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It Was Known That The Too Young Killers Were Obsessed With Metal Music Bands ...

It was known that the too young killers were obsessed with metal music bands like Rammstein and Marilyn Manson, and many religious and parent's groups blamed the music for the horrible and tragic incident. However, it seems highly unlikely that the music alone would cause such terrible destruction. Whilst it cannot be denied that these boys listened to metal music and that it probably had an influence on them, the metal music was not the cause of their violent acts. It is far more likely that feelings of alienation, poor family background and the ease of which guns were available in America were the reasons why this incident occurred.
In fact, many of those who believed that such metal music was harmful and violent are also those who preached more violence as a way of stopping the incident in the future. Senator Frank Shurden responded to the shooting by proposing a bill to let parents commit more violence or ‘ordinary force' against their children to discipline them. The bill was in fact passed, of which Shurden said:
"I feel like the lack of discipline has led to what we are into now, total chaos and disrespect. Back when I grew up, we got our tails whipped at school, then got it again when we got home. We didn't have shootings."
As you can see, those who are often saying that violence is caused by music are the same people who then believe more violence is the key to stopping the problems. These sorts of issues give a far more convincing argument that societal problems are the cause of violence rather than something as trivial as metal music.
Positive influence of metal music
In fact, just as there are supporters for the idea that metal music causes violence, there are those who believe it is a positive force in society and can actually help to prevent violence. Indeed, the researcher shares this view due to the large amounts of evidence that back up this claim. The second part of this dissertation will look at this evidence and how it shows the positive influence of metal music on youth and society, contrary to the views of those who believe it to have a negative influence.
One such study that shows this phenomenon is the fact that heavy metal music has been linked with gifted students and comfort levels. The study, conducted by Warwick University, found that gifted students were more likely to listen to heavy metal music to comfort themselves and deal with emotional pressure. The sample was over 1,000 students from the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth an organisation whose 120,000 student members are within the top five per cent academically in the 11-19 age range. Instead of finding that metal was associated with poor academic ability, violence and delinquency, the metal lovers were extremely clever and the music helped them to calm down and deal with stress rather than creating it.

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