However, this brings up larger questions. The man's wife described the words she heard as garbled and, "gangster-like." One has to wonder why the man had the music cranked up to such a high volume that she could hear the words at all, and why he was listening to that kind of music. Clearly it was within his rights to listen to whatever kind of music he wants, but the fact remains that the music he chose scared his wife badly enough to call the police and affected the entire North Shore by having lockdowns, discussions, and more drills. Wouldn't it be worth it to pick less offensive music, not just for others, but for your own mental health?
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ReplyDeleteAlthough this event had a series of causes and effect incidences, I don't think there is necessarily any blame to put anywhere. He was listening to music in his car, but it's not clear the music was offensive, or even loud, even if it was heard over the phone. Either way, it was a total misunderstanding.
"your own mental health? "
Gangster music hurts peoples' mental health?
I agree with MMarin. I mean there is no evidence that the music was offensive at all. In fact I think a bigger problem here is the fact that the wife associated rap music with the fact that her husband was being kidnapped! I mean rap music comes out of a certain culture and I find the fact that it was instantly associated with a horrid crime to be a big issue! She wouldn't have called the police if she had heard Brahms, or Beetoven, or even probably Kesha or Katy Perry! We need to work to try and break these associations in our society.
ReplyDeleteIf one reads between the lines of the two previous comments it seems there is an attempt to not be judgemental about the rap or gangsta' music. In addition it seems a bit naive to dismiss the incident rather than risk being intollerant of a particular genre of music. Rap music covers a wide range, from fun and lighthearted to dangerously violent. Few other types of music have become associated with violence as gangsta' rap. Rap is what it is by intent, because it sells. Is it healthy to listen to lyrics that glorify violence (or sex or drugs)? Isn't it a problem when a person receiving a phone call hears disturbing lyrics that causes them to think a person is in danger? For my mental health I choose to listen to music that contributes to my improvement rather than pulls me down.
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