Goths to be banned from UK shopping Mall

[BurroDiablo 222]

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1918742007

I find this new fashion of UK Shopping Centres banning certain people is quite ridiculous, only a few years ago a Shopping Centre in Kent banned Hooded Tops, Baseball caps and Swearing... all in the name of economic development, veiled under a hood of 'Anti-Social behaviour' Crackdowns. Sad day when capitalism can take precedence over simple human rights.

Now, as for the Goth thing, everybody knows Goths are introverted, i've hung around with alot of them myself in very large groups and not once have they intimidated anyone... I can say the same about them in all the UK citys I've been too, I mean, this guy points it out perfectly-

'Last year a study conducted by Dr Dunja Brill concluded that goths were largely sensitive youngsters who eschewed violence and were more likely to get good grades and go on to further [Higher] education'

The Shopping Centre is simply blaming them for all its problems such as Shoplifting and Poor customer Numbers instead of looking at other contributing factors such as, people going elsewhere and lack of Security, maybe if they employed more Security guards and put up more CCTV, instead of thinking about their massive end of year paychecks, they'd have caught any culprits and acctually made the place safter and nicer to shop in, no point stereotyping all Teenagers/Young adults as misbehaving, intimidating hooligans...

[Glenni 1,447]

That's adult people for ya... always have to pick on teenagers.. Including me, i haven't done anything wrong, always paid for what i bought, not shoplifted ever. Yet i get stopped i if i only wear a hooded-sweater even though i haven't put the hood over my head...

[scotty222 549]

thats a load of bull

a better way to stop shoplifters is to have good secruity which most don't seem to have

i mean the mall i work at actually has a good security system and they don't need to do this kind of stuff

also i know alot of "goths" and they are some of the best people i know

[Deathtoall 28]

Thats stupid. Why don't they ban themselves from making laws instead? Save on a lot of red tape and would attract my patronage.

[nazaguy 0]

I can understand the canning of chavs but come on! Who are you gonna ban next. Old people? Tourists?

Well, I don't like shopping much anyway

[Explodingsims 3]

Hmmmm....Just another case of steriotyping....just beef up security and get more cameras...

[BubbaGump 0]

Goths buy 70% of the stuff in the mall! This is economic suicide!

[Rymac91 15]

sounds like a mix of Stereotyping and Ageism are taking effect in this shopping center. I agree that increasing the security would probably reduce the shop lifting problem. However I'm not sure why they are pinning blame specifically on goths as they are usually the most harmless category, though somewhat intimidating to some people.

[coolotter88 2]

in America, some malls are banning teenagers without adult supervision. It's alienating one large sector of their consumers to attract another sector. Though it is enforced by the mall itself, so it's not our problem if the malls take a nosedive.

[your_adress_here 11]

This is just plain retarded...

[ILL Tonkso 1,239]

How stupid, they have blamed a whole subculture (when it's quite well known that people that follow the Gothic culture tend to be quite well educated and decent people).

[belfastuniguy 18]

I agree most goths are well educated and tend to come from pretty comfortable backgrounds, at least in Belfast they do. I'm not one myself, some friends have been in the past and in no-way would you consider them a risk in a shopping centre. It's just stereotyping and not having all the facts about a subculture.

[Palpatine001 57]

Ok now isn't that a breach of the Human Rights and Bill of Rights and subsequent Acts?

Anycase when I resume University next year, this will make an interesting Human Geography subject to study.

[DOXXP29 5]

Another form of profiling. Discrimination based on attire.

In D.C., the owner of a yuppie bowling alley (I kid you not) decided to "keep out the riff-raff and make his place respectable" by enforcing a dress code. It went something like this: no athletic wear, no tank tops, no sneakers, no bandanas, no hoods, no baggy clothes and a few others that I can't recall right now. Currently there is a lawsuit pending against this guy for discrimination. Seems like everything he banned is popular with the local African American youths and by banning their attire, he is, by extension, banning them.

I see some parallels between this case and the Goths being banned in the U.K. I think it's ludicrous, but hey, you have some narrow minded idiots running around out there that think that by banning a certain group, their world will be a better place.

[Easy Bakes 253]

So when its cold and your wearing a hood sweatshirt they wont let you in?

Very insane thinking

[fukuda 351]

Ominous.. well, I'm a bit tired of saying this so many times nowadays... It seems that we are running on prejudice, censorship and integrism lately, it looks like we are running backwards.

[Haljackey 17,437]

LOL, serves em right! I don't want to be shopping in my favorite store and have a bunch of goths lookin at me. Same goes with emos too, just isn't the way I swing. No offense to anyone here.

It seems logical if this mall is in a nice area of town, because the shoppers want to be with their "own kind" in a store. If they see goths everywhere, they may take their business elsewhere. If goths want to shop there, they can at least wear a collared shirt and look somewhat civilized.

[belfastuniguy 18]

Originally posted by: Palpatine001 Ok now isn't that a breach of the Human Rights and Bill of Rights and subsequent Acts?

Anycase when I resume University next year, this will make an interesting Human Geography subject to study.quote>

I don't think it is, while I disagree totally with the ban, the shopping centre is in effect private property and those that own it can do whatever they want and allow whoever they want to use it. One the benefits of private property rights.

[pagenotfound 53]

That is absolutely retarded.

[BurroDiablo 222]

Originally posted by: haljackey LOL, serves em right! I don't want to be shopping in my favorite store and have a bunch of goths lookin at me. Same goes with emos too, just isn't the way I swing. No offense to anyone here.

It seems logical if this mall is in a nice area of town, because the shoppers want to be with their "own kind" in a store. If they see goths everywhere, they may take their business elsewhere. If goths want to shop there, they can at least wear a collared shirt and look somewhat civilized.quote>

The phrase 'Nice area of Town' doesn't apply in Glasgow...

The fact is people shouldn't be discriminated by how they dress, I know for a fact it would have been handled differently if it was a large group of any kind of Ethnic minority 'scaring' people from shopping, the Mall owner would instantly get branded by the community as a Xenophobe...

Also, the Goths aren't 'Everywhere', they hang around outside near the entrance, large groups is where they feel safest because Glasgow also has another, seperate, much larger and more Violent Gang subculture that specifically engages in Criminal activities and 'Kicking the sh*t' out of anyone who Looks/Acts/Dresses differently to them.

Would you like to be denied the chance to dress the way YOU want when you want to go shopping/meet up with friends... for absolutely no logical explaination apart from blatant stereotyping and discrimination? I don't think you would somehow...

[Duke87 1,070]

The mall in Stamford bans hoodies with the hood up (why would you have the hood up inside, anyway?)

But, yeah, that's the mall's doing, not the government's, so... as they wish.

This Glasgow thing is a government effort- and that's why it's wrong. Why can't the mall make its own policy?

[BurroDiablo 222]

'Its great that Glasgow City Council is tackling the issues heres, but what about those Hooligans who stole my car last night?'

I think the City Council is scared of Violence so they attack the Pacifists, one of the comments on the article reads-

'You're too scared to pick on the actual trouble-makers because you know yourself they'd smash into your council buildings if you even tried'

And thats not far from the truth...

[The boy formerly known as Evil Muzz 27]

Quite sickening that an entire generation is criminalised in such a way. I see it all the time, anyone who knows me knows I am a good kid, I get good grades, I work hard at school, I don't stay out late at night, don't hang out on the street doing nothing... Yet I always get funny looks from adults when I am walking around town. People step well out of my way, and I don't like it. What do they think I'm going to do? I can see their thinking, I mean the media doesn't portray young people in a very positive way at all do they? But one quick glance at my clothes would tell you I am not one of these people they are afraid of. I am sick and tired of people thinking I am criminal because of my age, it's absolutely ridiculous.

[zero7 68]

Originally posted by: belfastuniguy

Originally posted by: Palpatine001 Ok now isn't that a breach of the Human Rights and Bill of Rights and subsequent Acts?

Anycase when I resume University next year, this will make an interesting Human Geography subject to study.quote>

I don't think it is, while I disagree totally with the ban, the shopping centre is in effect private property and those that own it can do whatever they want and allow whoever they want to use it. One the benefits of private property rights.quote>

 

That's the real problem.  While a mall is public space in the logical sense of being open to the public, it is actually a private space in legal terms so this kind of moronic stereotyping of  people can be carried through into actions which are a blatant infringement of basic civil liberties - freedom of expression and freedom of movement in this case.

This is a direct consequence of the ongoing privatisation of public space which happens with every new development carried out in 'partnership' with the private sector.  The only way to resolve it sensibly is for the law to determine whether an area is public or private based on use rather than ownership.

[toxicpiano 125]

Wait... there are still goths in the the UK?!

[BurroDiablo 222]

Originally posted by: toxicpiano Wait... there are still goths in the the UK?!quote>

Get back to your little Indie life

[toxicpiano 125]

Originally posted by: El Burro

Originally posted by: toxicpiano Wait... there are still goths in the the UK?!quote>

Get back to your little Indie life quote>

LOL! Seems in the south of England anyway goth has been superseded by emo.

[vilbe 6]

Originally posted by: Duke87 The mall in Stamford bans hoodies with the hood up (why would you have the hood up inside, anyway?)quote>

and lets not forget, every group of 4 or more people is considered a gang!

[spa 970]

This is a good reminder that shopping centres are actually private property. Streets are public spaces but suburban malls aren't.

[Odd from Sweden 129]

Funny thing... I do not think that hanging around this downtown spot is antisocial behaviour. Really, hanging out with Your friends IS social behaviour! I think that the authorities think that those youngsters buy too little in the shops and that it is the anti-consumerish behaviour that is the problem here...