Mindless Prejudice, Media Casualties

(Writers note - I have chosen to refer to the shooters as the boys in Littleton. I will not make celebrities out of them by using their names. They are unworthy of me typing their names.)

The media has once again failed miserably to report a situation. The shootings in Littleton, CO sickened me, yet to summarize the explanation into a soundbite by blaming KMFDM is equally vomitous. Had the reporters even bothered to listen to a KMFDM record, they would realize the bogusness of their accusations.

I have a theory that one of their mothers had taped over the kid’s KMFDM videos (noted for mind-blowing visuals) with a Susan Powter tape. An hour listening to that woman would drive me to shoot up a school too.

As someone who has written about goth/industrial music for years and sighs at the very thought of Peter Murphy, I now have to defend a beloved genre (I would not call myself anything - categories are for teenagers). I manage a publication that promotes cultural diversity in the workplace, I have worked for a sociologist who pioneered research on race relations in sports. I adore KMFDM, yet there is no irony here. (Note - I do struggle with my passion for Ministry because of the references to the Illuminati.)

My black hair represents a desire to share one physical attribute with the most erotic woman ever, Betty Page. Also, if it stops one feeble-minded frat boy/yuppie from hitting on me because he thinks I’m a "freaky goth bitch" then the color has earned it’s $3 price tag.

Before itemizing the media’s gross transgressions, I will highlight some of the philosophical tenets in of the goth and industrial genres. Goth, now known as the "trench coat mafia" - clearly another ridiculous way to demonize the youths by assigning them the same racism evident in the coverage of the bloods and the crips - espouse idealistic anachronistic romanticism. Edwardian dress evokes a period of mystery wherein death and love could not be boiled down to explainable chemical reactions by scientists. Goths dwell in the suspension of disbelief and romanticize the dead and the undead; they have accepted death as a very real process in their own lives.

Often introverted people, goths ponder their own deaths. They also disconnect from an illogical society that emphasizes suppression of all emotion and chokes the happiness out of people.

Feeling bad - take Prozac. Smile smile smile. Wear bright colors. Bury the dark side of human emotion. Never acknowledge that every human is capable of evil.

Marquis De Sade, a human. Pol Pot, a human. Goths ponder this and have no patience for those who never bother to explore their psyche. But pondering does not lead to action, rather the reverse. Once you have identified and accepted the dark side of your soul, you have more control through awareness.

The industrial genre takes a more different philosophy, though they find themselves in the same bed frequently. They view the intertwining of man and machine into a monolithic suppressive power structure.

For a manifestation, they look to Microsoft. Bill Gates and his twisted technology have handcuffed and controlled a nation. The convergence of man and machine have enslaved many through the need to "upgrade." Consumers worship at the altar of Windows™, terrified to even consider another religion.

More extroverted than goths, industrialists view their existence as being on the verge of the apocalypse, though some see it as post-apocalyptic; we stare at Hal and we are Dave. In the U.S. this machine represents the synergy of the Christian Right, the major financial institutions, media monoliths and the defense companies that direct an inaccessible and invisible government structure, such as the National Security Advisory, not to mention the media monolith that keeps the population placated and distracted. We as individuals have zero power and our existence has little consequence. Many industrialists accept this with a Zen philosophy and say fuck it, everything has no point. They transfer that acceptance into hedonism - why not spend every moment in self-gratification because ultimately that is the only power we still have. Alas, hedonism has severe restrictions.

What KMFDM translates to is "no pity for the machine". One of the most articulate and complex lyricists in the industrial genre, they have blasphemed against the inherent power structures and their nauseating hypocrisy for years. Just because a couple members came from Germany does not make them racists. To assume KMFDM and Rammstein embrace Nazi philosophy because of their German origin demonstrates the same racism of which the media accused the Littleton boys.

Digital hardcore pioneers Atari Teenage Riot began in Germany yet they write with militant leftism and have had clashes with neo-Nazi groups. KMFDM launches a full frontal assault on the corruptive oppressive capitalistic structure of Western civilization. White males dominate this structure. KMFDM concluded that it will only surrender to a violent overthrow. How one concludes that a band advocated the destruction of white power is anti-African-American is simply faulty logic or lack of research.

The reference to "Kill Em All" on one of the boys’ websites could refer to something from the new band two KMFDM members formed upon their break-up in January, MFMDK. When a user launches that site, five different browser windows open, each containing one letter of their new name. When I saw this function I wanted to copy the code to use it in my own work. Written in Javascript, the designer created a function that would remove those five windows from the view’s screen. The function name? "Kill Em All." This is Javascript referring to a window browser, the boy could have copied that and made an error in using the code correctly so the words showed up on his page. To say KMFDM uses those words as a manifesto to commit murder is laughable; programmers have used the word "kill" to mean remove or destroy a file, particularly in UNIX, for years.

Media failed to examine context on this one, and their sins continue. Apparently mainstream media workers have an absolute need to demonize that with which they cannot identify. Because they have not seen KMFDM on the Grammys, members of the media lash out at them.

In the search for one quick answer to the shootings, the U.S. has stopped looking for others.

Dan Savage of the Stranger eloquently pointed out the irony of some of the "victims" bragging about how they had ridiculed the shooters. High school means four years of hell for many. Parents in this society, apparently so fragile that anyone who is different from them-- ie. gay or dressing in all black-- will frighten them sufficiently to shake the foundation of their very being. So they teach hatred and teach their children to ridicule differences. When teachers look the other way or reward those behaviors as leadership, they help create hell for the objects of ridicule.

I wish I could say such prejudices and ridicule cease upon graduation, but I just left a company where I was presumed to be a slut, a lesbian, a hippy, and a heroin user. (That was the most outlandish as hash is the strongest drug I've touched.) This happened because I didn’t dress in perky Chanel suits and tell the corporate officers about my ski trips with Skippy. The CEO once commented that if the Indians were so great how come "we" (meaning all white men in general regardless of when your family got off the boat or plane) conquered them and just look at where they are now. Loosely translated he believes the success of a society is predicated on its ability to destroy other societies, a truly American philosophy. Considering the source, I did not internalize their opinions. Yet I learned no matter how many skills I had, they would view me as just a fuckin’ broad. I felt trapped by the oppression of stupidity and shallowness. The difference between me and those kids in Littleton? I cut that tumor out of my system. High school kids have no choice but to live with the torment that comes from having decided to explore their identity. It's either that or accept the mass-market identity dumped on them by a Gap commercial.

The kids had anger. They also probably had pent up physical energy and aggression for which kids today have no outlets. School budgets can no longer support sports, arts and other programs that allow kids an outlet for energy both physical and mental. Instead they retreat into the world of lighted screens.

The internet has helped some kids through problems of isolation. On the Internet, they can connect with people who will not stereotype them and will actually share ideas regardless of their appearance. If you cannot see someone you cannot ridicule their appearance.

However, as humans, they still need human contact. The nuclear family isolates itself so extremely that teenagers often have no adult figures in whom they can confide.

Aside from isolation, kids face a scary trend in that doctors prescribe Ritalin to kids, boys more frequently than girls, the minute a child misbehaves. Instead of counseling, someone actually talking to the kids, or reducing their sugar intake, they drug them. Society tells kids to say no to drugs while simultaneously pumping them with pharmaceutical behavior modification. The visual overstimulation means these kids never breathe for five seconds, and will never conceptualize existentialism; the drone planet grows. Kids need more yoga and less cable.

Then we add the devaluation of human life which is evident in the news. The media covers war like a debutante ball. Each station scrambles to find an icon and a theme for the war event. Reporters vie for the spotlight. The media outlet with the cleverest graphics wins the ratings game.

Where do kids get the message of racism? They look at our political, economic and entertainment leadership. The American way shines through - if you ain’t a white you just ain’t shit. Clearly the message lost nothing in the Littleton translation.

The media’s reaction to the Littleton shootings demonstrates the shallowness, insecurity and intolerance of our society. We must destroy all that differs from "us" because "they" might force "us" to investigate ourselves.

Introspection means self-doubt. People who seek counseling exhibit weakness. The boys in Littleton got the message clearly. Americans, and the American media, are superficial, suppressive, mindless, prejudicial, hateful cowards who are afraid to think. To borrow from Malcolm X, Littleton was a case of the chickens coming home to roost.

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