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Let's face it folks. You either love 'em or you hate 'em. There isn't much by way of middle ground here. We at Sound Faction say it loudly and proudly: we freakin' love 'em. We love 'em so much, in fact, that we take our beatings with "Please Sir may I have another"-type rigor.

My Chemical Romance fans come under some of the harshest scrutiny I've ever experienced or witnessed, because those that hate 'em... really freakin' hate 'em. Loudly, vocally, and at times: violently. We've all seen it, the smirking, holier-than-thou, "I'm only here for the opening band" people giving MCR fans shit for loving the band. Many of us, myself included, have been the target of such elitist behaviour, from multiple beatdowns, to concert line face-offs, to something as simple as a snarky comment.

I started thinking about this more since my most recent happening the other day. I live in Chicago, Illinois, and recently found out about a place nearby where a friend told me I would likely be able to find the latest issue of Metal Hammer (which is apparently freakin' ridiculously hard to find around here). The place is called Metal Haven, it's located at the corner of Montrose and Damen (for you Chicago folks). I wandered into the place to be greeted with the cold gaze of the metalhead behind the counter talking on the phone. No big deal, I didn't need assistance, I'm pretty capable at flipping through CDs on my own, which I did. I picked up five CDs that are seriously lacking from my metal collection. (At this point in time I would most certainly like to note that I have nothing at all against metal or metalheads. I'm as eclectic as they come and love to annihilate my braincells with headbanging as the next person...) I also picked up the issue of Metal Hammer I was looking for, along with a poster, easily totaling over $120.

As I lay my items down to be run in and paid for, Mr. Metal himself stares at me, grumbles on the phone about "another f*ckin' My Chemical Romance fan", glares at my MCR hoodie (the one from the Revenge tour. Man I love that sweatshirt), and proceeds to tell me: "get the f*ck outta here! We don't f*ckin want you people in here!"

Say what? That's right folks. This man was too arrogantly conceited in his Slayer-worshipping, Gwar-filled world to even consider allowing me to purchase items in his store, simply because of the hoodie I was wearing with the MCR logo on the back. Sounds pretty freakin' ridiculous, right? But that level of hatred against MCR and MCR fans alike is more common than you'd think.

"Caity and I were waiting for the Black Parade promo show in Chicago at the House of Blues (the little mini promo sprint cross-country they did a few days after the album came out) and we had been waiting in the freezing cold rain for hours with the other kids lucky enough to show up and get a wristband to get in, and the cold was starting to get to us. Caity and I decided to make a coffee run for ourselves and a bunch of kids we had met and befriended in line. We no sooner turned the corner when a group of six guys started in on us, dogging us for our choice in music, our stupid hair, whatever they could pick on. Not specifically being ones to shut our mouthes, of course we fired right back, defending ourselves and our favourite band, and it ended up in a bit of a brawl. We got our asses kicked, I had to get stitches in my head after the show" Chris - Chicago, IL

I spoke with a few other My Chemical Romance fans on an internet forum, once of which told this story:

"When Revenge came out, I was in line to pick up the album at our local record store and this guy and his friend kept harassing me, following me around the store and telling me that MCR was a sh*tty band, that all of their fans were Emo, suicidal freaks, and they even went so far as to say I should kill myself rather than waste my money. They followed me out of the store and all the way to my car. They never got violent but it was pretty scary." Amy - Kansas City, MO.

And certainly it isn't only MCR fans that come under attack. In this day and age it seems that everyone has something to say about someone else's choice of lifestyle and music. Sound Faction's own Natty has come under verbal offense for being an Avenged Sevenfold fan:

"It was mostly a verbal assault by none other than my best friend's boyfriend, basically telling me I wouldn't know music if it slapped me in the face. He said they were a fake band, men don't wear makeup and I needed to grow up and realize that I was wasting my time. I almost slapped him, and then he told me I should get my tattoo covered up. (I have the death bat on my back and I f*cking love it!)" - Natty

Manda has also come under physical attack for being a Good Charlotte fan:

"I am a Good Charlotte fan. Yes, yes, get all the snickers and eyerolls out of the way now, and realize that yes, a 19 year old GC fan does exist. And exist I do, in hardcore form. I can understand people not feeling the band, everyone has their own tastes, but I remember one time I was standing outside of MuchMusic waiting for a Live@Much with the band, and a few 20-something year old "I-think-it's-still-1974" punk asses came along and started to (loudly), berate the band, and all their fans. Mind you, i was probably in the older end of the fan age range at the time (at maybe 16 or 17), everyone else was about 14. It was so pointless, but I got up and said my piece... annnnd, ended up getting chewed out and shoved around by these so called "real" punks. Music elitists can seriously f*ck off." - Manda

So what spawns this lash-out anger from people? What about the band or the fans make people so angry that they feel the need to belittle or physically attack? Well, I would ask them, but don't particularly care to have my face be rearranged by the fists of bigots. I can't even begin to speculate as the mindset of that level of tasteless anger.

There is something to be said for My Chemical Romance fans... we are, for the most part, a tolerant bunch. We put up with a lot of sh*t from people, and it's always a good feeling to see the kids jumping to each other's defense, helping each other up and standing together as a group against those that wish harm or scream ill words. Don't mess with us, we're scrappers!

Now, granted my recent encounter with the Metal Haven employee was, albeit obnoxious as hell, relatively uneventful. I've been in fist fights, outnumbered by four and left bleeding and in need of some serious band-aid action, so as far as I'm concerned, at least Mr. Metal didn't leap over the counter and carve my face off with the Children of Bodom CD I was looking forward to. Metal Hammer just isn't that important...