The brutal stoning of Iraqi ’emo’ kids

If this is not one of the most grotesque and cowardly acts of violence ever perpetrated on minors, I don’t know what is… Will these beasts stop at nothing when it comes to enforcing their ridiculous Stone Age religious beliefs? How can human beings stone teenagers to death simply for wearing modern (Western-style) clothing and sporting certain haircuts?

These Muslim religious freaks need to be exterminated at all costs! TGO

Refer to story below. Source: The Week

By The Week’s Editorial Staff | The Week

A wave of killings has young people who embrace dark, Western fashions living in fear.

At least a dozen young Iraqis have been stoned to death in recent weeks in an apparent campaign by Shiite Muslim religious extremists to punish youths sporting Western-style “emo” clothes and haircuts. Though the government is not directly implicated, the violence began after the Interior Ministry issued a statement branding the country’s growing “emo” subculture as subversive, and vowing to eliminate it. What’s behind this killing spree? Here, a brief guide:

Who exactly is being targeted? Human rights activists say the victims — including those killed, and others merely beaten as a warning —  are young gay men, or teenagers who dress in the “emo” style. Emo — short for “emotional hardcore” — is a genre of music and an aesthetic that originated in the U.S. punk scene of the 1980s. In fashion terms, it typically translates to tight T-shirts, skinny jeans, and long side-swept black hair. In Iraq, the term is used more loosely to describe “a uniquely Iraqi collage of hipster, punk, emo, and goth fashions,” says Jack Healy in The New York Times. The look has grown in popularity as war faded and Iraqis began enjoying greater social freedoms.

Why are these “emo” kids being singled out? The stonings began after the Interior Ministry branded the “phenomenon of emo” as Satanic last month. The ministry said the rebellious fashion statements, which include dark clothes and skull-print T-shirts, are symbols of the devil, and it dispatched its Social Police to go into Baghdad schools to investigate “the emo” and “eliminate them.” Shiite extremists, who conflate emo style with being gay, which they forbid, began posting flyers warning the “emo” youth to “stop being gay, or face deadly consequences.” The flyers included a hit list with the names or nicknames of 33 people, along with their home addresses.

Is there any hope the killings will stop? The Interior Ministry has issued another statement insisting it never meant that “emo” kids should be harmed, and that young people are free to dress as they like. Ministry officials also insist that anti-emo sentiment had nothing to do with the killings, which it chalks up to revenge attacks and common crimes. Influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr says “emo” youths as “crazy and fools,” but they are a “plague on Muslim society” that officials should deal with through legal means. But “emo” kids say they now live in fear, and many have cut their hair and changed their dress to avoid becoming targets.

Sources: Huffington Post, NY Times, Reuters

About The Great One

Am interested in science and philosophy as well as sports; cycling and tennis. Enjoy reading, writing, playing chess, collecting Spyderco knives and fountain pens.
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One Response to The brutal stoning of Iraqi ’emo’ kids

  1. GhostRider says:

    In lyrical memory of all those around the world that put up their very lives when, in some way, matter, or fashion, they shout out to be heard, “Judge me, see if I give a Fuck.” You have The GhostRider’s full admiration but the truth is, I’m not worthy.

    Lyrically, by Bob Dylan…Performance by the Black Crowes

    They’ll stone you when you’re trying to be so good
    They’ll stone you just like they said they would
    They’ll stone you when you’re trying to go home
    They’ll stone you when you’re there all alone
    But I would not feel so all alone
    Everybody must get stoned

    They’ll stone you when you’re walking on the street
    They’ll stone you when you’re trying to keep your seat
    They’ll stone you when your walking on the floor
    They’ll stone you when your walking to the door
    But I would not feel so all alone
    Everybody must get stoned

    They’ll stone you when you’re at the breakfast table
    They’ll stone you when you are young and able
    They’ll stone you when you’re trying to make a buck
    They’ll stone you and then they’ll say good luck
    But I would not feel so all alone
    Everybody must get stoned

    Well They’ll stone you and say that it’s the end
    They’ll stone you and then they’ll come back again
    They’ll stone you when you’re riding in your car
    They’ll stone you when you’re playing you guitar
    Yes But I would not feel so all alone
    Everybody must get stoned
    Alright

    Well They’ll stone you when you are all alone
    They’ll stone you when you are walking home
    They’ll stone you and then say they’re all brave
    They’ll stone you when you’re send down in your grave
    But I would not feel so all alone
    Everybody must get stoned

    -GhostRider Wisdom..,that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

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