Music Essay Tragedies & Music

Tragedies & Music When a tragedy caused by a minor occurs, it is not uncommon for people to analyze the music that minor was listening to prior to the event. Who is responsible for this influence? The musician(s)? The parent(s)? The minor? The record label? Should we even bother to look at the music or should we look elsewhere for an explanation? “Music is intended to bring people together for socialization and friendships,” says Hast, Scott, and Cowdery. Music has the power to do many things. It heals, soothes, adds energy to people lives, assists people in releasing energy, and allowing people to express themselves, even if there are no words. So when tragedies occur by minors, it is not fair to find a scapegoat and not hold that minor accountable for their actions. The only person who should be responsible for the actions is not the musician, not the parents, and not the record label but the minor. When I first read of this topic, I immediately thought of the Littleton, Colorado: Columbine High School shooting. I will never forget the day this happened. I was in high school in my social studies class. We so happened to have a television that day because we were going to watch a film. But that day we skipped the whole film altogether and we were watching the news. My heart dropped thinking, how can something like this happen? How could no one have seen this coming? Couldn’t someone have prevented this? The answer is yes someone could have prevented this, and yes there were many clues leading to this event. I remember sitting in class crying and looking around my classroom thinking “can someone here do that to us?” Immediately the first words that came out of the mouths of my classmates were, “Everyone watch out for Shaun because he wears a trench coat.” I couldn’t even believe that people were saying that. I do not feel that the parents should be blamed for what those kids did. I think that they could have paid more attention to them. But I

Cited: Manson, Marilyn. “Columbine: Whose Fault Is It?” RollingStone. 28 May 1999. < http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5923915/columbine_whose_fault_is_it/> Hast, Dorothea, James R. Cowdery, Stan Scott. Exploring the World of Music. 1999. Pages 21-48.