[Adam P.]

As a teen I am curious why a parent would be so quick to blame types of media - music, video games, television and in some cases teachers and supposed role-models - for their kids' behavior, rather than take a look at their own parenting skills to see if anything is lacking. Or, they lay the blame on their own child. Is it fear for yourself? Your child? My parents weren't perfect, but if I screwed up, I was at fault - not Eminem or Marilyn Manson.

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Name : Adam P., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 19, City : k-w, State : NA Country : Canada, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Dan27309]

Our parents had Pac Man and Led Zeppelin. We have Unreal Tournament and Cannibal Corpse. The older generation is taken aback, because this kind of stuff just did not fly back in those days. In the '70s Marylin Manson would have been just another obscure heroin addict in Lower Manhattan or West Hollywood. Today he's a multi-millionaire rock star and exists in the CD players of kids everywhere from Los Angeles to Des Moines. It can be argued that morals have plummetted, but if music is even partially to blame, its role is miniscule. Music is a barometer of the culture around us. If there is a huge portion of people fascinated with negativity and violent imagery, then everything from thug rap to death metal will catch on with them. I think all the angst, hatred and alienation is a result of the breakdown of the American family. With all the problem kids I grew up with and have worked with, I find that the parents either created a sterile feel-good environment void of discipline or they were cruel and unstable people seemingly unfit for decent parenthood. However, I have noticed that people who have suffered from depression are unable to listen to certain types of music that they listened to before. A friend of mine cannot listen to Portishead because it causes her to have a momentary relapse.

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Name : Dan27309, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pentecostal, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Lindsay H.]

Chris, first, I commend you on your straightforward thinking. As a parent (I have a 20-year-old and 24-year-old), after a person gets to a certain age, all you can hope for is that the foundation that you have laid will lead to a healthy, productive person. To address one of the things you have said about fear of being a 'bad parent': I can't speak for anyone else, but this was always a great fear for me. Would I be good enough? Would my children get what emotional loving they needed? Maybe, maybe not. I do know this: I believe even with all the mistakes I made - and I made more than a few - they are wonderful people who I am proud to know.

But what if you do not have a healthy enviroment as a child? Hopefully, you find a mentor who can guide you, or you pull your bootstraps up and decide to see who you truly are - not how others have defined you. This takes a lot of courage. Does Marilyn Manson influence you? Not unless you so choose. Can you enjoy this type of music? Of course you can. Does it make you weird or strange? No. Hey (try not to bust a gut here) when the Beatles came to the United States, we kids were all thought of as utterly decadent (this was in the early '60s), a lost cause... We were all going to hell.

Each and every generation has been condemned because they have done something different. When you become a parent, you may find yourself appalled at what your kids hear. But if they have a loving home and are made to feel that they have a voice, your kids are not going to go bonkers.

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Name : Lindsay H., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : Deaf, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 49, City : San Antonio, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : self-employed, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[AJ O.]

The sad and often fatal trend in America these days is blaming Marilyn Manson or a movie for a parent's failure. A kid shoots up his school, kills his parents or builds a bomb and the first thing you hear about is 1)The clothes they wear ('They ore trenchcoats'...'gothic'...'punk') 2)The music they listen to and movies they watch or the video games they play. Well I am sorry but that is a crock.As someone who wears mostly all black, listens to Marilyn Manson, Emenem, and other such music, watches movies such as 'Natural Born Killers' or '8mm' and has played many a violent video game I am living proof that these things are not to blame. I have a fiance and many good friends. I love my family and even got along with lots of people who were 'different' than me (preps, jocks, punks, 'freaks'....anyone and everyone) at school. I don't kill or hurt people. I don't worship Satan or do drugs or anything else like that. In fact I lead apretty normal life and consider myself to be a pretty compassionate and caring person with a large compacity to love. So why am I a 'good kid' while other people who dress like me and listen to the music I do or see the movies I see turn out 'bad'? PARENTING. My parents brought me up well. They gave me love affection, attention, guidance, disciplie and instilled values, morals and respect for myself as well as myself. Thses kids that come out 'bad' more than likely did not have the proper upbringing. A person who has been instilled with morals and with intelligence can decipher the difference betweemusic and movies and real life. If they cannot there are bvioulsy some underlying mental problems that a PARENT should have noticed and taken care of before something horible happened.Besides there are people in khakis and plaid who listen to Kenny G and have doe some vile and dispicable things.It's about parenting not the media. Marilyn Manson is not America's father.

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Name : AJ O., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : my own beliefs, Age : 19, City : San Antonio, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : unemployed, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Wynter]

Thank you for finally recognizing this! I question the same thing. And what I've concluded is that today's parents just don't want to raise their children. Think about why Ritalin is such an over-prescribed drug. It's because kids act up just a bit, parents don't want to take the time to discipline then, so they pass the buck to medical professionals, who just write a prescription. Parents don't want to do the parenting. It's much easier to blame someone else than actually take the time to try and raise their kids right.

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Name : Wynter, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Indian American, Age : 24, City : San Francisco, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Consultant, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[DaThick125959]

Amen, Chris. I have been asking myself this question for a long time. I'm not a parent, but I agree with you. You are a wise young man.

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Name : DaThick125959, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 30, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Jenna]

to me the parents blame the music and that b/c they are afraid to admit that maybe thier parenting skill sare not all that. but still if we screw up it's not thier faults but parents just don't understand that. you do one lil thing wrong and they take it all personaly and go 'where did i go wrong' well i'll tel all of you parents were you went wrong. a kid will mess up do sum dumb things not b/c you didn't teach them to be potty trained untill 2 years old or not b/c you didn't play peek-a-boo enuf with us we did that b/c our minda are still learning and we haven't been exposed to everything out there so we are learning as we go so you can't expect us to do perfect right away give a time give us lean way. we need space and most of all we need you not to get all self hatered when we mess up b/c you messed up EVERYONE messes up we are all still learning and at different pacing so give us time. it;s not anyone's fault it is just nature. we all learn differently. so how can it truly be anyone fault?

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Name : Jenna, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 15, City : Pittsburgh, State : PA Country : United States, 

[Joe]

There seems to be a very rapid growing trend upon parents to alleviate the fact that they unfortunately raised a nonconforming child. It isn't just them, the mass these days are very hasty to point their finger at whoever, or whatever, just to rid themselves of personal responsibility. God forbid they simply accept it and deal with it head on, perhaps severing a far more serious problem in the not so distant future which was snowballing. To quote one of my favorite musicians, King Diamond (who, by the way makes Marilyn Manson look like a boyscout for all the overly concerned and uninformed American parents) 'Everything in this album is made up, no attempts should be made to reenact any of it for any reason, and if you do, you're too stupid to be alive.' Seriously, whatever age your child may be at, it does not take rocket science to figure out that because the band members haven't killed themselves already, or that the creators of video games such as Doom haven't gone gun crazy, is simply because they do not practice what they preach. One of the big all around issues, is the hypocrisy of the situation. Lets not forget, anyone ignorant enough to point their finger at Marilyn Manson for their childrens problems, must of forgotten that their generation grew up on their own versions of him: Ozzy Osbourne's albums date back to 1969, then in the 70's they had Alice Cooper. Hey, what's the latest from Karen Finley? I haven't heard anyone gripe about her recently.

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Name : Joe, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 23, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : I.T., Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class, 

[JaredW.]

Parents or anyone for that matter hate to take blame for things. Nobody wants to feel like they are at fault when there is a problem. If a child is to screw up, the common idea would be there was a mistake in parenting. Could be something as simple as forgetting to warn your child about an issue. So instead of taking blame for something, they use these medias as scapegoats, and not deal with the fact that they themselves made a mistake.

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Name : JaredW., Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 26, City : Robesonia, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : Cook, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

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