Written by Shazwan Zulkiffli
A week ago, I was on my way to Sentul Depot to catch a few bands at the House of Vans event at Sentul Depot and I noticed a group of boys who went out of their way to look good and neat: neck chains, trousers chains, steel bracelets, chequered vans, t-shirts on shirts and solid 90s mid part haircut to top it all off or in other terms, a group of ‘E-Boys’. I mean, it’s nothing new ain’t it? It’s a usual sight at a gig, where everyone just wants to dress to impress, or living up to the stereotype, no matter if you’re a skinhead, hip hop fan or a skater.
Sejak bila IKEA Cheras jadi pusat jagaan kanak kanak istimewa? pic.twitter.com/Y3PAzGRtRX
— Fak!t Media Network (@FakitMedia) September 26, 2019
Flash forward to a few days ago, I saw a photo of the same group of kids (or different batch of boys wearing similar apparel) being shared on Twitter with a condescending caption, and an unsavoury nod to the mentally-challenged.
These kids were being roasted online for what they were wearing and their personal taste in fashion. The roast was joined by thousands of Twitter users including a few that can be considered as influential figures on a platform that contributed to the post getting thousands of retweets and likes. What’s more disappointing is that most of these negative comments came from users that are much older than the boys, quite presumably a decade older than they were.
It’s pretty ironic to see people in this age group talking shit about how teens dress up these days. If you’re 25-30 years old this year, you might remember your own glorious years of expressing yourselves through fashion. During ‘our’ prime years, we’ve witnessed a few subcultures move at the same time, which resulted in a clash of all these cultures at places like Bukit Bintang, Pertama Complex and Berjaya Times Square (these three were the IT places back then). At one corner, you can see the emo kids with their thicker-than-your-mum’s eyeliners, Bootboys with shaved heads, bootleg Fred Perrys and Doc Marts on the other corner and B-boys with their baggy shorts and t-shirts at the center demonstrating their breakdance skills to RUN DMC and Too Phat’s Anak Ayam.
Korang marah budak budak pakai style pergi ikea cheras, ntah ntah korang pakai gini pergi time square dulu??? Rilek la, budak budak, nak berfesyen, nak style. pic.twitter.com/zLxWPobqig
— Pear (@pearkuku) September 26, 2019
Or if you’re into the first wave of indie scene at its peak, this photo will remind you how you were like back in the day:
— Hey, Helmet! (@mamanramlie) September 27, 2019
I mean, we were all part of a trend, a movement, even a clique before we settled into our own established style. We were once young enough to just follow what our brothers and sisters wore, or what our idols were wearing on JUNK, or on Myspace. We hated the fact that the Baby Boomers thought that we were freaks, outcasts, ‘penyembah setan,’ ‘ikutan barat’ and so on. Are we finally, slowly and ridiculously, turning into the very people we despise? Were they right all this while, or we’re just finally succumbing to the mundane-ness of life that we resort to bullying kids to pamper our own self esteem?
We should let the young, be young, fam. Let them be free from the crutches of uniformity that kills their creativity. Allow them to have their fun, before they slowly turn into bitter and tired adults like us; too young to be jaded, too old to be shameless.
In a few years, they’ll look back at those photos and they’ll laugh at themselves anyway — just like you and I.
