Re: Teenage Who fans

[WHOOLIGAN@aol.com]

In a message dated 97-02-22 00:03:12 EST, you write:

>And finally, the matter of young people on this list. Just a few days
>ago there was a lot of moaning about how young people today don't
>appreciate good music like the Who, and all they listen to is trash,
>blah de blah. But to paraphrase my mother, "Don't ask for more young Who
>fans until you appreciate the ones you already have." If you care so
>much about the young Who fan, then for goodness sakes stand up for them
>once in a while! Apparently a lot of you don't notice this, but there
>are plenty of people on this list who are very mean to teenaged Who
>fans. I'm not just imagining this either. After my initial post on the
>subject, I recieved several e-mails from teenagers on this list agreeing
>with me and saying that some older Who fans tended to treat them as if
>they could not possibly be good fans or know anything about the Who,
>just because they happened to be young. You will notice that these
>teenagers have not said anything about this on the list. I can hardly
>blame them. Just look at the kind of response I've gotten for daring to
>take a stand on this issue. The very people who are most bothered by the
>age discrimination that goes on here are the people who are afraid to
>say anything about it. That's why I have to be the one to speak up. For
>anyone who may have forgotten, it isn't easy being a teenager. You get
>treated like the scum of the earth everywhere you go. And if you've just
>had a horrid day at school and come home hoping for a good discussion on
>your favorite band to take your minds off things, and instead you find
>people who don't even know you calling you a teenybopper or worse, it's
>not going to make you feel any better.
>
>

Fortunately I think it has gotten better since the Summer of '82 when I was a
14 yo new Who fan & the older Who fans (typically male & 30+) looked down
they noses at me with "Oh, you never saw Keith you'll never know what a Who
show is really like." 
No Shit : ( .  
   Even better is being a female young Who fan. " Oh, Are you a groupie? " 

This past year however has been GREAT!  I have met male & female fans of all
ages who have been mostly united in one thing The Who!

Chin up Ledbetter!
                                      Cheers,
                                          Stefani