Is this a joke or for real?

www.godhatesgoths.com

It demonizes Goth culture, paganism, body art, music, and anything counterculture. It is so in-your-face that I wonder if it's a sarcastic joke made to mock the cultural reactionaries?

emo version 1.0

Merry Christmas!

I find it hard to take any of these 'concerned Christian' types seriously when they start talking about the evils of Satanism and body piercing and vampirism. I often have to remind myself that people believe incredibly stupid things. I read through about half the main page and couldn't decide whether it was for real or not.

I checked out the "letter to Goths" and it was so over-the-top that I couldn't read it with a straight face. It starts with "Dear Loser." I think this is a trenchant satire, but you never know. There are plenty of people out there who have nothing better to do than further ridicule and ostracize Goths, as if they don't get enough of that in high school.
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ETA: It finishes up with "I hope you will find much comfort in the message of hope and inspiration our website offers." I'm pretty sure that's not for real.

Here's proof:

http://www.godhatesgoths.com/blog.html

I wonder if it was an April Fool's project some time back?

The method is standard for some kinds of exegesis.

First, find some traits that stand out as characteristic; those "in" the group may not feel they're obligatory, no matter. The group's viewed from outside. It's SOP when defining a group without understanding it well enough from the inside, and used pretty much everywhere, not just by fundies.

Second, relate those traits to values. It doesn't have to match what those in the group would say. "Rebellion" is a common one, and often enough true for intergeneration stereotyping. "Rejects good Xian chastity" is another.

Third, drop the traits into a predefined argument format. Rebellion = witchcraft; rebellion = dishonoring parents. Yada-yada.


Then there's whois, which leans towards confirming what I thought:

http://www.sitetiki.com/Godhatesgoths.com

Registrant:
Domain Discreet
ATTN: godhatesgoths.com
P.O. Box 278
Yarmouth, NS B5A 4B2
CA

...but I do think that most "body art" is pretty artless, that a lot of tattoos will be regretted years later as pretty dumb choices, and that a lot of the tattoing, body piercing, and the rest of it is bland, pre-packaged, mass-market Rebellion™.