The only real thing attitude-wise that they all shared was the dreaded Special Snowflake syndrome, where they were all, if not the most important people in the world, at least entitled to whatever the hell they wanted. They never really flipped out or anything if they didn't get their way, but they sure bitched about it a lot. It was the main reason I didn't become a part of that group fully
Unbound and unrealistic entitlement; childish narcissism.
I guess if that's the problem JohNyx has with them, that's great because no one likes a whiner. But I got the impression that his worst problem with them was that instead of doing something about what bothered them, they just sort of bitched about it and kept living. Considering the things being bitched about, I'm personally happy that they just kept living their lives. I can't imagine any good coming from an indignant 15 year old trying to show his mom what's what for not getting him an iPod.
Yea, whining instead of taking action; on that 15 year old wanting an iPod, perhaps instead of bugging its parents, it could get money by doing neighborhood chores or getting a part time job (if its allowed, idk about laws regarding that where you live).
To conclude, JohNyx fucked up by (from what I gathered) trying to view emo through the same lens as punk and goth: as a counterculture. And it just isn't a counterculture, it doesn't even try to look like one. It's a bunch of teenagers who want to look cool while swinging their egos around, and that's really it.
If its not a “counter-culture”, what category/designation would you give it? Not to make a big deal about semantics, but to clarify and understand your posture.
I will admit I'm speaking entirely from personal experience in a very small segment of Western Pennsylvania, and that said experience is probably atypical. But somehow I doubt that emos ANYWHERE are pretending to give a shit about politics or the state of the world or really much of anything. The very name of the subculture (emo, from emotional) implies getting hyped up about just about everything. And all the little slights leave very little emotional energy to give a shit about civilization sliding into the gutter.
Its very valid to say its not universal behaviour what i meant, it is great geographical distances after all. I dont remember if i wrote of them caring much about “big issues” or “trivial day-to-day issues”, but my point was regarding the bitching instead of taking action.
EDIT: I mentioned "discontent" which to me doesnt imply care about "big issues" but i guess it could be read that way, but that wasnt my intention (dissatisfaction). And the description of your acquaintances that i deem "childish narciccism" goes along with what i had named "regressive" in nature.
