Sad news out of Krugersdrop:
Wielding a Ninja sword, a matric pupil allegedly involved in Satanism killed a 16-year-old boy and stabbed two workers at a Krugersdorp High School on Monday morning.
This is a really tragic event and my condolences go out to the pupil’s involved and their families and friends as well as the staff of the school. It’s worrying to see that the international trend of school killings is reaching South Africa. It’s that one word, Satanism that is a little worrying though. Why do I say that? Here’s another quote from the article:
The boy had painted his face black and wore a black balaclava, resembling the drummer of the band Slipknot, said Krugersdorp councillor Alex Raubenheimer, adding: “He said Satan told him to kill the children.”
Raubenheimer also said that there were reports from witnesses that the boy had abused drugs.
So… there we have the unfortunate cause for the tragedy. Drug abuse. Right? Nope doesn’t seem that way:
Community leader, Pierre Eksteen, who is in charge of a school support network for children, told reporters outside the deserted school grounds that Satanic music was probably the cause of the attack.
“He came here camouflaged as the guys from Slipknot. We know the wrong kind of music, and drugs have bad effects. Young people need to be informed of the effects of bad Satanic music,” said Eksteen. (my bolding)
So it appears (and the media is running with this) that Slipknot was responsible fro the murders. E.g.:
The Beeld: ‘Sataniese musiek rede vir swaard-aanval’
IOL: How gimmicky bands influence our youth
The second link has a bit of wisdom peeking through:
US psychologists have warned that the songs may affect troubled teenagers.
Troubled teenagers? Is it maybe possible that these teenagers had problems before they started listening to death metal and bands like Slipknot? There are some more indications from the first link:
Raubenheimer said his friends said he was a quiet boy who kept to himself. “They said they all thought he was a nerd.”
Drug abuse, introverted, probably a social outcast (from the use of the term nerd to describe him). I think these aspects are more than enough reasons to give why this boy did what he did. It appears more likely that listening to Slipknot was a symptom of deeper seated problems.
But it’s a lot easier to just write it up as “SATANISM!!!! DEATH METAL!!!!11″. Let’s not report on the complex issues that could possibly have occurred but let’s just jump to conclusions. Thank you very much the South African media.
You see becuase I’m thinking that there’s somebody else out there that needs to be the scapegoat. Besides drug abuse, death metal, social pressures at school, I think I have found the real cause of these murders.
IOL, Beeld, News24. You guys listening carefully?
This is your fault. This is the media’s fault. Sensationalism of a horrible tragedy is the cause of these murders. Let’s look at my reasoning:
- Teenager with emotional or mental issues, sometimes from an abusive home as well, goes on a rampage and kills schoolmates.
- Some form of entertainment media (usually violent computer games or death metal) are found in the teenagers possession. Sometimes yes the attacks are themed according to these forms of media. Sometimes not at all.
- Media sensationally blares the entertainment media aspect to the world. “Violent games cause massacre!” “Death metal causes massacre!”
- Teenager with emotional or mental issues, sometimes from an abusive home as well, reads about this event in the media. Sees all the attention that the murder gets. Is drawn to the idea of this kind of murder.
- Goto step 1.
Is this kind of scenario really so far-fetched? I think it’s time for the media moguls, who are looking to get the story out as quickly and as sensationally as possible, to do a little introspection as to what their search for the next breaking news story is actually doing.
It’s going to be interesting to follow this news story in the future. Do not be suprised if there’s more to this story than Death Metal and Ninja swords.
Posted by darthfishy 