying what is emo. I'm sure they feed the negative perception and, from the tone of the pieces, encourage the backlash.

[chimatli]

What does it mean to be Emo in Mexico?
I know the term has come a long way from trailblazers like Fugazi and their reaction to the hardcore scene. The Emo look is kinda what's fashionable now (and on it's way out) so I can't imagine having hatred for a trend that has no meaning behind it (maybe I'm missing something?) Sad though, this kinda violence against random people.

[Mauricio]

Hi, I'm from México, I live in Cancún, the emo culture in México is not actually a culture, they are just a bunch of kids triying to imitate a "culture" (una corriente pero no se como se dice en inglés, sorry) they persuit no ideals at all, they doesn't even now exactly what emo means, they are just copycats, and you see, the other cultures, called 'urban tribes' wich has been in our country for a long time now, like punks, skates, goths, darks, and more, well they think that the emo should't be consider a culture and they actually hate them because of the lack of ideals meanly, and maybe because of the homosexual profile emos live with, I don't think it is a macho vs gay thing, I don't agree with violence against emos at all, I just think emo kids must start to take it "seriously" if they want other subcultures to respect them, it all resumes to a "big against little" issue. Big old punk culture against young emos, I hope you understand me, my english is not real good. I hope we can keep in touch about this issue, visit my blog.

[dave]

La palabra que usted busca es "trend". Pienso que usted es injusto para los niños de emo, sin embargo. ¿Quién puede decir si una subcultura particular es más legítima que el otro?

[chimatli]

Hi Mauricio, maybe all the emos should move to Los Angeles, where they can hang out with all the other non-political, poseur, catty and uber fashionable people in this city (otherwise known as hipsters.) It's refreshing to hear that punk still means something in Mexico. We here in the U.S. are too pomo for our own good.
That said, after reading all the links and watching the videos, I do think the hatred stems from an underlying current of homophobia.

Why not pick on the fresas? :)

[Mauricio]

Hi, it's me again, I think you misunderstand me, I don't agree with violence against EMo, I just said what I think is the reason why other sub-cultures wants to beat the crap out of them, I don't really know any emo personally, but I do know lots of punks, skates, and other sub-cultures and what they said to me is that EMO shouldn't be taken as a ideology 'cuz they don't have or persuit one, they are just up for the fashion, so they shouldn't be treat or called a sub-culture like the others... I hope you undersandme this time...

[pissdav]

Violent reactions to emos are rooted in a need to separate artificial, forced emotion from the real thing. Emos may not know it when they do it, but they are appropriating something cherished to youth-- the struggle between emotions and intellect-- and turning it into a fashion statement. True emos should welcome the beatdowns as the purest provocation of emotion they may ever encounter. Painful tears of joy...

[ricofred]

Hello,
Mexico think is different than in america.
I'm indie but people think I'm emo but I'm not. that why mexican is confused and attack thems =\ lot peoples is punk,rock,indie,screamo,fashionly is cool and look like "emos" they could stop spread about emo as bad stuff.

[imp]

People like to beat up those who are weaker than them (for the obvious reason that those who are stronger than them usually win the fights).

Since emos seem pretty wimpy, they are natural victims.

I'm not advocating this. I'm just pointing out how it works.

[Daniel C]

Puede ser que los emos son pendejos y los Mexicanos no quieren ser representados como emo jajaja. Because though i agree that a degree of homophobia is involved, i highly doubt that that is the reason for these beatings. If one has been keeping track of the news and media in Mexico, the times are changing. Homosexuality is becoming more and more acceptable. For example, one of the most famous characters in their soap opera of ugly betty is gay in the show. Rewind 5 years ago or so, and that stuff wouldn't fly, no one would have watched it, let alone made it a phenomena. And a member of the world famous Rebelde musical group recently came out of the closet in 07, and the people accepted him. That is not to say that the Mexican people are all turning gay, but they are becoming more tolerant and accepting of the changing world of which they are a part of. Believe it or not but Mexico is not the ranching third-world nation that everyone still thinks it is. Ofcourse it still has many problems, but it is progressing. Some of the best writers of our time are coming out of Mexico University, and their art and film is making a global impact, so it is very ignorant to think that these people are the same machismo, god-fearing type. Though ofcourse some may be, i doubt that those were the 800 which storms the streets to beat on emo kids. Have any of you ever met a Mexican emo kid, and by that i mean and Emo kid that is from and lives in Mexico? They are a bit different than the ones we know of in the US. I'm not saying that they deserved the beatings they got, but after hanging out with a few of them when i went down there last summer, i kinda felt like punching one haha.
Anyhow i do hope that these beatings stop, but as for finding the reason for this violence, well that would be alot to ask. The hate the would drive someone to beat a stranger is different for different people. Maybe some did it because they hate gay people, maybe some did it because they hate the thought of glorifying cutting and suicide, maybe some did it because they hate people that do not fit the norm, maybe some did it because they have many issues and found this as an excuse to let it out. Until they interview all 800+ people who participate in these beatings, it is unwise to try to find one reason, because i do not believe that there is only one reason.

[stephy_giggles]

this is so stupid i think that everybody needs to stop and get over it its not much of a deal to be diffrent its not fair because what about the punks the goths and everyone else they dress diffrent but nobody talks shit to them they are much of faggets as the emo kids fuck everyone who hates us fuck you!!!!!!

[Ricardo Reyes Ochoa]

Cats following other trends (like punks and goths) say they hate emos because "they stole their ideology" but c'mon, 90 percent of youngsters into any "ideology" don't really know a thing about it. The other 10 percent never gets credit for being really into something and actually having real ideas because of the orthe 90 percent :s And when those suckers says "they steal our ideology" it's basically "they comb their hair like us or something.

What? Should a brit punk or a german goth slap mexicans because they're stealing their ideology too? Just to show you how dumb it is you can (rarely, but you can) even bumb form time to time into mexican skinheads sporting swastikas and stuff wtf?

To me it's either a media smokescreen or the association of emos with being gay. In the first case it's not unheard of of low-class cats paid for the government to infiltrate into other groups to make them lose credibility (for example, entering a student demonstration and breaking and stealing stuff so real students lose adepts for their cause).

Either way, where are the parents?

[Mauricio]

Hi, me one more time, I agrre wit the gay above with this: "Cats following other trends (like punks and goths) say they hate emos because "they stole their ideology""

That's the main reason, apparently, of the emo beating in México, but I do think that the other "tribes" are not youngsters and doesn't belong to the 90% he mentioned, this are 20-28 (maybe) years old, who spends their time in the "plaza" where the events took place, so they know their ideology.

But let's be fair, not all the punks, skates and others, hates emo, in fact, last week there was a round table between this "tribes" and emos in the "tianguis cultural" where representatives of the "tribes" said that they doesn't like emos, but in that place theres a respect ideology, so they wouldn't be picking on emos, but that they can assure everybody in this tribes are "de acuerdo" (the english, sorry) with this pact, but they will respect the emos in this place, I still doesn't think there's a homophobic background in all this... but is just my opinion...

[Jeremy]

I was in Buenos Aires about 3 weeks ago, and the big news was a brawl between emos (or darks as theyre called down there) and chets (basically preps or jocks in BsAs slang) in the big downtown shopping mall.

[Carrick]

They're doing it b/c emo is completely without meaning. Its lame self-absorbed self-pitying shit from soiled twits.

[Carrick]

They're doing it b/c emo is completely without meaning. Its lame self-absorbed self-pitying shit from soiled twats, or twits.

[Wastrel]

I agree with the gay above me

[Keith Dannemiller]

Daniel:
I am a faithful reader of Intersections via the RSS feed because I like your unique look at Mexico City. Your perspective is intelligent and fresh.
But I have to disagree with your take on the currently-popular emo bashing story. While your dispatches have helped dispel some of the myths surrounding emo's and their antagonists, you do no one any service by the use of a title like this one here, "Violence against emos sweeps across Mexico". I feel the use of the phrase 'sweeps across' is just patently exaggerated, too grandiose, and not a correct take on the scale of things going down.
As you correctly point out, there have been two cases of physical violence against emos: the one in Queretero and the other here at the Glorieta de Insurgentes, which really was nipped in the bud before anyone was hurt. Other than those two, where else have there been incidents of physical, mob-type violence? I don't know of any. How many incidents are required to be able to use 'sweeps across'. I don't know that either, but I do know the incorrect use of hyperbole when I read it.
So to characterize what is happening as sweeping across México is hardly apt. We all know that there IS at least one type of violence (narco and government response) that is indeed sweeping across México. There the phrase is correct.
You have a lot of readers in the US and your blog is quoted on a lot of big sites, i.e. Wired. That's great. It gets your name out there all over the place. But a large number of those readers are ignorant of anything Mexican. (Please see some of the comments on the Wired story.) Using the words 'sweeps across' exaggerates the scale of the emo bashing problem, I think, and cheapens the phrase when it is used accurately to characterize the larger social issues that are indeed sweeping across this country.
Un abrazo,
Keith Dannemiller

[Jeremy - not the Jeremy who already posted]

Jeremy is right! Emo is such a stupid term anyway. It's self-absorption and self-pitying that defines them.

Even though it sounds like fun, I disagree with beating them up - only because it just gives them more to whine, complain and cut themselves over, and I hate having to listen to their b.s.

How about some real life lessons to open their eyes to other people's issues. Send them to Africa to see what people have to deal with on a day by day basis there. I guarantee in a week they'll be begging to come home because they realize other people actually DO have it bad.

[Daniel H.]

Keith, I appreciate your involved critique of my use of the phrase "sweeps across," but I'm sticking to it. In two weeks confrontations were reported in Queretaro, Mexico City, Durango, Colima, Puebla, Aguascalientes, and now coming up in Tijuana. That seems pretty phenomenal, pretty sweeping to me.

Haven't read much comments elsewhere, but I can't do anything if this reality doesn't abide by the impressions of Mexico that some people would or would not like to reinforce.

Also, there have been smaller and random one-on-one attacks and fights that I've been told about by several youths in the course of my reporting. These posts are very brief and bare. All of it will be detailed extensively in the future.

Thank you.

[claroquesiputa]

i still really wanna see creepy cory in a green speedo and a fur coat for some reason.