My Chemical Romance Respond to Emo Suicide

My Chemical Romance posted a message on their website about the recent suicide of Hannah Bond, a fan of the band, and the link of Emo music to suicidal thoughts. Here it is:

A MESSAGE FROM MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE

My Chemical Romance are and always have been vocally anti-violence and anti-suicide. As a band, we have always made it one of our missions through our actions to provide comfort, support, and solace to our fans. The message and theme of our album “The Black Parade” is hope and courage. Our lyrics are about finding the strength to keep living through pain and hard times. The last song on our album states: “I am not afraid to keep on living” – a sentiment that embodies the band’s position on hardships we all face as human beings. If you or anyone that you know have feelings of depression or suicide, we urge you to find your way and your voice to deal with these feelings positively.

We have recently learned of the suicide and tragic loss of Hannah Bond. We’d like to send our condolences to her family during this time of mourning. Our hearts and thoughts are with them.

Personally, I think this is a good response… a little late (did they really just learn of Hannah’s suicide?) but better than never. All in all a good sentiment. And I agree with them. Sometimes music may be bleak — simply a reflection of the dangerous world around us — but the message is to have the strength to pull through such darkness.

There have been mixed comments about this tragedy on this blog.

katelynjane responded:

“… before the end comes there are many things that influence us. Music is a big one. Emo music does create a depressed, feel sorry for yourself attitude, in some people. It’s sad, but true.”

Whereas others, like morbidloves, explained:

“… it was this girls choice to kill herself …just because she listens to my chemical romance and dresses emo doesnt mean that it was the bands fault. perhaps she had emotional problems no one knew or she hadn’t consulted anyone about. i realy dont think emo subculture is to blame.”

In the meantime, an estimate of a thousand MCR fans will be marching in support of their music, in London on May 31st — from Hyde Park to the offices of The Daily Mail — and to protest the media’s coverage of the tragedy. The Daily Mail was one of the newspaper’s that editorialized MCR unfavorably. One organizer of the protest put it this way:

“The way [many teenagers are] fighting it (depression) is with My Chemical Romance’s help and it’s just such an insult to tell us that the last thing we have to hold on to and the last thing that’s keeping us alive is killing us, because it’s not.”