Russia Bans Emo Clothing

Russia, as we all know, is a beautiful country with a wealth of history. It's also a country that has a lot of people in poverty who are living unhappy lives. Maybe it's teen angst, maybe it's the conditions some teens are in, or perhaps it's the clothing they wear, but apparently the government there is looking for reasons as to why their youth are depressed and have such a high suicide rate.

When looking into the causes of this depression, they've come up with an answer: Emo clothing.

Dubbed "a threat to national stability," Russia introduced a bill to ban anyone in emo clothing from entering public schools and government buildings as if they were suicide bombers smuggling sadness bombs under their safety-pinned corsets from Hot Topic.

 So what is the tangible danger behind emo culture? Well, a hearing on Government Strategy in the Sphere of Spiritual and Ethical Education claims that emo culture is a "dangerous teen trend" that ranks right up there with being a skinhead. It encourages social withdraw and feelings of hopelessness. According to an advisor of one of the bill sponsors, "The point of the bill is so that by 2020, Moscow will have someone to rule its government."

As I'm reading this, I can't help but think that my parents looked at some of my clothing when I was a teen and tried to label me one way or another. I suppose I can kind of sort of see where they're going with this, but doesn't it seem a bit drastic? Why don't they ban moo moos?

Click here to read more about the anti-emo movement.