Fans of alternative music such as heavy metal, emo, punk, hardcore, and more have been marginalised for decades by the mainstream community, with reports of beatings and even murders sadly continuing to make newspaper headlines.
The latest in a string of attacks against the misunderstood scenes comes from England where a 16-year-old was beaten by a group of teenagers because of the music she listened to and the clothes she wore.
Ben Moores managed to escape his assailants, which numbered as many as 15, and he suffered bruising to his head and body but escaped serious injury. According to Moores the attackers shouted out “mosher” and “freak” as they stamped on his wrists and pulled out parts of his hair from his head.
“They were only doing it because of the way I look and because I’ve got long hair and like heavy metal music,” Moores said to Noisecreep. “It’s all because I dress a bit different and have different interests.”
“When they got me on the floor I thought I was going to die,” he continued. “There was no stopping them – they wouldn’t let me up. I had blood all over my face by the end. When I was getting kicked and stamped in my head and on my wrists and my hair was being pulled out, there was nothing I could do. Thinking about it now makes me shiver in shock.”
Seven teens have been rounded up by police and arrested in connection with the latest attack.
News of the violent attack comes just weeks after reports out of Iraq of emo and heavy metal fans being stoned to death for their musical choices. Punk youth were also been targeted in Indonesia in December last year, where muslim hardliners embarked on a campaign to ‘re-educate’ youths involved in local punk scene.
The attack also bears an eery similarity to assault in the same city five years ago that claimed the life of 20-year-old Sophie Lancaster. Back in 2007, Lancaster was walking through a park with her boyfriend when they were attacked for looking like a goth.
Lancaster ended up dying from her injuries and two teenagers were convicted of murder and given 18 year prison sentences. Her boyfriend was also injured in the attack but survived. A further three teenagers received jail time for their role in the attack.
“The fact that young people gang together like that and think of it as fun is just wrong,” said Lancaster’s mother, Sylvia, commenting on this latest incident. “It is very sad that there have been no lessons learned.”
