The Orion, CA
10-17-07
Marilyn Manson not to blame for violence
By: Mando Navarro
In a country where school shootings seem common, it's safe to say we have a
dangerous problem.
Even worse, there are no definite answers.
Just last week, a high school shooting occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, where a 14year-old boy shot and injured two students and two teachers before killing
himself.
In another incident, a Philadelphia mother was arrested for buying guns and
bomb-making materials for her socially outcast 14-year-old son so he could
perform a "Columbine-like" act at his school, CNN reported.
Whatever happened to the good old days when kids fought with their fists? Why
has our youth turned to guns and killing people?
The answer to those questions seems to depend on who you ask.
After Columbine, Sen. Joe Lieberman said the problem was music.
Lieberman said violent lyrics from artists such as Marilyn Manson are "helping to
create a culture of violence that is increasingly enveloping our children,
desensitizing them to consequences and ultimately cheapening the value of
human life."
According to one study, music doesn't just affect children. It affects college
students, too.
In a series of five experiments involving more than 500 college students,
researchers from Iowa State University and the Texas Department of Human
Services examined the effects of seven violent songs by seven artists and eight
nonviolent songs by seven artists.
The result: students who listened to violent songs were left feeling more
aggressive and hostile without provocation or threat. The study's lead researcher
said these aggressive thoughts and feelings have implications for real violence.
But, again, it's all up for interpretation.
Paul Friedlander, director of the music industry program at Chico State, said
there is no substantial evidence that suggests music has anything to do with
violent acts.
If anything, more research says otherwise, he said.
"Research has clearly indicated that there is no correlation to listening to a song
and being impelled to do something," Friedlander said. "Otherwise, every time
you'd listen to NWA you'd shoot a person; or (with) Doris Day, you'd go out on a
field and dance in a field of daisies."
Friedlander has a point, but many suggest that a few people will act violently
after listening to violent music. And some will argue that one case is enough.
The Cleveland student was described as a "goth." He had black painted nails
and wore all black clothes, including a Manson T-shirt. Manson was the boy's
idol, according to several reports.
So naturally, just like after Columbine, Manson was targeted. Maybe not directly,
but his name was mentioned.
People still blame Manson and other artists for many pointless acts of violence.
Is that fair?
Friedlander, who is also a musician, said the answer is no.
Because if that were the case, "Why not blame Elvis for the sexual revolution of
the '60s?" he said.
People use music simply to help create their identities, Friedlander said. And that
may include how one looks.
"If I'm a certain way, I'm going to listen to a certain kind of music," he said. "If I
were to listen to Britney Spears, I'd probably be a teenage girl."
The Manson fan was just a teenage boy. A teenage boy who listened to Manson
because he made him feel OK for being an outcast, for being different, for being
exactly who he was.
In no way did Manson's lyrics tell the boy to go on a shooting rampage. Other
factors influenced the boy. What were they?
Sadly, that question will never be answered.
Here are some possibilities, though, something that nobody - except for Manson
himself in an interview with Michael Moore - seems to talk about.
The problem isn't music. It's the influence of our country and government,
Manson said.
According to the National Education Association's Health Information Network at
www.neahin.org, American children are 16 times more likely to be murdered with
a gun, 11 times more likely to commit suicide with a gun and nine times more
likely to die from a firearm accident than children in 25 other industrialized
countries combined.
That's appalling.
This stat's no better: In 2005, firearms killed zero children in Japan, 19 in Great
Britain, 57 in Germany, 109 in France, 153 in Canada and 5,285 in the United
States, according to the site.
And people listen to Manson in many countries, so he and other artists can't be
the reason for such violence in America.
The most logical reason is how prevalent guns are in American stores compared
with other countries.
My friends from Germany were shocked when they saw that guns were sold in
the same stores where they were buying alcohol and candy bars.
They couldn't believe it. Apparently, that doesn't happen in their country.
I told them to consider themselves lucky.
Mando Navarro can be reached at opinioneditor@theorion.com