Opinion: Suicide Trials, Scapegoat Pseudoscience

by,

Panther Rhoads

Four psychology courses in college certainly doesn't make me an expert regarding teenage suicide. 17 years I have researched this subject . Mainly because, if Judas Priest had intended to kill teenage boys decency would restrict me from purchasing another Judas Priest album. I believe Rob Halford's argument because it is the most reasonable. Why would Judas Priest want to kill their fans? People who buy Judas Priest albums.

1986, Two teenage boys shot themselves. Ray Belknap died instantly. James Vance died three years later of complications. The surviving families' arguments contended Judas Priests' Better By You, Better Than Me contained the subliminal message "Do it" contributing to Vance's and Belkin's suicidal tendencies.

1990, The grieving parents took the group Judas Priest to trial (Vance vs. Judas Priest). Largely based on a high school counselor's conversation with James Vance regarding the shootings. According to Mrs. Rusk Vance said,"We got the message. It told us just do it...do it...It [Better By You, Better Than Me] was giving us the message to just do it."  

Judas Priest denied purposefully inserting the words "do it". During the album recording a mixture of sounds may have accidentally produced "do it". And what does "do it" mean anyway? Blow me? Study physics?

In the pre-trial, Justice Jerry Carr Whitehead assaulted the first amendment ruling, Subliminal speech does not deserve protection because it does not perform any of the functions that free speech accomplishes. What about the Beatles? Does Paul McCartney deserve no first admendment rights because the Beatles (supposedly, but I don't play records backwards ) planted "The walrus is dead" on an album? How do we know a "subliminal message" is intentional? A woman swore Jesus' face was visible in her MRI (I'm not calling her a liar) but I see nothing but brain matter, it crosses the personal interpretation boundary.

An entire pseudoscience exists blaming heavy metal for teenage suicides and school shootings. I assume mental illness is the culprit, but what do I know. Many carpetbagger psychology "experts" disagree. Peter Huber exposes an entire brand of scientific distortion in his 1991 book: Galileo's Revenge: Junk Science in the Courtroom. Scientific information purposefully distorted to support extravagant legal filings.

The trial judge (Vance vs. Judas Priest, 1990) even stated: " The scientific research presented does not establish that subliminal stimuli, even if perceived, may precipitate conduct of this magnitude (suicide)....." 

One would think this strong statement made by a judge would deter subliminal pseudoscience. Six months following  Judas Priest's acquittal a new rock n' roll suicide trial emerged from the shadows. Waller vs. Ozzy Osbourne. Waller's son shot himself in the head listening to Suicide Solution. The song Ozzy wrote concerned about AC/DC frontman Bon Scott's alcohol related death, and his own struggles with alcoholism.

Who, I ask you, is a better scapegoat for teenage suicide than Ozzy Osbourne or Rob Halford? Heavy metal has an evil image. The average person believes in their hearts heavy metal offers an evil message. Despite the true intentions of the artist.

What baffles me is how scientific experts seriously support these types of outrageous allegations. Supporting "the devil made me do it" instead of psychology 101: suicidal behavior is a symptom of mental illness. And would they support a shoe ad "Just do it" is an intentional message to teenagers- just pull the trigger?

Suicide Solution