POSERS

I found out this article from 'The Star' in their weekly column for youth. It was pretty funny to see how young people like to dress these days. I had seen a lot of people with all sorts of
UN-conventional dressing. Well the worst that I had ever seen is a group of malays in terengganu (if I'm not mistaken in Besut. They were in their early 20's, and they dressed as punks, boots, safety pins, spiky multicolored hair, or skin head etc. And the worst was a group of kids maybe 12 or 13 year olds, who dressed like punkers (and they were loafing near Black Widow (one of the jamming studios in Jalan Gasing), and groups of Chinese would dressed like 'Hong Kong superstars', collar flipped up, spiky dyed hair (for those who finished or been kicked out of school), a pair of sandals, and some accessories. Other's with t-shirt with the anarchrist emblem/logo and proud of that.
for those who's shallow in knowledge/or never did any research of what the hell they are wearing, they think they could be punk, Goth, skin heads, and other 'clan' of subcultures just by dressing as one. Come on people, you can't be punk by just dressing like one or listens to punk music. Did you know how they become punk, when they originated, what's the purpose of punk, what they fight for? Did they knew why rapper would wear their caps in a different way. And why rap exist in the first place.

If can't answer the some pretty basic questions above, please don't say that you are a punk, Goth, or what-so-ever. You might probably end up being address as a POSER. It's just like some guy who told you that he likes britney spears in front of you, but in front of others, he would say that he like world music, and he thinks by bluffing his way through can increase his status around people. These sub-cultures are more into believes for the people who adhere it, rather than just dressing. i may not know a lot about these things, but a change of dressing wont make you Punk or Goth, you got to feel it inside of you.

Here is a letter from a girl who's naive enough to change her 'personality' from one after another. ohh..please get a life, girl. don't be an airhead... PERSONALITY IS THE REAL YOU DEEP INSIDE. NOT JUST DRESSING, SO IF NEXT TIME YOU DRESS LIKE SPIDER-GIRL, OR SUPER GIRL, DO YOU THINK YOU ARE ACTUALLY ONE.

If you (candice chai) wanna prove that people will discriminate others by their dressing/personality/attitude you can see it everyday in your life without going into these extremes. for starter, how a 'black' / 'un-fair' / tanned person (girl) woould be compared to a fair one. how would a fat person would be teased/humiliated/make fun of by some thinner poeple in school, how 'book-worms'/nerds/geeks to be compared with more popular/handsome guys. these things don't just happens in EUROPE/US etc, it happens here in our own backyard. And how indians can be descriminated by just their skin colours. i knew some people would feel disgusted if being seated beside an Indian.

Testing a Theory Letters (letter taken from 'the star')

I AM 16 years old and I like experiencing new adventures. So this year, I had this crazy idea about changing my personality each month. All I wanted was to see people's reactions. The outcome was not as I'd expected. This is my diary of events.

Beginning of the year
Just being myself. I found out that my friends don't mind me even though I'm rather annoying and loud.

Early April
I became a loner. Everyone thought I was having problems and did not want to share them. I realized my friends were concerned about me and thought I was going crazy because I used to be 'noisy'.

Mid-June
This time, I took the personality change to a higher level. I changed my style, dressing, way of thinking, and the way I talked. I chose to be a 'Goth', that is, someone who likes black, and dresses differently from others. . I went to school and everyone thought I was possessed or something. My friends thought I had changed into someone meaner and more aggressive.

End July
According to my research, a 'Gothic' person sometimes practices magic so this month, I decided to imitate a witch. I found it rather amusing when someone spread a rumour that I was cursing people whom I disliked with black magic and making voodoo dolls. But the truth is I never did cast a spell on anyone. As the days passed, my friends began avoiding me. Some even advised me to stop this magical stuff. I even freaked my parents out - they thought I was insane and needed medication. I continued this act until Aug 31. More of my friends stayed away from me; they always used the same sentence to communicate with me ('Are you all right?') or they would just look at me in a strange way. Because of the pressure, I decided to stop acting this way.

Early September
I finally ended my test as my exams drew near. I find a 'Gothic' person fascinating because I found out some people look down on a 'Gothic' person. My friends reacted weirdly around me so it showed that they were afraid of being around a 'Gothic' person and they would look down on someone like that. This is really disappointing as I thought my friends could accept someone different than them. Well, to me, you shouldn't't judge someone by their looks. It's what is inside their hearts that matters.
I found my friends treating me like someone different and it really bothered me.
The point is, if I'm someone different on the outside, why couldn't't they see it was the same old me in the inside?
All I'm trying to say is that people always judge others by their looks and not by their personality. I just hope people out there have the courtesy to get to know someone before they judge them.


Candice Chai, Kuala Lumpur