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Editorials

ON THE VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTINGS

 Tuesday, April 17th, 2007 at 10:18am by

This is a metal website so I intend to stay on topic here for the most part; of course it goes without saying that these events were (ARE) extremely tragic and my thoughts go out to the families and friends of the vicitims. What I want to talk about here is the inevitable fallout resulting from these events and how they might affect the heavy metal community. It seems that every time there is an event of this type the music listening preferences of the shooter are called into question, and those preferences often end up being heavy metal. It happened with W.A.S.P and OZZY in the ’80s, MARILYN MANSON and NINE INCH NAILS with the Columbine shootings, and it may happen again here once the dust settles from all the craziness. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it comes out that Cho Seung-Hui had on LAMB OF GOD‘s Sacrament Sunday night in his dorm room.

Rather than go on a rant, I want to know your thoughts.

Is heavy metal unfairly targeted by the media as a catalyst of aggression and anger? Is it coincidence that fans of heavy metal always seem to be involved in events like this? How will this affect or not affect what happened at Virginia Tech? If so, how will it affect the metal community at large?

-VN

  • DSB

    Hi, been reading the blog for a while now and never fail to crack a smile on this otherwise weary face of mine when I get into work in the morning (in the UK) and check out what you’ve written.

    Agreed, these scenes are sad and horrific but I can see where you’re coming from with this post. It always seems that whenever something like this happens “metal” is to blame. I suppose it’s an easy ticket for the media to label the kid, spew out the usual clap-trap about the evil that is metal and rock, get their headline and move on. Never have I read any follow-up on stories such as this when metal/rock has been blamed giving any further analysis of the kid’s frame of mind before they carried out such an act.

    I’m 35, been listening to all genres of metal/rock for well over 20 years now and I certainly haven’t had the urge to go out and slaughter innocent kids because my girl dumped me, or whatever else has pissed me off that day.

    Granted, anyone with a clinical problem can listen to any type of music/watch any film, get inspired by the content or just think that God was talking to them directly and do some crazy thing like this and nobody would be any the wiser. The music/film etc. would be to blame not the fact that little Johnny was supposed to be taking 15 different types of medication a day to keep him in balance but didn’t feel like it that morning. It all comes down to the individual, how easily influenced they are or just how completed !@$%ed in the head they are that is the real problem.

    I suppose being a vastly bigger country than the UK, the US is bound to have more of this type of person statistically speaking, carrying out this sort of act, but I wouldn’t go the whole hog and say that it’s the music’s fault. If that were the case we’d all be killing each other right?!

  • http://ikillya.com jasonfromikillya

    Wow, I need allot more space than this to comment on that. Is heavy music unfairly targeted? Of course. People are always afraid of what they don’t understand, especially when it looks or sounds scary. How will it affect the metal community? Other than bringing it to the forefront of the media, it won’t. This is a horrid tragedy, but in no way related to metal, just like all the others. In truth, the reality of the situation will never truly be discovered anyway because the majority are too afraid to speak the truth and examine themselves.
    For instance. as horrid as Columbine was, the acts of Eric and Dylan show that they had specific targets, for specific reasons. Were those to wrong in their actions? Hell yes. Did they deserve to die for them? Hell yes. But shouldn’t we also look at why they were incited to do what they did. Their actions show that they were not deranged. They had a purpose. Yet no one has asked what it was. Why? Because it would be “immoral” to shame the dead people. There is plenty of blame to go around….
    As for this situation, from what I understand, he shot a man and woman at a dorm and then rampaged in a classroom. What does that sound like to you? To me it sounds like a dude who got cheated on and took it out on everyone who knew or was involved. Does it make his actions right? HELL NO! But maybe it should make us ask some hard questions about how we live our lives.
    Tragedies like this, and 9.11, should not make us be more patriotic, or shun a certain kind of people (musical or otherwise); they should make us painfully aware of how our actions affect everyone around us. They should make us care for our fellow man.
    I’m no genius, hell I didn’t even graduate High School, but it seems to me that being citizens of our world, and having understanding of and truly co-existing with our fellow man might help this situation.

    or maybe I’m just crazy

  • http://jataylor78.blogspot.com JT

    Yes, the media does in fact unfairly target metal and it’s related genres and cultures. What they seem to overlook, is that what they view as the catalyst of aggression and anger, is most often a release for those that do listen to it. I even remember reading articles and interviews in the aftermath of Dimebag Darrell’s murder, saying something to the effect of “What do you expect to happen in a culture that celebrates negativity and death the way that heavy metal does”.
    With metal, you either get it or you don’t. And it seems more and more, you either get the message or you don’t. To an outsider looking in, it’s a celebration of death, murder, and mayhem. To the insider, it’s a just a celebration.

  • http://www.bringbackglam.com Allyson

    As a member of the media, I’ll just go ahead and admit I’m part of the problem (and not by choice!). I produce local news in Ohio…yet my show featured 12 dedicated minutes to the masscare.

    The “media” pounds a story until all angles are dead…after all, journalists have to fill TV and radio airways, newspapers and Internet sites. It’s a very draining business, and many people I work with get off on these sorts of stories because they “have legs.”

    These stories do not please me.

    A note: the shooter was an English major who liked to write plays. One of the plays was entitled Mr. Brownstone. I immediately thought drugs then Guns n’ Roses. I don’t know if any other journalist picked up on the reference, but I did. So be ready. The heavy metal connection is coming. And Fast.

    My 2 cents.

    Allyson
    http://www.bringbackglam.com

  • http://ikillya.com jasonfromikillya

    shite. thanks for the heads up Allyson! luckily Mr Brownstone was slang long before GNFNR. The real demons in the media though, are the 24 hour news networks. They have to bullshit to come up with enough content…

  • http://www.bringbackglam.com Allyson

    Ok, so…America Online just posted the Mr. Brownstone connection I was talking about.

    http://news.aol.com/virginia-tech-shootings/cho-seung-hui/_a/mr-brownstone-title-page/20070417141309990001

    Allyson
    http://www.bringbackglam.com

  • cokane

    has this got old yet? the media will beat this to death. i get sick of hearing about death and how some one could have stopped this. i want to see south park to a show about this and have cartman shoot the school up.

  • http://rockfighter.blog.com Rockfighter

    Nothing to say except that those kinda things don’t happen in Nepal, if they do it is done by the army or the maoists and none of them listen to heavy metal… those that do listen to heavy metal, at least i have yet to hear that someone has killed by getting inspired from metal… even after watching cradle of filth videos, you don’t get inspired to do what they show in the videos to other human beings, you are just awed…

    Heavy metal rules, and i guess the song by Alice Cooper called Lost in America explains these wierd situations… very wierd things happen only in America, i am trying to sound anti-american, for i like that country – birthplace of rock of course, but you americans make too much of anything…. Lost in America

  • http://rockfighter.blog.com Rockfighter

    i meant to say – not sound anti- america, i missed the not, sorry

  • Hyperwave

    All of this is fine and dandy, but are there any actual reports this pathetic loser was listening to heavy metal or had a metal cd collection or metal on his iPod? I’m not finding ANYTHING online about his musical preferences.

    Mainstream media is blaming the whole thing on the mentally ill, as if this shmuck was the real deal. No he wasn’t. I don’t buy it. He wasn’t a schizophrenic, or bi-polar, or schizo-affective. He might have been schizoid (personality disorder), yes, and he snapped. But face it, you don’t make it to your senior year in college if you’re hallucinating voices or having delusions. So what if he was hospitalized? No dianoses, no medications, nothing. He was a pathetic loser that no one liked, and took his opinions to a level of absurdity.

    I’m surprised that there hasn’t been any focus on the music he listened to. Perhaps there will be.

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