March 2000: Metal Prejudice
EvilG's View
First of all, the whole reason why one is a metalhead is because
they are an individual. Being an individual means you decide for
yourself what you like and you do not let radio, TV or some top 40
chart tell you what flavor of the month is cool. If you think like this
then you clearly don't give too much of a shit about what others think.
I don't have a need to make non-metalheads understand. If they don't
like our music, don't bother to try to understand it, ever give it a
chance and simply laugh at it then why should I care what they think?
They don't don't give a damn about me or you! To them, us metalheads are
immature, Satan worshipping drug users. I am neither of these
things!
People are not surprised when I tell them I love heavy metal. What
with the hair and everything I guess it's kind of a give away. What I
hate though is when they say "oh you like metal...you like Korn and
Metallica do ya?" I say - fuck no!! I liked the Metallica of ten
years ago and Korn are, or never were, metal. That leaves them pretty
puzzled. Like the sheep that listen to Korn, they think metal is what
the mainstream tells them it is. To those of us who live it, we know
what real metal is about.
Another thing that irritates the hell into me is when you tell
people you like metal and they are all like "oh yeah man, I used to
like that when I was growing up. I used to love Maiden and Priest back
blah blah blah..." Well what the hell happened to you? You
think you have to stop listening to metal when you "grow up"? Metal
is not about age. Look at Ronnie James Dio - he's been METAL for like 40
years! When people say they "used to like metal" I get a
double meaning out of it - as if they are saying they have outgrown it
and are in some way more mature or better than you for moving on. Just
because metal is not as in your face now as it was in the 80's doesn't
mean that it's not worth listening to! I for one am glad that metal is
not all over the radio. The less trend hopping flavor of the month
followers that there are in metal the better!! Some more exposure of
course would be good, but keeping it non-mainstream is important.
It's not uncommon when I return to the small town where I grew up and
I walk up the street or go into a store and people will look at me like
"holy fuck!" It's not like long hair is something that is that
"out there." Don't these people own a television!! Haven't
they seen the outside world beyond their tiny little lives? If the only
thing these people have to worry about is if someone is like them, then
they must have quite a boring and unfulfilling life. There's a whole
world out there with people that are very DIFFERENT from one another. If
everyone liked the exact same things, dressed, looked and acted the
same, this would be quite a boring place.
In closing, I must say that it was when I was in high school that I
was made most aware of people's prejudice's towards metalheads. The more
mature and intelligent a person is, USUALLY the more tolerant
they are to differences. But you have to remember that there are still a
lot of people out there that are so small-minded that the mere presence
of a guy with long hair, black leather and a metal shirt is in some way
a threat. What an advanced society we live in...yeah right!
Nathan's View
"Are Metal Fans Victims of Prejudice?"
Of course they are. Metal is an underground form of art. Metal gets
attention by the mass populace only when adverse events occur, such as
murder, suicide, church burnings, riots, etc., that just happen to be
the result of an individual, or a group of individuals, that listens to
metal music. Of course, society being its naïve self, blames these acts
on the music. Never mind the unstable dispositions of the person(s)
committing the foul acts. Never mind the irresponsibility and lack of
control the parents have over their children. Never mind the
individual's abuse of mind-altering substances. No, no, no. It's what
the person was listening to prior to committing the crime. It is the
music. Satan made them do it. It's this kind of bullshit that reporters,
politicians, and parents tell to the rest of society. So it is no
surprise fans of metal fall victims of prejudice.
I find that there are four different types of responses you could get
when you tell someone you listen to metal:
-
"Metal huh, what would that be like?"
These people have no concept of what metal is, other than it is what
forks and spoons are made out of. These people pose no threat.
-
"Metal, fuck yeah man! So do I!"
These people are you! Fellow brothers and sisters!
-
"Metal, yeah like Metallica and Korn. I
like that stuff too". The hardest thing these people have heard
is Metallica. Carcass would boggle their minds. These people pose no
threat either. They are just musically ignorant. But at least they
know the whole Satan-worshipping, dog-raping, parent-killing
stereotypes are bullshit.
-
"Metal? Oh…", as their smile
slowly fades. Now we have it! These people have heard and believe
the stereotypes. These people fear metalheads. These people consider
us a bad influence.
On a personal level, I feel that I have only experienced a minor
amount of prejudice as a result of my musical taste. I consider myself
metal, for various reasons. But because I have a professional job, I
cannot look as metal as I would like to. Therefore many people do not
even know how metal I am. And I choose not to discuss my musical
preference with the nonmetals, because what is the point? But
occasionally I do come across someone who is not only surprised at the
music I listen to, but also gives me the "evil eye", as if
saying "I listen to metal" is one of the seven deadly sins.
Today, I think people in general are more open to extremism. So
prejudice against metalheads is less than is has been in the past.
Nevertheless it still exists. And I raise both of my middle fingers to
those that just don't get it.
Are Metal Fans Victims of Prejudice?
by Joe Champion
Of all the different musical genres that exist, none are despised or
ridiculed more than Heavy Metal. It's okay to like Pop music, it's okay
to like Country, it's okay to like the Blues... But the instant you tell
someone you like Metal, their opinion of you immediately changes.
Suddenly your thought of as a wild, violent, drug abusing, devil
worshiping, brain-dead sex fiend. In essence, the "Spawn of
Satan." Occasionally non-metal fans will accept you despite your
"horrendous" taste in music, but those kind and non-judgmental
souls are few and far between.
I don’t know if EvilG remembers this, but approximately nine years
ago, myself and my (ex) girlfriend, along with EvilG, his girlfriend, and a couple other friends of ours (Rob and
Rich) went into a local coffee shop (I won’t say the name of the
place, but it’s a popular franchise in Canada named after a former NHL
hockey player... Can you guess what it is?). After being served, we sat
down at one of the available tables to eat and have a chat. Before we
had finished eating, the manager of the place came along to inform us of
the restaurant’s "twenty minute stay" policy and that we had
to leave. While we had no objections to the company policy, we were very
resentful of the fact that we were asked to leave when other customers
who arrived and had been served BEFORE us were allowed to stay. But
being the nice folks that we are, we took our remaining coffee and
donuts and left quietly. We hadn’t been loud in our conversation or
behaved in any objectionable manner, so why were we asked to leave then?
Because EvilG, Rob, and I all had long hair and were wearing Metal
shirts and leather jackets (Except Rob, he was wearing a denim jacket.).
What other reason(s) could the manager have possibly had to ask a group
of well-behaved, paying customers to leave the premises? More than five
years passed before I bought another cup of coffee at that place. Stuff
like that tends to stay with you.
But are people really so misinformed that they think everyone
involved with this type of music are trouble-makers, possibly even
Satanists and potential serial killers? Yes, they are. Why? Because of
that cornerstone of the modern media... SENSATIONALISTIC JOURNALISM.
Remember the P.M.R.C.? (Parent’s Music Resource Committee... Or
something like that...) It was a lobby group led by Tipper Gore and
other Washington wives that managed to implement album "stickering"
(You know, those PARENTAL ADVISORY: EXPLICIT LYRICS stickers).
They were a rather high profile group that did quite a bit of
campaigning against the "ills" of Rock music, with Heavy Metal
being their favorite sub-genre for criticism. For a few years back in
the ‘80's you couldn’t turn on a TV or pick up a magazine without
having names like Ozzy Osbourne, WASP, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, etc.,
shoved down your throat along with the message that they were
"influencing America’s youth in a most disturbing manner"
(or some crap along those lines).
Of course, once the P.M.R.C. started making headlines, every news
program, talk show, magazine, etc., on the continent began doing their
own stories on the subject of "evil music". Then along came
talk show "messiah" Geraldo Rivera with his big "Devil
Worship Exposé TV Special" back around ‘88 or ‘89. If parents
hadn’t already started harassing their kids about their music of
choice, then they certainly did after seeing that little ratings
grabber. And once the "Satan connection" had been made, every
religious group in existence (or so it seemed) began preaching about the
"Hell-born threat" known as Heavy Metal. You couldn’t flip
past the religion channel on a Sunday afternoon without seeing some
self-righteous Bible thumper screaming stuff like "The Devil will
use any means at his disposal to capture your children’s
souls!!!", or some young guy/girl giving a testimony about how they
were "once on the road to damnation" because they were
promiscuous, into drugs, and of course... Listened to Heavy Metal.
(Yeah, right... Like "Run to the Hills" or "Wake Up
Dead" ever made anyone sleep with strangers and stick needles in
their arms. Give me a break!)
So after years of negative media bombardment, it’s really not
surprising why people react with such trepidation and revulsion when
Metal fans "reveal" themselves. And in addition to all the bad
press, we sometimes don’t do anything to help our case, either. How
often have you played up to the Heavy Metal stereotype just to make
someone nervous after they’ve made an ignorant comment about your
Slayer shirt or the Morbid Angel tunes blasting from your car? We’ve
all done it at one point or another. Sure, it’s hilarious to see the
looks on their faces when you start acting a little psycho, but in the
long run it only alienates us further by reinforcing Metal’s already
tarnished image. I’m not saying I ever want to be "one" with
the mainstream, but if I’m going to be ostracized for anything, I’d
like it to be for a reason better than musical taste.
Rick's View
Imagine this scene. A man sitting have a conversation with some work
colleagues when the conversation turns to what each does in his spare
time away from work. The other participants are horrified to hear that
the man deals in black market baby adoptions and selling teenage girls
into prostitution in Asia. They conversation suddenly stops and the man
is verbally attacked by the people who had been his friends only minutes
before. They look on him now with utter revulsion and treat him like
some type of degenerate freak. Well if you are a fan of Heavy Metal then
you have possibly been treated like this man on a number of occasions.
How many times have I been having an enjoyable conversation until the
topic of music comes up. I state that I am a fan of Heavy Metal and the
conversation stops and a look of disgust comes on the faces of the other
people in the group. "How can you listen to that garbage?",
"All they sing about is kill your mother, rape your sister, eat
your dog", "How can you listen to that noise?", "Any
idiot can bang on a guitar or some pots and pans and make that
crap!". Or perhaps the worst one yet. "So you like Korn and
Limp Bizkit and all those metal bands?" ARRRRRRGGHHHH!! And after
that they look at you funny as if there is something not right about you
in the head. I have come to realize that the people who usually are the
most vocal in a situation like this are the most ignorant about metal.
They don't understand it and in most cases haven’t heard anything more
than Korn on their local video music show.
Worse again are the people who discriminate against you because , god
forbid, you have long hair and wear a leather jacket as well as listen
to metal. Often I have walked into a store and been immediately followed
by the plain clothes security guard. I guess in their minds they correlate
long hair with being a degenerate thief. Oh well, their problem not
mine. I have learned long ago that it is pointless to argue about music
with people that have such a closed mind. They don't want to even
understand that metal has one of the most creative music scenes on the
planet. The musicians are generally top notch and the music is created
just for the love of making music and not because of dreams of having
their video played on music television and becoming multi millionaires.
Of course every metal band wants success but they do not sell themselves
commercially to attain it.
I am a metalhead and proud of it. I don't hide my preference for
music from anyone. I proudly wear my hair long and I don't make
apologies for it to anyone. I have become used to the fact that most
people are ignorant to what metal is all about and I have given up
trying to make them understand. They do not want to listen and it is
useless to waste my energy on people whose ideas I cannot change. Life
is too short to worry about what others think about the music I love. As
long as I buy the CDs, listen to the music and promote the bands , metal
will survive!
Gueneviere's View
This issue of "Metal Prejudice" recalls to my mind one
particular incident involving AC/DC years ago. On an off night during
one tour, their publicist asked me out to her birthday dinner (along
with the band) at a small, authentic Italian restaurant. From where we
sat, you could see the Victorian-style bar, where several of the very Paisan-looking
male employees were sitting, staring at our table. I was seated next to
Malcolm Young, so I asked him if he noticed this blatant staring-maybe
they recognized the band? But Malcolm immediately said, "No,
they're just afraid we're not going to pay the bill." He laughed
but he wasn't joking. Malcolm knew then what we all know now: The
general public does have preconceived notions about people who have that
HM "look." Now, if certified rock stars sometimes encounter
this discrimination, and often they do (at least in the few places they
go unrecognized), how much worse is it for the average metal fan on the
street? Much worse, I'm sure!
I could write a whole article on the reason why this disrespect,
fear, and so on, exist. Whether it's the long hair, or the leather, or
the tattoos, or the denim, or the graphic T-shirt here and there, it's
all associated with devils, machismo, meanness, drugs, bikers-the whole
ball of wax. (Never mind that any negative associations all exist
equally well in the world of Abercrombie & Fitch, or that the
allusions are often false or erroneous hype.) Most of all, I think, the
real condescension lies in the association Metal has with the working
class. Certainly the blue-collar, industrial cesspool has provided the
breeding grounds for not only the best of the best HM bands, but it is
also the stronghold of most of the fans. And so those bands speak for
our mutual reality. But it's something the middle class just cannot
understand, or doesn't want to, as it would reconnect them with
the place from whence they came, and would just as soon forget!
Thus, there is only one direction for mainstream society to look, or
pretend to look, and that direction is down.
Personally, I think that the average "metalhead" is someone
to be greatly admired in many ways. Beyond the prodigious loyalty of HM
fans--not seen elsewhere in our pop culture with such stalwart
determination--it also takes a special kind of personality to stand
strong in the face of this evident social disdain. And it takes more
than just a streak of rebelliousness to sustain this kind of character;
it absolutely requires true individualism. In all of the Western
World, there is no quality more revered than that. The best of us have
it in our genes-it's how the West Was Won! In the 21st Century, I don't
know if it's a blessing or a curse, but I do think that having these
same values in common, plus some of the common negative social
experiences, are elements that bond Metal fans together even more
tightly than ever. There is a feeling of righteousness in numbers, I
think.
Don't we all know it's true that someone dressed in clothing
associated with HM is going to get a few stares anywhere outside of a
rock club or concert environment? That was always true, and it's even
truer these days, even though the musical/social environment is
supposedly getting more open-minded. (More than anything, it's just
become increasingly fragmented.) I think some of the fans actually enjoy
the negative attention, but most of us just find it a nuisance. It's
just another one of those little crosses you have to bear to be your
true self.
But it's also true that even if you aren't obviously a HM fan in any
visible way, you still have to have the guts, or the power of your own
convictions, to wear your passions on your sleeve, particularly if you
work in a professional environment or other type of conservative
workplace. For example, if you work at a bank, it might not be best to
discourse about the new Iron Maiden album and tour while at lunch with
the CEO. This you only do when she knows you well enough to
respect your work--and who you really are. But once you have the
personal and professional respect, there's nothing you have to hide. And
the good news these days is that when you get to know that same CEO well
enough, too, you just might find she's a frustrated/closeted HM fan
herself. It can-and does--happen!