Society points guns and finger
Society points guns and fingerSociety Points Guns and Fingers
A few months ago, in Littleton, CO, two students performed a heinous massacre at their high school. Incidents like these seem to be on the rise, and naturally, people are looking for answers. And too often, fingers are pointed at rocker Marilyn Manson. Marilyn Manson’s music takes a look at himself and our culture. It often questions the values of American Christianity. It is often angry about the state of the world as he sees
it. It does NOT advocate murder. It does not advocate violence. It advocates honesty. Marilyn Manson is not to blame for tragedies such as the one at Littleton. Instead, a look at what may be wrong with our family structure, our systems of education, or our selves would be more appropriate.
The murderers from Littleton were into “gothic” music such as Marilyn Manson. They wore black, and were outcasts in their school. So What?. So did I. But I DIDN’T KILL ANYONE. The common “goth” kid usually is looking for a group to fit in. They don’t particularly like the activities that the ‘athletic’ kids take part of (namely drinking heavily after games and beating each other to a pulp). These kids are looking for more out of life. Many are artists - musicians, poets, or actors. What artist doesn’t stray a bit from the norm? Is there anything wrong with that? I don’t think so. The “gothic” people that I have met are not violent. In fact, violence is one of the reasons that these kids have chosen to exclude themselves from the other activities. Most of these kids are peaceful and are openly loving of each other.
When a closer look is taken at the Littleton Killers, we learn that they were heavily into Nazism and guns. Nowhere in Manson’s music does he advocate Nazi beliefs or weaponry. When a child is involved with these activities, the responsibility comes down upon the community and the parents. It is hard being a parent of a teenager. A parent may not understand why their kid has been acting differently. But it is the parents’ responsibility to be involved in their children’s lives. When the parents fall short, the responsibility lays upon the shoulders of the rest of the community. There were reports that other children in the school knew of the activities of these kids. They were making pipe bombs and using them in the community well before they decided to bring them into the school and murder their classmates. These are not normal activities of a sane human being. Music does not turn a sane human being into a murderer, no matter how loud it is....
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