"We were proud to know our daughter. She was funny, kind, loving and brave. She was a beautiful girl with a social conscience and values which made her a joy to know. Not being able to see her blossom into her full potential or even to see her smile again is a tragedy beyond words."So, because of the whole photo challenge thing i haven't really posted anything else. But I'm going to write about something that really makes me not sad but angry. Really, really angry. And I guess disappointed, too; disappointed in the human race. (Yes in case you hadn't guessed this is going to be a little serious post hehe). Now, in 12 days, on August the 11th many 'alternative' people will be celebrating the memory of Sophie Lancaster. And yeah I know I could wait until then to write this post but I'm doing it tonight instead (oooh, rebel much?). So, who is Sophie Lancaster? some of you may ask. Well Sophie was a girl murdered simply because of how she looked. First, a tiny bit about Sophie:
She was born in 1986 (making her just 26 at the time of her death), and was a future student at college for an English degree that she was to start after she finished her gap year. She, and her boyfriend Robert Maltby (21 years old and an art student) were both described as 'goths'.
Sophie was a bright and intelligent young girl with a great future ahead of her, but that was cruelly put to a stop in 2007, August 11th. She was walking around the local town with her boyfriend when they were spotted by a gang during the early hours of the morning. The gang started following the couple but nothing really happened, until one of the group attacked Robert for no reason. He was thrown to the floor, unconscious and then the gang proceeded to attack Sophie who was now trying to protect her boyfriend. The gang repeatedly stamped on her head, kicked her and punched her as she lay over Robert, desperately trying to save him. The group of what can only be described as thugs then told their friends they had done, and I quote, 'summat good. There's two moshers nearly dead at Backup Park - you wanna see them - they're a right mess'. The pair were taken to hospital, both in a deep coma. Maltby recovered, but with brain damage. Sophie's family, however, were told their daughter would never wake up and they had to agree to turn off her life support.
Sophie was killed for no reason. It really was just because of how she looked, sporting dredlocks and a band shirt. Some people argue it was her fault for dressing like that - giving the gang a reason to attack her. But how is that any different from attacking someone because of their skin colour? Who gives the right to somebody to attack somebody just because of how they look? Some good has come out of this now - it is now officially considered a 'hate' crime to attack somebody due to their involvement with sub-cultures. This means it is the same offence do attack a goth as it is to attack somebody based on their race, sexuality, religion, disability and so on. All 'alternative' people (I suppose I could fall into this category) hope that one day all hate against sub-cultures will be stamped out, and the recognition of hate crime is just a small step to getting this.
Now you also may be wondering about the title. Well, the 'Sophie Lancaster Foundation', a charity in the memory of Sophie, now sell many wristbands, jumpers, bags and shirts with those three words in an effort to show you can't describe someone as any of those things, because they are their own individual person. They also sell S.O.P.H.I.E bands, which stands for: Stamp Out Prejudice Hatred & Intolerance Everywhere
I'll leave you with this cute little animation clip. SciAwkward, signing off.