There are a number of reasons why this part of my website exists. The catalyst for it was, typically enough, an episode of Ricki Lake. The theme of the episode was 'the biggest freak in the world' or something like that. On the programme, a collection of disgruntled conservative parents came on and, basically, bitched about their children. This annoyed me incredibly for a number of reasons. Firstly, the kids in question, when they revealed them, were no weirder than anyone you'd see in a goth club, some of them wouldn't look out of place just walking down the street. It might have just been my sensibilities, but most of the kids actually looked pretty cool, in one case significantly less freaky to my eye than her parents. My second complaint is much broader than my first. What really annoyed me about the programme was the classification of people as 'freaks' just because they choose to dress in a manner of their own choosing. Earlier, I said that most of these kids looked fairly normal, just like people you'd see in a club. Even if this were not so, there would still be no reason to harrass these people. In theory most of us live in a free society (although I have severe doubts as to the truth of this), and one of the freedoms we have, in theory, is the freedom of expression. Each of us has the right to express ourselves however we wish, in the clothes we wear, the things we say, the websites we put up (this freedom is not necessarily guaranteed, but this too is another story), or anything else we choose to do. By labelling their children as 'freaks' all the parents on the programme were doing was showing their own smallmindedness and their incredibly poor memories. Either the parents in question were never teenagers, or they have forgotten what it is like to be that age, and to want to do things that their parents would not necessarily agree with.
I was fortunate enough to have understanding leftwing parents who let me express myself as I wished. I'm not what Ricki Lake would label as a 'freak', but I'm not a model child either. This argument isn't about me, it's about sticking up for principles. While not, by my appearance, a goth, a metaller, a b-boy or anything like that, I know that if I was then my parents would pass no judgement on it. If they didn't suffer embolisms when I went to a party in a short velvet dress, I think they'll be cool with anything I choose to do. This is not, as we have seen, the case for everyone. I have friends who have been severely mistreated by those close to them for their self expression. A friend of mine was thrown out by her parents a few weeks before her A-level exams started, one of the reasons for this was that her dad didn't like her boyfriend or the clothes she wore.
To summarize, my reason for writing this manifesto is because I am a human being with the right to be whatever I want as long as I am not harming others. I will accept the advice and constructive criticism of anyone who choses to give it to me, but ultimately, it is up to me. I am proud to have this right, and I will defend it in my own case, in the case of my friends, in the case of everyone I know, and those I don't. I realise that I'm saying nothing new here, but at the moment people don't seem to be listening. We as the future of this society must MAKE them listen, spread our message in any way we can. As Ice T said, "We're here. We ain't going nowhere."