No I’m not saying that at 2am when a kid has a bunch of pills in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other, with blood sliding over their skin from cuts they made, that they’re not the ones who make the final decision as to whether the pills are gonna make it into their stomach or down the toilet.
What I’m saying is, where all the adults in our normal day-to-day lives ignore, dismiss, belittle and/or straight up ridicule mental health, youth suicide, self mutilation, the effects of things such as drug addictions, broken homes, bullying, sexual harassment, and many other things young people go through, because ‘It was never around when I was a kid’, which, in reality, it was just never spoken about as openly, these bands - far too many to name but including Sleeping with Sirens, Pierce the Veil, Being as an Ocean, The Amity Affliction, A Day To Remember, Burning Down Alaska, Of Mice & Men, Asking Alexandria, Bring Me the Horizon, Panic!, Fall Out Boy, MCR, You Me At Six, All Time Low, Blink, Bear Tooth, Neck Deep and so many fucking more - literally put into their lyrics, interviews and speeches during concerts words about all these topics. At every concert, making people put their phone torches into the air to show who’s struggled or seen struggle, and tell them they are beautiful, that they have a purpose, and to look around and see how everyones light is up, they’re not alone.
I went to the Never Say Die tour by Impericon literally yesterday (8th Nov) and the tour is literally dedicated to Suicide Prevention, and a guy from Hope For A Day, a suicide prevention company, came on stage and gave this speech and the amount of people who cried and held hands with strangers was incredible. And all the bands who played did the same.
Do you listen to these bands? Do you struggle? Do you feel alone? I urge you to go to a concert, a gig. You’ll realise you’re not as alone as you thought. All of the same ‘genre’ of people, who listen to these bands, they’re there with you and 99% of them struggle with similar, if not practically the same issues, or have seen that struggle.
These bands unite us, the ones who struggle. They make us feel less alone. And sometimes, hearing the lyrics and singing them in concerts with hundreds of others, uniting us, helping us see we’re not the only people with these issues, having the memory of that feeling, or the dates to look forward to, tours to be announced, songs to be released. Sometimes thats enough to save us and keep us going. Hold on. All because of these bands.
amandla
