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Finally striking back following attacks on his music and message since the Littleton, Colo., high-school shootings, shock-rocker Marilyn Manson has gone on the defensive, saying he is tired of being the scapegoat for man's inherent
In an essay published in Rolling Stone magazine's newest issue, the ghoul-turned-glam rocker responds to renewed criticisms that sprung out of the attack at Columbine High School. He blames the media for exploiting his name, claiming he has become an easy target for a much bigger problem and insisting that his art is only a reflection on human nature. "Man's greatest fear is chaos," the 29-year-old Manson (born Brian Warner) writes. "It was unthinkable that these kids did not have a simple black-and-white reason for their actions. And so a scapegoat was needed." After keeping virtually silent about criticism spurred by the April 20 high-school shootings, Manson added his view of the killings and their aftermath to the ongoing debate about the media's effect on children. In his essay, Manson -- the most scrutinized entertainment figure among those linked in media reports to the massacre -- calls journalists "disgusting vultures" and blames them for helping to create the tragedy at Columbine High. "I remember hearing the initial reports from Littleton, that [suspected gunmen Eric] Harris and [Dylan] Klebold were wearing makeup and were dressed like Marilyn Manson, whom they obviously must worship, since they were dressed in black," Manson wrote. "Of course, speculation snowballed into making me the poster boy for everything that is bad in the world." Manson is known for lyrics that satirize U.S. culture in songs such as "Disassociative" (RealAudio excerpt) and "I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)" (RealAudio excerpt). Prior to the publication of his 1,600-word retort in Rolling Stone, Manson issued two brief statements on the killings through his publicist at Interscope Records -- one to express his condolences and another to announce the postponement of five dates on his spring U.S. tour. Manson spends the majority of the piece criticizing cultural violence, including the lack of gun control, and singling out media professionals and politicians for their "hypocrisy." "Times have not become more violent. They have just become more televised," he writes. "Does anyone think the Civil War was the least bit civil? If television had existed, you could be sure they would have been there to cover it, or maybe even participate in it, like their violent car chase of Princess Di." "I think that the National Rifle Association is far too powerful to take on, so most people choose [the video game] Doom, [the Leonardo DiCaprio film] 'The Basketball Diaries' or yours truly," Manson added. "This kind of controversy does not help me sell records or tickets, and I wouldn't want it to." Manson ends the essay with these words: "In my work, I examine the America we live in, and I've always tried to show people that the devil we blame our atrocities on is really just each one of us. So don't expect the end of the world to come one day out of the blue -- it's been happening every day for a long time." Observers of the tragedy and the subsequent media coverage offered mixed reactions to Manson's words. "I think he's right," said Nina Crowley, president of Mass Mic, an anti-censorship organization based in Leominster, Mass. "People need to realize that ... he's an intelligent guy who cares about his fans." The Minnesota Family Council, a nonprofit family advocacy organization, was among the groups that sponsored efforts to cancel Manson's shows in late April and early May. The council began an unsuccessful e-mail campaign to urge government officials in Minneapolis to cancel Manson's April 27 show at the Target Center. Minnesota Family Council President Tom Prichard said his organization never tried to make Manson a scapegoat. "We're not accusing him of exclusive responsibility," he said. "But I think his message is a destructive message and will influence people, possibly those people involved." Fred Brown, the statehouse bureau chief for the Denver Post, was involved in the coverage of the Littleton shootings. He said he could understand Manson's criticism of the way reporters handled the story. Brown is also vice chairman of the Society of Professional Journalists' Ethics Committee. "In the first week or so, the coverage was very responsible and very restrained," Brown said. "But as the story develops, people look for more and more elements. It's more the later stuff ... you start stretching." But Marshall Loeb, the editor of Columbia Journalism Review, said Manson was "really exaggerating to the extreme" and staunchly defended the media's role in society. "It's when you hide bad things that bad things fester and develop. There's nothing like the shining light of truth," Loeb said.
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