February 23, 2001
Column #1017
EMINEM: PARENT'S NEW
WOE
It is never easy
to be a parent. But this week parents of 30 million teenagers will find
it particularly difficult to deal with their children's craze over
Marshall Mathers, better known as the hip-hop sensation, Eminem, (''M &
M'').
On Wednesday
night the angry, tattooed, foul-mouthed, drug-promoting, gay-bashing,
bleached blond, murder-idolizing rapper won three Grammy Awards, for
what is arguably the most disgusting album ever made, ''The Marshall
Mathers LP.''
What is most
disconcerting is that this celebrator of mayhem, whose songs include
fantasies about killing his mother and his wife - is worshiped by
today's teens. They have snarfed up 8 million copies of his wretched
album that glorifies sodomizing his mother and setting up his sister to
be gang raped. The odds are nearly one in three that this album is in
your house, if you have a teenager. The odds are 100% that your teens
have heard his ''music,'' multiple times.
Though I hate to
do so, I must quote some lyrics, before suggesting what parents might do
about this one man plague on morality. I hasten to add I can barely
understand the machine gun patter of rap, and am grateful to Focus on
the Family's ''Citizen'' magazine for printing some lyrics, and to
Focus' ''Plugged In'' Music Review by Bob Waliszewski.
In
''Amityville,'' Eminem sings, ''My little sister's birthday/She'll
remember me/For a gift I had ten of my boys take her virginity.'' Will
this not encourage simple minded brothers to imitate their idol's
suggestions to rape their sisters?
In ''Bonnie and
Clyde'' your kids hear, ''...don't worry/Dada made a nice bed for Mommy
at the bottom of the lake. Here, you wanna help Dada tie a rope around
this rock?/We'll tie it to her footsie, then we'll roll her off the
dock. Ready now, here we go on the count of three.../One, two, three,
whee! There goes Mama, splashin in the water/No more fightin' with Dad,
no more restraining order.''
This is moral
poison, whose impact is incalculable. It is a depth charge to the
culture, an incitement of horrific matricide. No real deaths have yet
been attributed to Eminem, but I fear it is only a matter of time. In
fact, his own mother has sued her son for $10 million for defamation of
character.
Eminem mocks his
own influence in the song, ''role model.'' ''Follow me and do exactly
what the song says: Smoke weed, take pills, drop outta school, kill
people and drink/And jump behind the wheel like it was still legal...''
Marshall Mathers
was born to a 17-year-old. He never saw his Dad. ''By age 9, the
undersized boy had attended five elementary schools in four cities and
faced a host of playground assailants. He was beaten...unconscous; he
was beaten into a 10-day coma... that reportedly took a dozen doctors
and a half-million in medical bills,'' reports ''Citizen.'' He dropped
out of school after flunking 9h grade twice. His uncle who introduced
him to rap committed suicide and he saw another uncle shoot and kill his
brother-in-law.
Tattooed on his
belly is a tribute to his childhood sweetheart and wife, Kim: KIM - ROT
IN PIECES. She has inspired two songs involving his apparent murder of
her. In one we are treated to the gurgling sounds of Kim's throat being
sliced. He allegedly inspired Kim to attempt suicide.
What can be
done? First, most parents have to realize they are partly responsible
for inviting this misanthrope into their children's lives. Fully 60
percent of teens have their own TVs in their bedrooms. Why? What does
that add to your child's life? The sewer of MTV that brings Eminem and
his competitors for free to pollute the minds of your children.
I suggest that
you sit in their bedroom one evening and watch this hideous trash with
them. If your kids have Eminem's albums, listen to them. Enter into your
kids' entertainment world. Learn what they are seeing and hearing.
Then, when you
have evidence, make some new rules. Throw away Eminem's seductive siren
song to sin. Unplug your kid's TV and put it in the attic.
When the
outraged protests erupt, offer an important olive branch. Invite to take
your son or daughter to a great vacation spot on their next birthday,
just you and that teen or pre-teen, alone. I did this with my sons when
they turned 13. It was wonderful.
More on that
next week.
Copyright 2001 Michael J.
McManus. |