[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 110 (Friday, July 30, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1691-E1692]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THERE IS A VIRUS LOOSE WITHIN OUR CULTURE: AN HONEST LOOK AT MUSIC'S
IMPACT
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HON. THOMAS G. TANCREDO
of colorado
in the house of representatives
Thursday, July 29, 1999
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, it has been more than three months since
the tragic event of Columbine High School occurred a few blocks from my
home. As we here in Congress continue to struggle to find ways to
prevent this terror from ever happening again, I would like to call
attention to a report prepared by the Free Congress Foundation which
will hopefully broaden our understanding of how cultural factors shape
the lives of our youth.
I would like to submit into the record the attached executive summary
from the report, written by Tom Jipping, Director of the Center for Law
and Democracy at the Free Congress Foundation, which details popular
music's contribution to youth violence. Mr. Jipping has worked with at-
risk youth for a dozen years, and research and written in this area for
over a decade. The report outlines research, survey data, and other
evidence documenting how some popular music can lead some young people
to violence. Many congressional offices have received a hard copy of
the entire report already.
The report does not advocate any specific policy proposals but
instead provides comprehensive information that will make anyone, no
matter what plan of action they pursue, better informed.
[[Page E1692]]
The report has been endorsed by hundreds of grassroots organizations
and religious leaders from the evangelical, Catholic, Jewish and
Orthodox communities. I urge all Members to read the attached executive
summary and the full report as we continue to address the problem of
youth violence and delinquency.
``There Is a Virus Loose Within Our Culture:'' An Honest Look at
Music's Impact
(By Thomas L. Jipping)
After two teenagers killed twelve of their peers, a
teacher, and themselves at Columbine High School in
Littleton, Colorado, Governor Bill Owens said that ``there is
a virus loose within our culture.'' The effort to identify
that virus is properly focusing on visually powerful elements
of youth culture such as television, movies, and video games.
This report addresses whether non-visual media such as
popular music are also part of this cultural virus that can
help lead some young people to violence.
Five days after the massacre, on NBC's Meet the Press, host
Tim Russert reported that the Littleton killers idolized
shock-rocker Marilyn Manson, described by even the music
press as an ``ultra-violent satanic rock monstrosity.'' They
were not alone. Kip Kinkel, who murdered his parents and two
students in Springfield, Oregon, consumed Manson's message.
Andrew Wurst, who killed a teacher at an eighth-grade dance
in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, was nicknamed ``Satan'' because he
``was a fan of rocker Marilyn Manson and his dark music.''
Luke Woodham, who murdered his parents and a classmate in
Pearl, Mississippi, was a fan of Manson's ``nihilistic''
lyrics.
This pattern includes other violent youths whose plans were
foiled. A Leesburg, Virginia, boy suspended for making
threats against students who mocked his work was fascinated
with Marilyn Manson. Five Wisconsin teenagers who had planned
``a bloodbath at their school in revenge for being teased''
consumed Manson's message.
Some claim this is all just a coincidence. Perhaps, but a
series of parallels suggests a more concrete connection. The
first is the parallel between the facts of these cases, the
motivation of the killers, and the themes in the music they
consumed. According to media reports, these boys all killed
out of hatred for, or revenge against, those who had
offended, harassed, or persecuted them. Luke Woodham, for
example, had said that ``the world has wronged me.''
Consider what their idol Marilyn Manson told them to do
about it:
``The big bully try to stick his finger in my chest, try to tell me,
tell me he's the best. But I don't really give a good * * * cause I got
my lunchbox and I'm armed real well. . . . Next * * * gonna get my
metal. . . . Pow pow pow, pow pow pow, pow pow pow, pow pow pow. . . .
I wanna grow up so no one * * * with me
``But your selective judgments and goodguy badges don't mean a * * *
to me. I throw a little fit. I slit my teenage wrist. . . . Get your
gunn, get your gunn
``I hate the hater, I'd rape the raper
``There's no time to discriminate, hate every * * * that's in your
way.
``There is no cure for what is killing me, I'm on my way down; I've
looked ahead and saw a world that's dead, I guess I am too; I'm on my
way down, I'd like to take you with me
``I'll make everyone pay and you will see . . . The boy that you
loved is the monster you fear.
``When you are suffering know that I have betrayed you
``Shoot here and the world gets smaller; Shoot shoot shoot * * *
``Live like a teenage christ; I'm a saint, got a date with suicide
``I'm dying, I hope you're dying too
``I'm gonna hate you tomorrow because you make me hate you today''
The second parallel is the message Manson himself says he
tries to promote. Ordained in the Church of Satan, Manson has
said that ``[Church of Satan founder Anton] LaVey along with
Nietzsche and [British Satanist Aleistair] Crowley have all
been great influences on the way that I think.'' In a
foreword to the book Satan Speaks, Manson wrote that ``Anton
LaVey was the most righteous man I've ever known.''
On CNN's The American Edge program, Manson explained his
message: ``God is dead, you are your own god. It's a lot
about self preservation. . . . It's the part of you that no
longer has hope in mankind. And you realize that you are the
only thing you believe in.'' Manson has compared Christians
to Nazis and insists that ``hate is just as healthy and
worthwhile as love.'' This message contributes to the
situation Vice President Al Gore described at a Littleton
memorial service on April 25, 1999: ``Too many young people
place too little value on human life.''
The third parallel is Manson's own life, which looks
similar to those who consume and act on his message. In one
interview, he described it this way: ``Then I had to go to
public school and they would always kick my ass. . . . So I
didn't end up having a lot of friends and music was the only
thing I had to enjoy. So I got into [heavy metal rock bands]
Kiss, Black Sabbath and things like that.''
While Marilyn Manson alone is not the problem, his brand of
music promotes violence more aggressively than ever. Indeed,
Manson's own response to the Littleton massacre raises the
issue to be addressed here. Television or even religion may
cause youth violence, he says, but music plays no role
whatsoever. In fact, he claims that he is actually a victim
when he asserts that the media ``has unfairly scapegoated the
music industry. . . . and has speculated--with no basis in
truth--that artists like myself are in some way [sic] to
blame.''
Unfortunately, it appears that the music industry's only
response to this cultural crisis is simply to deny that its
products have any effect on anyone. One the June 29, 1999,
edition on CNN's Showbiz Today program, for example, musician
Billy Joel dismissed as ``absurd'' the idea that music
influences violent behavior. Elton John put it more bluntly:
``It has nothing to do with the musical content or the lyrics
whatsoever. [The idea is] absolute rubbish.''
No one, or course, argues that popular music is the sole
cause of youth violence. Something as complex as human
behavior does not have a sole cause. The question is not
whether popular music is the exclusive cause of youth
(something no one seriously argues), but whether there is any
``basis in truth'' for the proposition that some popular
music makes a real contribution to youth (something only the
music industry denies).
The affirmative answer to this question rests on three
pillars. First, media such as television and music are very
powerful influences on attitudes and behavior. Second,
popular music in an even more powerful influence on young
people. Third, some of the most popular music today promotes
destructive behavior such as violence and drug use.
Effective prescriptions require accurate diagnoses. Whether
the solution involves parental involvement, public policy,
pressure on recording companies or retailers to change their
practices, or all of these and more, the effort must be
informed by a comprehensive understanding of the problem.
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