Convergence: Inversion

Among the public there are two conflicting memories of Convergence 7. One is of a year of nearly unprecedented online controversy; presaging doom, corruption, incompetence, and all manner of nebulous outrages related to an expected travesty of an event. The other image is of a real-life, three-day event attended by 800-plus net.goths who, by almost all accounts, enjoyed themselves immensely at the C7 events and compared C7 with previous Convergences in a positive light.

Neither of these public perspectives tell the actual story of Convergence 7. In fact, the whole tale of Convergence in New York City stretches back many years. The year leading up to the event and, in some ways, the event itself was anticlimactic for the staff and others who knew what was really going on. Yet even what we reveal of that year will surprise you.

Convergence7.com will soon host a little saga which is both remarkable and also universal. Much of it will be a critique, not so much to inflame controversy as to encourage improvement. There is no way to undo past wrongs, except to prevent future abuse. It is muckraking, and there is a great deal of muck. Whether the readers find that the status quo is satisfactory or that changes appear necessary is entirely up to them.

The story of Convergence 7 is of intrigue and power struggles. Respected figures and institutions engaged in appalling attempts to control the event and tried to destroy it when their selfish exploitation was averted. It is also a story of good, stoic people who prevailed in the face of adversity and undeservedly saw the darkest and least flattering side of the US gothic-industrial scene.

The theme of the Convergence 7 story is in many ways the theme of the goth scene as a whole: "Everything you know is wrong." Goths are neither devil-worshippers nor promiscuous junkie vampires— most are eccentric, creative, morbid, but not nearly as frightening or unbalanced as superficial appearances might suggest. The way the typical goth is treated by "normal" people is frequently more abominable than anything imagined about the misfit.

Likewise, the heroes and villains of the story of Convergence 7 are inverted in the most stark terms, as you shall soon read. Appearances deceive.