We've been mulling over the "goth" aspects of the Denver shootings all day, and it's been obvious to us from the beginning that the shooters were not goths but instead were some kind of psychotic neo-NAZI rejects. It's amazing how CNN/CBS/ABC/NBC/XXX wont do even RUDIMENTARY investigative journalism anymore, or even basic fact checking, and how they only focus on a few sensational details of a story... in this case erroneous details.

The first tipoff that the goth angle was wrong is that even the earliest reports about what was happening inside the school building included the fact that the "Trench Coat Mafia" targeted minority students (as well as 'jocks'). The black trench coats should have been a tip off too. Black trench coats were an intricate part of Hitler's SS uniforms. The SS were Hitler's secret police. April 20, the day this all happened, is also Hitler's birthday. So that's a lot of fucking Hitler evidence, don't you think? How much evidence is there that these people were goths? Somebody said they listened to Marilyn Manson? Big friggen deal--Charles Manson's followers smeared the Beatles' lyrics on the walls of their victims. Did that make them mods or hippies? No, just a bunch of fucked up psychos.

Maybe part of the confusion stems from the fact that most people have no idea what the goth subculture is, or even that it exists--ESPECIALLY the mainstream media. This evil incident has introduced goths to the majority of Americans... something that even Jenny Jones couldn't do, despite several goth makeover shows. And what an introduction it is. A complete misrepresentation; maybe even undeserved. I will be the first to tell you that goths are VERY bad people, but NOT THAT BAD. They are bad in a different, much less severe way. Probably no worse than you or I, for that matter...

Pigdog has a reporter ON SCENE in the Denver area. However, he, and we, have only limited resources. While we will do the best that we can to report what we can, it will take a heavy duty news organ to address some of the real aspects of this story... that means resources, big drinks, and expense accounts. Somebody should DO something (HINT: somebody sponsor us or at least buy us more beer).

Here are just a couple of questions...

What is causing this shooting rampage shit? Hasn't anyone else noticed that this suicide/shooting stuff has moved from hi-tech companies to post offices to high schools? Weren't there a whole bunch of high school shooting like this on a smaller scale, last year? What next, Safeway? You'll be in line at Safeway, and then a cashier will pull out an assault rifle and kill everyone in line because the produce girl wont go out with him? Are aliens controlling us? What about MK-Ultra? It's weird.

How the hell did these trenchcoat kids in Denver have so much ammunition and explosives? Apparently they had tons of pipe bombs, perhaps hand-grenades, and enough rounds to shoot a whole bunch of students and battle police for hours. Where the hell did they get the money for that stuff? Guns and explosives are almost as expensive as computer shit. Why didn't anyone notice that these kids were stockpiling and manufacturing a means of war?

There are TONS of questions here... But it will take more than scapegoating and sweeping things under the carpet to get at them.

Check it out yourself

burton@pigdog.org