Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1996)
VIEWPOINTS EDITORIALS OPIMIOHS LITTERS TO TMf EDITOR Death metal had part in murderers’ actions ■ OUR OPINION: Though the lawsuit may not wm, the killers wifi still pay tor their crimes Two years ago on a late April night, 20-year-old Michael Hayward listened to some doath moral musk, with three of hit friend* and then walked into a Kugene I>*ri Marl, whore he vicious ly boat Fran Wall, a 28-year old (tore clerk and mother of four, with a metal bar. As Wall lay dying of her injuries. Hayward, apparent ly high on 1-SI), tKigali beat ing Wall's co-worker. Donna Ream. with the help of hi* friend lason Brum well Ream survived the attack. Now. as Hayward looks at the short end of a long wait on death row, with a 20-year prison term lacked on by a judge trying to make a point, Roam is left with the diffi cult task of beginning to put the pieces of her lifts back together. And now. she's fighting back Two week* ago, Ream filed an $11 million lawsuit tliat namm her attacker*, their parents, two death metal tiands and record companies as defendants. Ream filed the lawsuit in a move to hold producers of death metal musk responsi ble for inciting murder among young men with ten dent ten toward violence Unfortunately for Ream, ihe lawsuit doe* not have a very good chance of suc ceeding because of previous court ruling* that protect First Amendment free speech rights If Ream's tawyerfs) can prove that the hands intended to incite people to commit violence or murder, then the case could very well have an internet mg ouiumw Wo understand whwr Hnam is coming from with this lawsuit, Hot outrage, loss and pain must I* an incrediblv h«savv burden to bear. Wo hope she can somehow move on with her life We have a hard time understanding why people would even want to listen to the kind of "death metal*' crap that some would have us accept as music, Probably the only way consumers learn the lyrics of this kind of ear rupturing trash is by following along with the "song’s" (Hinted words. But how does anyone "follow along" with a grinding, crashing assault of instru ments and unintelligibly screaming singers* I n« lour convicted killers shared an interest In lh« death metal bund* Dnicid# and Cannibal Corpse. whose lyrics graphically describe •<1* of murder. mulilation and torture So tho four lis tened lo their "music" |u«t before heading over to (be Dari Mart, wharf they pro tended lo ar t out the very garbage they had fust filled their minds with Yea. the music did play a part in the actions of the killers, lust as television violence has a detrimental effect on children (as recent ly reported by the Associat ed Press), violent musk can flit a mind with violent thoughts — allowing unsta ble or drug-twisted minds to commit a crime Even if Donna Ream's lawsuit does not come out the way she would like, Michael Hayward's warped mind will rot with the real of his worthless hide in prison for a long, long lime. \\/\\'v' /// you T6 8t rw»t k Jiai Theory of evolution based on science There appear to bo I wo main ramp* cm tba evofuiton/t meticmt»rn issue. why no* present berth sides’ After *11. they am only theories Berth perspectives on I ha iMiw have beam represented in recent open km column* (ODE. March 12. April 16). But than* am mom than two theories W» mutt (Jackie which ones we believe Them am at Inert *» many creation stories (that fat, theories) aa religions. and at lari count, them were (ar mom than two religions (even if you don't count science). The ''equal time" argument. if practiced fairly, would probably mault in not mure than a few minute* par religion over the entim courw of secondary education The resulting curriculum would certainly be of value from a comparative culture pamper live, aa wail at being amt het teat ly pleating and »ptrilual!y fulfilling But it could hardly be viewed a* science. Them i* no apparent reason to atop at rwlk gton To push the idea further, consider the ere at ton myth featured in Dougin* Adam*’ Hitch* hiker'* Guide to the Galaxy. In Adam*' umveme. tab mice am the creator* of the Earth and everything on it Of coune. this i* silly and no one. with the possible exception of Adam* himself. would suggest that thl* parttcu lar treat ton theory be taught Yet, in the formal aen*e. Adams' explanation of the Earth i* a theo ry It is not. aside from rta obvious entertainment charms, a very good theory. but It is a theory In fact anyone with a mind could come up with an alternative theory fur the existence of the Earth and things like lab mice and people | You could hardly do worse than Adams Of enure*, the trick i* persuading other* into con ridering your theory Them am a variety of way* of persuading — money and coercion come lo mind These am •till widely used but am not considered the best methods fee deciding what it to be taught The methods that have been settled on am loosely bundled Inlo something called, imaginatively, "the sc ientific method * The basic ides of the scientific method i* to juxtapose theories against each other and pick the one that manages to be most predictive When the prediction criterion is used, not all theories am equal. No other theory makes specific predictions as well as evolution does The evolution theory is supported by decades of observations, countless selection experiments. COMMENTARY Oautd I. Butcher ^hn,tUNnnnn ' • wel I develo| red not of conceptual snd mathemat • H*1 models and convincing predictive suumi Creation theory is supported by discredited science. specious arguments, wishful thinking •ntl no specific prediction*. There is no support for creationism as an explanatory theory When treat ion goe* head to head with evolution, a patchwork theory, something resembling Frankenstein's monster is formed This so-called (realIon Science combines the least attractive features of religion and science: the exclusiveness of religion and the tedious jar gon of science When creationism atxepts the predictive i nterion required of science, it fails to persuade There is no reason few creationism io accept the pre.ii, live criterion Without the predictive criterion, however, creationism has no claim to science But religion need not be science and need not serve the purpose of science likewise, religion should not pretend to be science, should not be taught as sc ience and should nut receive ’equal time " With treat ton science's strident calls for equality, we are distracted from the fad that it is one religious theory out of many Haiti's “dosed minds reject creationism" is an echo of this call Narrowing ibe field of competing theories to a paltry two further bolsters the apparent case for ('resttun Science by neglecting lire evidence l Inder this scheme. Scientific Creationism goes from one in a billion implausible explanations to sole competitor in an opinion poll Rhetoric aside. Creation Science is not demonstrably better than other religions' cre ation myths Further, evolution is itself s collec tion of alternative theories Finally, selecting among these alternatives it a matter of evidence and prediction, not opinion (relation Science's invitation to ignore the alter natives and the evidence conceals and reveals an agenda that has nothing to do with scientific inquiry. David I Butcher and Botmrl Mannar an gntidu ata student* in the biology department mrfRS • 1 would like to compliment «nd thank the iewiah Student Union end their coordinating iponaor* of Holocaust Remem branoe Week lor providing a very well planned end eunr uled edu cal tonal experience. which wu carried out with great can It wa» a great feeling to b« >o warmly welcomed to an event* Thank you KA Motto Russian Department CORRECTION Tha mgrmtun block on Bom* » lo Ih« odMcM (ODE Apnl 22) thookS h*w f**0 *8oon» K«n(«K Wom«fl • C*nww inter tm OuacKK *ry} m# Wom*ti| Center *«ff* The CmeraAJ regrets ihe error
