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culture amplified in the years following the shooting. Goths were stereotyped in the media as being perpetuators or supporters of violence donned in black trench coats. Several high schools across the United States banned black trench coats and other apparel perceived as being linked to goth culture. Some police departments in the United States labelled gothic subculture as being âgang-basedâ, and as something that should be subjected to âincreased police surveillanceâ. From the time of the
Columbine shooting until 2003, there were reports of individuals sporting what was seen as gothic dress being interrogated, ticketed and arrested. In 2002,
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explained, multiple states have introduced or implemented anti-LGBT legislation as a response to the panic. The proposed laws include bans on gender-affirming care, limits on the participation of transgender athletes in sports, requirements for transgender individuals to use public bathrooms based on their assigned sex at birth and restrictions on public drag performances.
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several newspapers published sensationalist articles surrounding the event. Cohen examined articles written about the topic and noted a pattern of distorted facts and misrepresentation, as well as a distinct, simplistic depiction of the respective images of both groups involved in the disturbance. He articulated three stages in the media's reporting on folk devils:
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Cohen's research was based on the media storm over a violent clash between two youth subcultures, the mods and the rockers, on a bank holiday on a beach in
England, 1964. Though the incident only resulted in some property damage without any serious physical injury to any of the individuals involved,
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Certain politicians, pundits, and media outlets are reportedly attempting to trigger that fear response by portraying transgender individuals as societyâs folk devils, crafting a narrative that paints them as sexual deviants and labeling them as âgroomers.â Even as such accusations are debunked or
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In the case of the mods and rockers, increased police presence the following year on the bank holiday led to another occurrence of violence. Cohen noted that the depiction of mods and rockers as violent, unruly troublemakers actually led in itself to a rise in deviant behaviour by the subcultures.
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aired a special entitled âThe Goth
Phenomenonâ in which it reinforced claims that the shooters were heavily submerged in goth culture, and suggested that individuals of gothic subculture were to blame for homicidal activity in the past. The hostility and hysteria over the perceived âevilâ goth
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In modern times, political and religious leaders in many nations have sought to present atheists and secularists as deviant outsiders who threaten the social and moral order. The identification of folk devils may reflect the efforts of powerful institutions to displace social anxieties. Some
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which resulted in the deaths of 15 people. News reports in the weeks following the tragedy labelled the shooters as being âobsessedâ with goth subculture, and suggested a link between Harris and
Klebold's alleged identification with gothic subculture and their acts of violence.
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to be granted US$ 273,000 to combat the ânew gothic threatâ. The backlash against goth subculture after the
Columbine shooting draws many parallels to Stanley Cohen's research on the mods and rockers, two other youth
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cast as folk devils by society. In both instances the groups were portrayed in one distinct, dumbed-down image, ostracized, stripped of any redeeming qualities, and blamed for wrongdoings in society.
158:. The mass media sometimes get in on the act or attempt to create new folk devils in an effort to promote controversy. Sometimes the campaign against the folk devil influences a nation's politics and
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ideology. The group was depicted as posing a threat to social peace and safety in the
Western world, and was subject to much hostility politically, from the media and from society.
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Griffiths, Richard. "The Gothic Folk Devils Strike Back! Theorizing Folk Devil
Reaction in the Post-Columbine Era." Journal of Youth Studies 13.3 (2010): 403-22. Print.
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Al-Natour, Ryan J. "Folk Devils and the
Proposed Islamic School in Camden." Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies 24.4 (2010): 573-85. Print.
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Symbolisation: the folk devil is portrayed in one singular narrative, their appearance and overall identity oversimplified to be easily recognizable.
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Exaggeration: the facts of the controversy surrounding the folk devil are distorted, or fabricated all together, fueling the moral crusade.
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Christian groups alleged that there were fifty million
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European countries present examples of adherents of the rival Western Christian faith as folk devils;
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reactions by Western countries stereotyped Muslims as violent, hateful, and of possessing fanatical
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A person or group of people who are portrayed in folklore or the media as outsiders and deviant
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In a 2014 study, Cohen's theory of the moral panic was applied to the media reaction to the
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The pursuit of folk devils frequently intensifies into a mass movement that is called a
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The basic pattern of agitations against folk devils can be seen in the history of
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Prediction: further immoral actions on the part of the folk devil are anticipated.
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The Sexual Folk Devil: Making Sense of Moral Panic in the Digital Age
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This article is about the sociological phenomena. For the band, see
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Cohen, S. (1973). Folk Devils and Moral Panics. St Albans: Paladin
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and similar manias of persecution; the histories of predominantly
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Bible in the News: A Publication of the Southwest Radio Church
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have often been seen as folk devils; in the long history of
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with allegations of dark, murderous practices, such as
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Webber, D.F.; Southwest Radio Church (Okla.). (1977).
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is a person or group of people who are portrayed in
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http://www.14-19nw.org.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=8805
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275:ethnic discrimination
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