For the love of God

Rap doesn't cause violence. Video games don't cause violence. People cause violence.

It's foolish to blame rap for violence. They may have written a song about it, but as far as I know, Ice T never killed a cop, nor did his listeners after hearing Cop Killa. Our society just needs to find a scapegoat for everything bad thing that happens, and entertainers/entertainment is (are) an easy target.

Sure, when this article was written rap was seen as "black" music. But today there's plenty of evidence to show that just as many white kids listen to rap as do african americans. And while I don't have much interest in watching old rap videos, I can only assume that the findings of the 1995 study conducted by Johnson, Adams, Ashburn, and Reed were either a gross overgeneralization or focused on subjects already living in areas plagued by violence. Think about it - in 1995 the Internet was just making it's way into our homes, and while MTV still played music at this point, not everyone could afford cable. And since the study focused on black youths, it would be quite surprising if they had unlimited access to rap videos.

What really interested me about this article was the blame these past studies placed on music. While it did focus on blacks, white musicians have been blamed for arguably more violent acts. Take the 1999 school shooting in Littleton, Colorado for example. Marilyn Manson more or less became public enemy number one due in large part to incorrect media reports. After the media were done interviewing grieving parents and the crowds outside the funerals for those 13 victims, reports claimed that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were wearing makeup, dressed in black, and listened to Manson's music. While they may have been wearing black (I don't actually know), they weren't wearing makeup and more importantly, they didn't even listen to Marilyn Manson. Regardless, his music was blamed for Harris and Klebold's decision to attack the school.

Manson said it best when he wrote, "Isn't religion the first real entertainment? People dress up in costumes, sing songs and dedicate themselves in eternal fandom,". Look at Jim Jones' Jonestown and Charles Manson. They were able to convince people to partake in some of the most vile acts of violence all for the sake of religion. On a smaller scale, people regularly kill doctors who perform abortions or people who identify as homosexual for the mere sake that the bible says it is sinful. 

In short, Fried's article is yet another testament to how fucked up our society is.