Here on Get Jack’d I’m starting a few new regular series of posts. We can’t have things getting stale — stale is so … yesterday! So to keep things minty fresh I introduce to you the first in my regular blogs Misfit Monday. Now many of you might be rolling your eyes or pish poshing the idea, thinking I’m going to be writing about various miscreants, killers, or maybe just covering Glenn Danzig and his leather-clad, skull wearing punk band. Though not beyond the realm of the possible, that’s not what this regular Monday entry on Get Jack’d is about.
Monday Misfits will focus on members of fringe society that need a little love. Very much like my Fringe Killer series, Monday Misfits will pay homage to various members of society either forgotten or shunned by society. And today’s entry holds a dear place in my heart. Today, my dear lovelies is dedicated to The Goth.
What is a Goth?
The Goth has, for the longest time, been a very misunderstood beast. As seen from the eyes of the average ShirtTucker, The Goth is a human too dark, too bleak of soul to be trifled with. Whereas the ShirtTucker is content with dining at Olive Garden, The Goth is only sated when dining on the souls of children. Whereas the ShirtTucker is happy with their Dave Matthews band, The Goth soul is only satisfied with the dark stylings of bands like The Birthday Massacre (show above).
- The Goth asks the question: How dark is my soul?
- The ShirtTucker asks: How deep is my stock portfolio?
- The Goth drives a hearse.
- The ShirtTucker drives a Bimmer.
But wait…aren’t these just nothing more than stereotypes? Of course they are. And so now, it’s time to break them with my ten pound Kik Platform Boots. The Goth is, most often, just another person. Like you and I (well, that’s not exactly fair as I have a fairly strong Goth leaning), the Goth is first and foremost a human being. Oh sure they may wear a lot of black clothing, make up, fishnets (rowr), and listen to a LOT of bleak music, but ultimately — underneath the pageantry lies a human being with a heart and soul.
May I hip you to something here? Why thank you kind ma’am. Typically the dark path The Goth takes begins with a simple song or a taste for a particular fashion style. My dark path began with the musical stylings of Robert Smith and The Cure. That led to Siouxsie and The Banshees, which led to The Cocteau Twins, which led to black lace skirts and fishnet.
Gateway Drug. Shoo!
We all get so tightly wound up in types. The human condition longs to categorize and locate everything in its place and when something has no place in the human brain, that something simply has no place. So what if the music pouring into the guys ears beside you (you know, the one with the black nail polish and hair that reeks of some other-worldly hair product) is Marylin Manson or Type O Negative. If you judge him for that, he may well be judging your khakis and your choice of Hootie and the Blowfish.
Remember, without Black there would be no White. Without Darkness, there would be no Light. Without Goth, there would be no trite.
Oh yes, I went there.
Next week on Misfit Monday — Scene Kids!
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