...

I’ve been accused of being heartless more than once on here but how can a story like this do anything but break your heart? I’ve always advocated the position that if you’ve thought it out and see no other way then you have every right to take your own life - but what do you know when you’re 16? It’s such a sad situation that it’s almost beyond explanation but this isn’t an isolated incident - the only reason we’re reading about in the papers is because the girls were declared missing in the first place. Hundreds of teenagers take their own lives around the country every year and but for a handful of them you’d never know. It’s all very well to waffle on about the road toll but there doesn’t seem to be much publicity about this other than the papers putting some farcical “Call Lifeline” message at the bottom of any suicide related story they run.

This is not completely uneducated commentary. I was sorely tempted to do myself in every day from 15 to my early 20’s. Not in a teenage cry for help way either. The only thing was I could never bring myself to do it - it all seemed too gruesome and the idea of being found like that did nothing for me, not to mention the people you leave behind. If you have to do it then do it but you should at least consider the prospect that the grief you’re suffering in life will be passed on to your loved ones many times over once you’re gone. But for a few momentary losses of plot in the last few years I think I’ve beaten it now but sadly there are at least two girls who will never know whether or not things were going to get better.

Finally it’s wonderful to see societies bandwagon jumpers climbing on board the fact that the two girls were something resembling emo and using it to run some bullshit line about dangerous subcultures and cults. The Age, at least, gives this line of thinking no respect whatsoever.

While mystery surrounds the apparent suicide pact of Melbourne teenagers Stephanie Gestier and Jodie Gater, attempts to blame the ‘emo’ subculture - based on overtly emotional and angst-ridden rock and its punk-gothic fashion - appear baseless.

You can see households all over the nation where people who have absolutely no idea are sitting around going “we must stop this emo!” “these emo people are killing our kids!” In fact I’ll bet you any money that as we speak the producers of both Today Tonight and A Current Affair are sitting around trying to work out some way to paint kids on the steps of Flinders Street Station as a threat to national security in a story that “no parent can afford to miss”. Dogs.

Having debunked the “Zomg it’s emo!” myth it’s a shame then that The Age can’t show a bit more respect and insist on having a prominent link to one of the girl’s MySpace pages. Any danger of letting the poor girl rest without giving strangers the opportunity to perform the cyber equivalent of rummaging through her possessions after her death? Reprinting the tributes from her friends is some of the tackiest ‘journalism’ I’ve seen. The link is right there in the article I’m reading but damned if I’m going to click it and join in the grim rubbernecking. The person responsible for posting that link and anyone who clicks of it should be ashamed of themselves.

Wonderful world isn’t it?

UPDATE - The sick fucks who are searching for pictures and info about these girls on google are worse than anyone. Take a good hard look at yourself you fucks.