Gothic Liberation Front Midlands

“Goth is a state of mind. Romance is at the heart of what it means to be goth. Most goths are goth because of a refined sensitivity to life... goths try to live with dignity; they aim to respect one another. The Victorian goth is a genteel character, mourning that environment which nurtured sensitivity and venerated consideration... goth is a realm devoted to the deepest yearnings of the collective unconscious. It respects what has been traditionally called feminine values in both men and women, beauty, love, refinement, creativity... survive with style and grace.” – Nancy Kilpatrick
This is the page dedicated to the UK MIDLANDS chapter of the Gothic Liberation Front. This includes: Birmingham, Lichfield, Burton, Tamworth, Branston, etc.
The aim of this community is to highlight the issues of which Goth's and other alternative subcultures encounter. Far too long have hate crimes towards such subcultures have been over looked, until the recent and unfortunate death of Sophie Lancaster (for more information please visit the SOPHIE page). http://www.myspace.com/inmemoryofsophie
She unfortunately is not the only one to have encountered such violence, there has been and will be many more, and this will not stop until we ALL stand up for not only our selves but each other and fight for our right to be who we want to be in this world, regardless of how you look, etc.
At Gothic Liberation Front Birmingham we aim to provide information and support on how to defend yourselves against violent and abusive situations if they occur, updates, and news. We plan events to support the case, and have a street team to raise awareness to the cause.
We want to highlight all the issues not just the violence, and abuse, such as equality in the work place, and equal opportunities for jobs. People need to understand, that Goths, and Alternative people are not just a trend, for a fair majority of us this IS A WAY OF LIFE, this is who we are, the way we live and feel. We can't and won't change who we are to fit in, we accept "normal" people, let's help them understand, they need to learn to accept us for who we are.
About the founder of GLF Birmingham:
"Hi Im known as Mystery Malice, Im a Gothic/Alternative model, Im 19 years old and live in Lichfield in the midlands, for many years now I have witnessed and encountered prejudice, and violence towards those who are classed as 'different' by the 'norm'. I myself have been the target of physical violence because of being 'gothic'. When I was younger for many years I was too scared to leave the house because of the violence that i would encounter for the clothes I wore. I would get followed around, things would be thrown at me, when I was at school I would be cornered, pushed around and hit. People would come up to me trying to intimidate me saying, "Do you worship the devil?", "Do you love Marilyn Manson?", "Do you sacrifice animals?" etc. Dumb stuff like that, I mean, the questions themselves are stereotypical ignorant crap. And to be honest, theyre not asking if because of pure curiosity. Theyre trying to be intimidating, getting up in your face and trying to get a reaction. Even walking down the street about 80% of the time they wont approach you, instead you will have cars pulling over with idiots in it making comments and driving off, or people shouting down the street at you, or walking past you and making comments like: "Dirty fucking Goth" "Dirty Greb" "Greebo" "Mosher" etc. There is NO need! Im sick of hearing this stuff personally, Im sick of hearing it happening to other people, Im sick of people being abused, beaten up and even KILLED for their lifestyle choice, fashion, etc. This has GOT to stop! And heres the place, and nows the time to take action!" [Mystery Malices page is no#1 on the friends list]
THE SITE WILL BE CONTINUOUSLY UPDATED PLEASE KEEP CHECKING BACK.