Does Music Cause Immorality In Teens?

In more conservative times in America there were numerous songs about killing police officers. None of which were considered immoral, but when a rap is titled “Cop Killer” it is considered highly immoral and dangerous for kids to hear. Even though it’s about police brutality (Hamm 42). If it was never a problem before why make it one now? Due to the fact of “Musically Induced Crime” and censorship, parents need to make their own decisions about the music their children listen to and not let the PMRC make the decisions for them.

Musically induce crime is a made up motive that the PMRC use to have reason for crimes. Crimes that otherwise wouldn’t have a motive. For instance in 1996 three fans of the heavy metal band Slayer, murdered a girl from their school. One of the murderers, Joseph Fiorella states, “The fact is Slayer’s music didn’t have anything to do with the murder. The police went into my house and saw Slayer posters and records and they made up the motive that this was a devil thing. They don’t have a motive so they make one up,” (Weiner). Jacob Delashmutt says, “The music had zero influence on me going out and killing some one. There was nothing ritualistic or satanic about it. Those allegations were put together by lawyers to make money,” (Weiner). So if lawyers didn’t want to lose credibility for not being able to find a motive, they made one up. Fiorella also stated “ Its all bulls--. We weren’t into devil worship. We never had no satanic bible. The idea of stabbing her didn’t come from the music. There was no ritual sacrifice, no alter, no candles, and no chanting. We never listened to the lyrics before and decide to go do something because of them,” (Weiner). So you may be asking your self “If the violent music didn’t cause the murder what did?” Well, it was drugs. Joseph Fiorella and Jacob Delashmutt both acknowledge that drugs played a major role in their decision to kill Elyse Pahler. Both deny the heavy metal tie in (Weiner). Well isn’t that a shock! Music didn’t cause the death drugs did, but that wouldn’t have made a good story for the jury. When questioned about the murders and how he felt about them Tim Araya, bassist and vocalist for Slayer he told press, “What they are doing is denying the notion of individual responsibility for conduct. We totally understand the tragedy of the situation and sympathize, but we don’t understand why or how we can be held responsible for someone else’s actions, especially ones we never would have intended,” (Weiner). So, both the artist and the criminals both deny the tie in, yet the parents of Elyse still push for the censorship of music. As Fiorella and Delashmutt both stated, it was all made up! “Musically Induced Crime” is just a made up load of junk that the PMRC uses to give crimes that lack motives, a motive.

In a world where music and other forms of media are used to convey how the world is doing and what is happening, is it smart to censor all the bad stuff? Even though it’s really happening? The act of censorship is against the First Amendment. What threatens the First Amendment more than any isolated instance of censorship is the unifying factor of all censorship companies is the presumption that “bad speech” causes “bad behavior” and that the government officials have the right to distinguish between good and bad speech (Taylor 36). An interesting fact about the main censoring company, The PMRC, they have only ever censored rap and rock albums, never country, opera, and comedy. All of which at one time or another have had a controversial song (American). The number one cited book for inspiration for crime is…The Holy Bible (American). And yet this book has yet to be censored.

What’s Up With That??? The individuals that are for censorship are trying to impose their morals and standards upon the rest of the population, which as said before would imperil the First Amendment (American). Another problem with censorship is keeping artists from expressing them selves and making a living like a productive citizen. The PMRC tries to label songs with lyrics relating to sexuality, violence, drugs, alcohol, suicide, or the occult. Therefore restricting sales for record companies and artists alike (American). Which prevents them from making a living and supporting themselves. With albums labeled as “unfit” many major chain stores refuse to sell them, making it hard for fans to buy the albums (American). I don’t know about you but I hate when I try to find a CD and its not sold because it is unfit. John Logan once said, “Labeling doesn’t help parents or children. All it means is someone thinks the lyrics aren’t for children. It’s up to the parents!” (American). So if censorship threatens the First Amendment and you can’t buy your favorite bands new CD because it is labeled “unfit” for someone else’s children, is it really worth it?

Because of the PMRC, “Musically Induced Crime”, and censorship something must be done. An unknown author, once said the main thing that needs to be done about “Musically Induced Crime”, “I still believe that individuals, not the music bear responsibility for violence,” (Free 80). There is another man who agrees with this his name is John Logan, and he said, “ Musicians should not be held responsible for the action of an unstable person,” (American). With that said I ask one thing. Please all of you unstable people don’t listen to music and the go commit crimes. I ask this of you because you’re causing a lot of problems for innocent people. Even though there has never been a link made between anti-social behavior and exposure to any form of artistic expression, (American) please stay away from music. To get rid of the PMRC here is what needs to be done. Parents need to listen to the music their children listen to and they need to stop letting the PMRC make decisions for them. What are the advantages to this plan you may ask? Well the main thing is it keeps the parents informed about what’s going on in the world that their children are growing up in, and the parents may even like the music, which can help bring families together.

So now you are aware of the fact “Musically Induced Crime” is a made up term that the PMRC and lawyers use to censor and give crimes motives, and that censorship is threatening to your own freedom of speech I hope you fell the same way I do. The only way to fight the beast of censorship is to accept responsibility for you actions! Parent need to listen to the music their kids listen to and stop letting the PMRC make decisions for them.

Comments

[Fritz621]

alrighty guys i know this sucks so feel free to give any advice so i can change stuff before i turn it into my teacher thanx!

[smartguytaytay]

Alright, it looks pretty good info wise and citation wise, but i would make it a little more formal (get rid of extra !'s, punctuation etc) cause it seems like it adds emphasis but it's really just a distraction, then spell out PMRC the first time, cause i still don't know what it stands for, then from "with that said. . . to . . . stay away from music." i would just get rid of cause it doesn't fit

[Fritz621]

smartguytaytay wrote:

Alright, it looks pretty good info wise and citation wise, but i would make it a little more formal (get rid of extra !'s, punctuation etc) cause it seems like it adds emphasis but it's really just a distraction, then spell out PMRC the first time, cause i still don't know what it stands for, then from "with that said. . . to . . . stay away from music." i would just get rid of cause it doesn't fit

thanx i know it didnt fit well but i needed more shit to take up space

[BenRaah]

Tim Araya, bassist and vocalist for Slayer he told press...

That made me cringe...

[Fritz621]

oh damn!!! i really wish that Word had a grammar check!!! lol

[BenRaah]

Haha, i'm not really sure a grammar check would know that the Slayer frontman is called Tom, not Tim...

[Fritz621]

OH BTW THIS IS MY ROUGH DRAFT!!

[BenRaah]

lol

[clasp]

you have some fragments. consider a sentence like "Even though it’s about police brutality (Hamm 42)."
But a good read too.

[Fritz621]

haahahahahahahah yeah i didnt notice that one lol and the he told press part is horrible

[doaksnyder]

I would start off by quoting one of the old time songs that you refer to at the very beginning. Get the song and artist, and then quote the cop killing lyrics. That will lend a lot more credence to your argument.

Also, what the hell is PMRC?

Another thing you could do is to introduce a counterpoint and then rip it to shreds. Maybe talk about Manson's love of "Helter Skelter" and then turn the argument against them.

[Fritz621]

OK PMRC PARENTS MUSIC RESOURCE CENTER..... the little explicit lyrics label..... BAM handy work of the PMRC.... anyone who has heard about Dee Snyder? (if thats how you spell it) the court hearings he went to to argue with them thats the PMRC

[Fritz621]

I would start off by quoting one of the old time songs that you refer to at the very beginning. Get the song and artist, ..... I shot the sherrifffff lol bob marley

[seek_&_destroy]

doaksnyder wrote:
Also, what the hell is PMRC?

might i recommend the song "Hook in Mouth" by Megadeth?:P

on topic, i HATE it when the media uses music as scapegoats.. it's Columbine and Virginia Tech all over.. Marilyn Manson(whose music, for the record, i don't particularly like) has it right - the real question is why didn't anybody talk to these kids.. i mean they obviously have problems, and ppl should open their eyes and ask them about it.

[doaksnyder]

I shot the sherrifffff lol bob marley

Good...that's the one I was thinking of too. I couldn't think of any others. Go ahead and state that in your first paragraph as an instance. It makes your point stronger.

Also, put in what PMRC stands for.

[Fritz621]

yes i completly agree with the thing about Marilyn Manson... I Hate his music and him *he creeps me out* but as much as i despise him i understand that his music did nothing to cause Columbine. And just like the guys in my paper said... the music had no influence it was drugs. prolly some lack of drugs *prescription* as well but yeah ill look at the megadeth song and c if i can use it... Thanx

[whippingpost]

Is the assignment to present your viewpoint, or just to write an informative essay. If it's supposed to be an informative essay, then you are a little one-sided. You should offer supporting arguments for both sides (that includes those for censorship). Present both sides equally and let the reader decide where they stand. If it's a viewpoint, then you've got that down.

Proofread it several times for spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Then have someone else proofread it.

[Fritz621]

the point is a Persuasive Essay... yeah our teach is proof reading these for us but she hasnt returned them yet.. so i figured i post it up here to see what i need to do... thanx for reading and commenting

[Vrstone87]

Guys, Dee Snyder of Twisted Sister was put on the spot for this years ago, and the verdict came out as music is open for interpretation just as is poetry and art. If they want to be so pessimistic on the effects of musical lyrics, why are they not also calling out on painters for haunting images such as Van Gogh's "Starry Night" as well?

[no.mop]

why does it say (Weiner) a lot?

[Fritz621]

lol No.mop it says (Weiner) cause its my citation for the Author of the article i got that quote from lol

[musiclover_92]

very interesting article

[gnomieowns]

yeah, i'd give it an A after the grammatical and other aforementioned corrections

[Fritz621]

Thanks!

[m4l666]

You make a v. good point, it's not music's fault!

[mrbiscuits315]

I would add a paragrapgh about the birth of the PMRC and really rape the hell out of it.

[aliAn-zap]

haha..how about some serial killer music like cannibal corpse

[Tatersalad1080]

this is way too informal
you make good points but your spelling/grammar is a lttle off as well.
see if you can get it checked by an english teacher and ask him/her for advice as you need to rearrange this piece so it more formal

Checked.

[Bodom69]

Hello!? am i the only one who noticed thats its TOM araya not Tim. fix that and your straight. **** the industry son.

[Fritz621]

na your not the only one... i seen it after i submitted it..... my final draft of this just got rejected and idk why its better than this one

[jesusofthearbys]

You have grammatical problems. The sentence beginning with "even though" in the first paragraph is a sentence fragment, and in the last paragraph you say "you" when you mean to say "your." There might be others, I was just glancing.
Try not to begin in the first paragraph with quotation. This paragraph should be a thesis, and preferably not include a quotation, but rather your own idea.
I also agree that this is way too informal.
I'm not trying to give you shit; I'm just telling you my advice, because I'm a sophomore also.

[Fritz621]

I POSTED MY FINAL IN MY BLOGS SO GO THERE TO READ! ITS BEEND DENIED BY UG 3 TIMES...LOL

[ReiDSaN]

I don't mind that this was posted but is it really what UG is for?