After reading the article 'Why today's youth culture has gone insane' written by Christian fundamentalist David Kupelian, I was finally relieved to know exactly why I have grown into the Godless, self-mutilating and presumably ‘doomed’ young man I am today. Every time I read anything written by a right-wing conservative I constantly remind myself that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, no matter how erroneous or narrow-minded it may appear to me. This article however has enlightened me and made me realise the reason I am the way I am is largely due to the brainwashing public schools I attended. And most of all my parents, who after all their sacrifice and hard-work in raising 3 children didn’t teach me appropriate morals and now I am a heathen upon this Earth. Preposterous. Kupelian is articulate and well spoken however, his views are heavily dictated by religious values and I feel it is this concept that he is really trying grasp. The world has changed, Christianity is no longer the dominant religion in the world and the youth have distanced themselves finding alternatives to the vengeful God.
Since Kupelian started with sex so will I. According to him:
“Anything goes – from heterosexual to homosexual to bi-, trans-, poly-, and you-don't-want-to-know sexual experiences. Sex has become a ubiquitous, cheap, meaningless quest for ever-greater thrills. As Dr. Laura Schlessinger quipped, the guy no longer has to lie to the gal, pretend he likes her or take her out to dinner to get sex – he just has to show up.”
Well that’s illuminating. Apparently sex is effortless and meaningless to all of us young people. Young women are lusting after men, waiting for the opportunity to undress and fornicate. If I knew women were that ‘easy’ maybe I wouldn’t be gay but, instead I succumbed to the temptation of a culture comparable to
Kupelian goes on further to discuss the self-mutilation by ‘regular’ people in the form of tattoos and piercings. Self expression is not a value held highly by this particular ‘born-again’
"Oh come on," you might say, dismissively. "They're just adorning the human body to make it more beautiful and unique. Let them have their fun. Who are they hurting?" Such mellifluous excuses spring up in our minds quite easily, as most certainly they did also in the time of
But hang on, why exactly is it wrong? I could understand his argument though his reasoning was lost on me. Why is it that the activities of the young are so disapproved by a supposedly all-loving God. That supposedly created us all. Everyone, so unique and beautiful but, apparently meant to conform and all be the same. Free will is our one defining attribute as individuals. We make our OWN decisions regarding our OWN lives.
Bug-chasers, people who actively seek to contract the HIV-AIDS virus and ‘suspension’ which is the act of suspending the human body through hooks the flesh are also discussed. Yes, these acts are FAR from the mainstream and hard to understand by the wider community. Participants of these acts, and those mentioned earlier, describe a ‘spiritual’ journey associated with the activities. I’m neither condoning or condemning any of these activities (with the exception of bug-chasing but, that’s a whole other issue unto itself) however, it is my opinion that we ALL have the RIGHT to our own opinion. What really aggravated me about this article was that Kupelian was so quick to generalise. Not all youths are suspending themselves, getting tattoos, piercings or going out to contract fatal diseases. No, a very small percentage of the population are participating in these activities. And to say its youths who are doing it is ridiculous. Some of these acts have been performed for centuries and many have found solace in doing them.
To argue that these activities are perverted is to degrade human nature itself. Kupelian comments on the cultural revolution of the 60s and how it has poisoned the minds of the youths. But to me I see it as liberation. Those children of the 60s are now the parents of the present. They raised us to be ourselves and do our own thing. At school we were ‘brainwashed’ to be individual and follow our own dreams. I can safely assume in the eyes of Kupelian I am going to hell. That doesn’t concern me as I have vastly opposing view of the afterlife. What does alarm me is the children of Kupelian and like-minded people. They are being raised to reject so much that our culture has to offer. Tattoos. Piercings. S&M. Though it may not work for everyone, it does work for some. And if those few can find enlightenment in their own way, and they are not harming anyone (who doesn’t want to be harmed) then who else does it concern? To claim that they have not found a legitimate form of spirituality is complete arrogance. God doesn’t work for everyone. Those who follow a religion are part of a sub-culture themselves. The difference between my youth subculture and his Christain sub-cultre is that I accept people for the differences. If he is so full of God’s love why can’t he spread it around? Instead he is condemning those who do not fit into his picture of the perfect little world.
For more information on suspension go to:
For the bug-chasing article mentioned in Kupelian’s article go to:
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