„Unfortunately it happened not only to me, but also to a friend, to get discriminated against due to the fact that we listen to rock music. During a school party I asked for one rock song, among so much manele and folk music. To our joy they had some Metallica. Together with my friend we started headbanging. Since my class wasn’t the only one at this party, there was another one, too, all the people attending started taking pictures of us and to yell at us <satan worshippers>, <witches>, <death with a  scythe>, and our form master seemed to be very disappointed in out behaviour.
During the next days, my colleagues avoided me. My form master avoids talking to me and my friend, thus isolating us from the rest of my colleagues.”
A., Pitesti

„I’ve had many unpleasant experiences because of my way of dressing and the music I listen to, gothic and black metal. You are always boo-ed at and harassed by people who don’t like the fact that you are dressed differently than they are. I have been listening to metal for a long time, I like having long hair and to wear a certain type of clothing in my own style. Even though my grades at school are good and I distinguish myself from the others, not in the bad sense of the word, but through extra-curricular activities like theatre, dancing, poetry and photography, there still are teachers who won’t accept me due to my long hair: <Starting next year we don’t take gays in this school!>, <Come on and show us that you have less brain than you have hair!>, <Does your mother accept such a kid into her house?>. The teachers don’t see that by saying these things they influence the other children as well because they use their expressions.
Another problem would be on the streets. Every time you want to get out for a walk, you will always find people who yell at you and your girlfriend, boo-ing you. <Yo rocker-dude, the party wants you clipped!>, along with other similar remarks; and if the words aren’t enough, they use violence. ”
A.M., 19 y.o., Tulcea

“One evening I was on my way home from a rock bar and was listening to music over the headphones because I didn’t want to disturb the people with my black-metal music. I was passing a block of flats where there were about 20 people who were listenig to manele over the phone. I was passing on the other side of the street minding my own business. They must have yelled at me but I didn’t pay attention to them because I didn’t want to get myself into trouble. I felt a blow on my head with something rigid and then they continued with fists and kicks. I had to stay in bed for about 2 weeks. ”
V.A., 15 ani, Bârlad

„I have been listening to rock music ever since I can remember and I dress accordingly. I was in town with my friend, taking a walk and talking. Then we came about 2 women who had something to say against the way I was dressed, like a punker girl. They threatened me, insulted me, spat at me. I talked nicely to them, but they went on with their evil doings.
You cannot dress according to a certain style because you would inevitably hear people yelling at you <EMO>, something that happened to me very often.”
M.A, Tulcea

„I have long hair and I wear t-shirts with bands. A lot of times I have been yelled at on streets that they would cut my hair if I ever passed by that place, they called me a satan worshipper, they cursed me, told me different insulting things which I am happy not to remember anymore. In 9th grade (1992) I had to cut my hair because I had long hair and the gipsies kept on beating me – I was living in Cluj-Napoca back then, in  Manastur neighbourhood – but the ones who would pick on me were always a group of at least 3 people. On another occasion, after a football match between Romania and Holland when Romania lost, 5 people picked on me only because I had long hair. But I don’t know what stopped them and I got away that time.
During my A-level exam in Romanian – orally, I got a lower grade because I had long hair. In my class I was being looked at differently because I had long hair. This is still happening in schools, even now.”
R.

“I was born in Curtea de Arges. I grew up there, there I went to school and secondary school. I discovered the metal music during my first years of secondary school, as soon as I had access to the internet. My lifestyle started changing since, my way of thinking and my way of dressing. But since Curtea de Arges is also a part of Romania, the first conflict started to appear, of course with my parents who must probably weren’t ready for such a quick change, but also with my school. It was nothing serious with my parents, we had always gotten along well and I still do, but with the toughest secondary school ever.
Using a new school internal rule as a pretext, the head master of Colegiului National Vlaicu Voda forbode the boys to wear long hair and the „Satanist t-shirts”. For four years I have been treated like a sheep and humiliated in front of my colleagues by this head master whom I also got to know as a chemistry teacher. It happened often that the attempts to humiliate me ended up in a talk with an undesired outcome for him, thus him having to use the line Of course I wasn’t thinking about transferring myself to another school, the current one being the best in town, and the idea to commute to Pitesti I didn’t like at all, thus I had to cut my hair and just gulp.
I have a younger brother. He too has to endure the same treatment at the same secondary school.”
N.C.