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Cat Cameron's comments

1. Baby Bats

   Posted 6 months ago

   So…I was in town today and as I struggled against the ..sea of Saturday shoppers I noticed the prevalence of 'Baby Bats'. This is the term I have pretentiously coined to describe large groups of young teenagers hanging around inconvenient areas (shop doorways, train stations, bus stops etc) all dressed in near identical black clothing and accessories. And I noticed how unbelievably annoying these people are! Now, this observation makes me sound very old. I am not. It also makes me sound very boring. More likely. But mostly it makes me sound like I am 'anti-subcultural'. I am definitely not. During my teenage years I embraced every subculture I could find. I've been a Goth, complete with white face and battered copy of Edgar Allen Poe. I dabbled with Mosher, making my own beads and getting smothered at Korn concerts. I tried rocker, briefly joining a band despite having no musical ability. I even attempted Townie, Emo, Trendy, Vintage, Rockabilly and Preppy to no avail. I just couldn't find the group that I fitted into. In the end I gave up and settled on being simply me, in my own group of one, which is so far working quite nicely thank you very much for asking.
   
   
   However, the point is…that during all my various incarnations and phases I can never recall being as irritating to members of the general public as this new breed of 'Baby Bats'. The whole point of belonging to a subculture was to be an individual within a group of like minded individuals. Yes, I realise how ridiculous that sounds, but think about it. Consider the amount of effort it takes to be a Goth. You have to cultivate your own, individual gothic look. This requires research into Victoriana or Medieval fashions. You then have to source your clothes or more likely make them yourself. You need to read suitably Gothic books and spend hours scouring second hand book shops; you may even develop your own Gothic persona with a nick name and online blog. You may write depressing poetry, song lyrics, or you may even attempt to study witchcraft. Basically it's a tough life style choice. You have to be 100% dedicated to it which does not leave much time for hanging around street corners being generally obnoxious.
   
   
   Baby Bats are different. Their style statement is a mass produced, high street copy of whatever Avril Lavigne and Pete Doherty are wearing. Black skinny jeans, chess board print hoodies and belts, converse all stars, skulls, stars, neon, etc. etc. Their hair is dyed black and cut in that horrid mullet style (long underneath, short and messy on top). This look applies to both male and female bats, cannot be deviated from and is available from TopShop! Baby Bats also seem to have no interests. You do not find them at rock concerts or art galleries. Rarely do you see them mid-week either. Their sole purpose is apparently to cause obstructions in public places at weekends. To add to this, they are loud and foul mouthed! Only today I saw an elderly lady on crutches attempt to move through a crowd of bats…whilst slowly pushing her way through the old lady inadvertently bumped into one female bat. Said Bat went immediately insane shouting and swearing whilst continuing to obstruct the elderly lady. The Lady was unfazed; she simply lifted her crutch and whacked the girl out of the way with it. Now, I'm not advocating violence towards anyone but in this incident, more power to the OAP!
   
   
   Basically, this new trend distresses me. It seems to lack creativity, individuality or any form of personal expression. It is not rebellious, merely annoying. It seems to have no purpose, no meaning. They don't do anything! So I have a plea…if any one out there is reading this and knows the purpose of Baby Bats…please let me know. Maybe if I understood why they existed I wouldn't find them so fucking irritating!
   

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