More Crap from Kiszla
Denver Post columnist Mike Kiszla added his maudlin thoughts on the tragic death of Darrent Williams in today's paper.
He provides no real debate, only bad bromides. Yes, it is sad when a child loses his father. That is not news.
I would have more respect for his column if he, like many others in his profession, were not a professional smart-ass the rest of the year.
He can not turn on the "take me serious" switch and expect anyone to do so.
Especially with non-sequiturs like this:
Amateur sociologists like to point a righteous finger at the violent images set to the beats of rap. But music rattling the windows of a car doesn't kill. A gun in the glove box does. Blaming hip hop for murder would be as ludicrous as pinning the problem of babies born out of wedlock on "Little Red Corvette" by Prince.
Problem 1: How does a gun in a glove box kill? It's just sitting in a glove box. It takes a person to get it out of the glove box. It takes a person to point it. It takes a person to pull the trigger.
If violent music urging violence does not kill, a gun does not either. As much as Kiszla and others would like to find a simple answer, there is not one.
It takes a person, hardened by circumstances, ignorance and culture to get a gun and make a decision to be a murderer. Is rap music part of that equation? It can be. It might be. Is it the only reason? No.
Neither is the presence of a gun.
Problem 2: Kiszla's dismissal of music as contributing to pregnancy is misplaced. If not, lots of people have wasted their money on Barry White and Frank Sinatra albums. (And c'mon, Kiszla, "Little Red Corvette" is not even a sexy song. Prince has many more appropriate songs from which to choose to make your point.)
Mr. White and Mr. Sinatra made a career out of putting people in the mood. The mood often leads to sex. Sex can lead to unwanted pregnancies. Voila!
Music can and does create an atmosphere. A pervasive atmosphere turns into a culture. A culture is defined by how its members act. If members of a culture act criminally, that culture needs to change.
Doing that is nigh on impossible. But it is not impossible. Passing laws do not change cultures. Legislation can not change someone's heart. Only education, love and attention can do that.
Of course, all that is much harder than passing a law.
