It's not the Music!!

[AngelofDeath]

This post is not meant to offend anybody. It is simply my views of things in the news. I invite eveyones opinion. I like to know what other people think.


I was reading an article in Entertainment Weekly, that enraged me.

Dateline: California- Three teen boys gruesomly murder a young girl, then blame it on the Music they listen to. Their lawyer says that because they listen to heavy metal, they lure this girl out and kill her.

I only have a few questions........

Where are the parents?(One of the kids was kicked out of school, for possession of Pot, and a knife, and the mothers response was"But he had less than an ounce on him", uhhh, last time I checked, pot is illegal.
Where does this pass the blame end?
When do people take responsibility for acts they commit?
What the hell is this world coming to?

I have to say, I am a fan of heavy metal, and I do not worship the devil, or sacrifice virgins. I enjoy the music, and can seperate the lyrics from real life.

So what do you think?

They blame it on the Computer Games aswell
AS if i would steal my fathers katana and kill people
I totally agree it's not the music
it's the responsibility of not only the parents but the whole community serounding the young
Also some people directly point towards the youth when something gets broken or stolen
This is more a reason for youth crime then computer games or music as you start to act the way people expect you to act

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[nick1979]

I agree completely. People like never want to take the blame for anything. Theses boys should be tried as adults and put to death. (I guess that’s another topic).

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[AngelofDeath]

I almost fogot, thanks Rikard, That if you play PnP D&D, you are evil. At least that's what they said, back when it first came out. I do not remember the details, but I remember the topic.

Nick1979- I agree, they should be put to death, but I think that lethal injection is too good for them.

[Yorick]

I think there is no doubt that music shapes emotions and can lead an individual toward dperession, happiness, action, relaxation or the urge to dance, but killing someone requires premeditation, not just simple emotional response. I think that society helps create an individual, but the individual helps create society. Yes the music, if it glorifies and encourages murder and destruction of another human would definitely share the blame in enciting a violent action from an individual. The fact that everybody who listens to the same music doesn't perform the same actions of destruction should be proof enough that such a phenomena should not be used as a defense. The individual is still responsible for acting upon the "advice" contained in the lyric.

An artist should be aware of their suggestive power though, and be careful about releasing something that say, encourages suicide. Given the right circumstances it may indeed be the straw that breaks the camels back. That saying however, implies a lot of other "straws".

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I am the walrus!.... er, no hang on....

A fair dinkum laughing Hyena!

[This message has been edited by Yorick (edited 08-20-2001).]

[oldbittercraig]

It's just that neither the school system nor the parents want to admit any fault in their shortcomings in raising children. Scapegoating provides an easy answer.

[Sazerac]

AngelofDeath, we live in a world where people are actively encouraged to NOT take responsibility for their actions. It's much easier to blame something outside of oneself for one's actions rather than taking personal responsibility for the actions.

Unfortunately, the legislative complex we have built up in the United States now encourages litigation rather than compromise and mediation. The kids are doing what their lawyer has told them to do: blame it on "music" so they can use that as a legal smokescreen and possibly squeak by on technicality or at least get a significantly reduced sentence.

There are a lot of people out there who are willing to sign over a lot of their freedoms and rights because they are unwilling to take accountability for their actions. As Thomas Jefferson once said, "Those who barter an ounce of their liberty for an ounce of security, lose both and deserve neither." Slowly, little by little, we are eroding the foundations of freedom that the United States was built upon and entangling ourselves in an invisible legal web that will one day choke us all.

What will happen? Should this case be pulled off, there will be more government regulation and sanctions against the music industry, more record labels will refuse to carry certain kinds of music, prices will rise because of industry liability insurance, and the very ones who started it in the first place (ourselves) are the ones who will pay the price for our foolishness.

Far better it would be to investigate the true cause of the crime: kids without a sense of what is right or wrong, choosing to conduct an unspeakable crime, for reasons that only they themselves know.



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[Yorick]

I think an issue is that merely because blame is shared, responsibility is not reduced. .

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I am the walrus!.... er, no hang on....

A fair dinkum laughing Hyena!

[MILAMBER]

I agree with all you. Music doesn't make people do stuff like that. It is their own instability that causes problems like this.

I completely support the death penalty too, I just think it should be carried out more swiftly so that people can put two and two together. Most of the time the sentence is carried out 10-15 years after the crime and so nobody even remembers why the guy is being put to death. It should happen soon after the crime so that other people can learn that it is not a good idea to kill people.

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"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his."
-General George Patton (1885-1945)

Member of CLAN HADB

[Sentinel04]

Originally posted by oldbittercraig: It's just that neither the school system nor the parents want to admit any fault in their shortcomings in raising children. Scapegoating provides an easy answer.

Agreed!