Our current cultural identity I see as the result from historical processes over the past centuries, from the ancient Greek and romans to whom we owe to varying degrees until today, over the kingdom and nation forming in the medieval, the developement of humanities (Geisteswisssenschaften) and philosophy since the rennaissance and the enlightenment, ending in the principal validity of the system or call it tradtion of "humanism", Lessing's conception of "Vernunft" (reason), the separation of religion and politics, and a legal code that more or less reflect all this in it state and condition after WWII.
BTW, I have not necessarily a problem with Goths, or punks, i think they are weired in the choice of cloathing and style, but all that must not interest me, and in my school days two punky guys were relatively close buddies of mine, for they had their heart in the right place, to translate a german proverb (das Herz auf dem rechten Fleck haben, it means to be okay by character and/or to show courage). I would like to rmeind thiough that there is a link from the Goth scnene to the public suicide scene that is booming on internet, so it seems to be a reasonable thing to have an eye on them - so have the social workers and authorities over here whpo are dealing with drug consummation of juveneiles and psychosects ("Drogen- und Sektenbeauftragte"). not every goth plans to commit suicide, but the playacted or real fascination for death and darkness, and suicide cults, cannot be ignored. It is no normal, ordinary social group like any other, and if my children would drift towards it, I would be very seriously concerned. the private behavior of the couple described in the article shows psychopathological striking features, and unnormal one-sided dependency.
All in all i wpould not care - just that thing to of a man leading around his girlfriend like a dog and accepting to provoke his social environment with that gets me up into arms, for such practices I consider to be a part of privatsphere, but not public life, and eventually a clinical indication is given. He was successful, of course - I feel provoked, and very much so. I couldn'T feel more provoked by a tart sitting half naked in a stimulating latex suite on a park bank and having her naked breasts hanging out of her rubber dress and saying it is a free country, I have to tolerate her - I would not.
