I find MArilyn Manson a strange chatacrer, a odd guy indeed. but he's just doing his own thing and has all the right he wants to live the way he wants. a connection to columbine is stupid, those kids were not forced to do what they did, and it's pathetic to be "influenced" to such a crime in that way.

He wasn't responsible for the tragedy at Columbine any more than Amy Grant is responsible for "Jesus Camp"! He's just a lightening rod. And I'm sure, to some degree, he enjoys that property of his persona. It's the same thing that people try to pin on violent video games. They're all just red herrings for preexistent issues within certain individuals. It's far easier to those who do not understand something to lump disparate things together based on superficial similarities other spurious relationships than it is to actually spend time thinking about something that may be personally uncomfortable or socially distasteful.

I think Marilyn Manson has got the right to sing whatever he wants without being accused of influencing some crazy teenagers to go and kill their peers. Those Columbine murderers were not right in the head in the first place and I am sure that listening to Marilyn Manson did not make them do what they did... they could have listened to Mozart and still would have done what they did! For the record... I really dont like Marilyn Manson!!! Seriously...I loathe the guy!!

I don't think that Marilyn Manson has anything to do with Columbine. The association is so weak that the suggestion offends the mind of the rational thinker. Transferring responsibility for an individual's actions to an artist in that individual's preferred music genre is the worst form of self-deception. If I drive with my baby on my lap and not in a safety seat, is that Britney Spears' fault? Do we really have that little regard for the concept of personal responsibility? I think blaming Marilyn Manson is a cop-out for poor parenting, and easier than actually examining the situation and understanding the complex dynamics leading to the result. If those youths felt more connected to a star they'd never met than to their parents, well, that speaks for itself. Marilyn is an artist and a capitalist who has made a fortune on the prejudices in our society. He seems articulate and well aware of how to market himself and his art.

To be real honest with you, I try not to think about Marilyn Manson at all, and never do unless he he is on the news and I am forced to listen. I don't care for him, looks wise or otherwise, personally. But I am sure he is a swell person to some.

When a dude's gettin bullied and shoots up your school And they blame it on Marilyn - and the heroin Where were the parents at? And look at where it's at middle America Now it's a tragedy Now it's so sad to see An upper class city having this happening Then attack Eminem cause I rap this way But I'm glad cause they feed me the fuel That I need for the fire to burn and it's burnin' and I have returned You can blame it on the music all you want, I blame it on the parents

Absolutely not. Look at this way (sorry for the macabre sense): why didn't all his other fans shoot up their schools in that case? Same thing with the violence in movies, etc, for example just cause I see a girl sleep around to become liked, or someone kill themselves to stop their pain, or others, etc etc, doesn't mean I'm gonna go and do the same thing. Those 2 boys with Columbine were disturbed and troubled for many other reasons and long before Marilyn came along. Lots of kids are made fun of in school but don't shoot their peers because of it. I understand why they did it, BUT I don't justify it. So many other factors, obviously family life, and maybe something tragic/disturbing that happened to them in childhood (I'm a huge believer of so many things in adulthood, or adolescence, being a result of something in childhood, it's the molding time).

My thoughts on Marylin Manson are that he's a very talented artist who has done an excellent job of marketing himself and cultivating an image. Marylin Manson's music may be rather disturbing, but music alone can't make people do anything unless they were previously inclined towards it anyway, if someone is disturbed enough to massacre their classmates, is the deciding factor as to whether they actually do it or not really going to be a *Song*? I don't blame Marylin Manson for the Columbine Shootings any more than I blame artists like 50 Cent or the late Tupak Shakur for inner city gang violence. (In fact, Manson deserves even less blame for violence amongst his fans than most "Gangsta-Rappers" because the vast majority of his music isn't literally about killing people, whereas a lot of rap... Well, is.) And besides, mainstream music and art in general tends to follow social trends, not the other way around. As Manson himself proves by example to some degree, it's perfectly possible to enjoy or even create disturbing art and still be a rational person with enough sanity not to go around shooting people, and therefor enough free will to be held accountable if you ever do. I think that if anyone should be blamed in incidents like Columbine, it's the killers themselves, and the parents who are supposed to be supportive and look out for their child's mental and emotional wellbeing. If these parents think Marylin Manson's music by itself can make a child so disturbed and irrational that they'd kill people, then perhaps they as parents should have been a little more on the ball in the first place and figured out that perhaps it was time to have to look into therapy for little Eric and Dylan, or maybe even get really drastic and <"Gasp!"> *Talk* to them. And if anyone wants to lay blame for violence in the world, why not start holding religion accountable for all the violence and carnage it's been associated with since its very conception?

I'm not a big fan of his, but I'm certain he had nothing to do with Columbine. I believe it was later revealed that the shooters found his music to be shit.

I think he's one heck of an entertainer and very good at marketing himself as the answer to how to freak your parents out the most. Trust me, folks, once the make-up and the stage costume comes off the only guy in the room is Brain Warner. I lay none of the blame on him. He did not force these kids to have his CDs or listen to them nor did he ever tell them to go to their school and shoot people. Nor did he buy them the guns. Music's effect is so limited and short term that only those who are predisposed would be that deeply effected by it. When we listen to music and the lyrics are sung we tend to blend the two together so that the words don't stand out. It's like having a conversation on a busy street. It would have to also be way more violent and repeative and coupled with a lifestyle filled with violence to have any effect. I would say that the images they saw in the video games they played and the movies they watched had a much deeper effect since males are more visually then auditoryly stimulated. The games themselves are also not to blame. They just had an effect. I blame Dylan and Eric the most. They were the ones who commited the act and nobody made them do it. They had other options and were aware of them. They chose to do what they did because they wanted too. I also lay a nice big heap of the blame on the parents that were so uninvolved with their kids that they had no idea that two teenage boys were amassing an armoury in their bedrooms or that they were deeply disturbed. A small peice also goes to the person who was taking them to gun shows and helping them buy guns and explosives as well as how-to books. I give a small chunk of the blame to the school for not stopping the bulling and not paying attention to the signs these two gave off that they were not right in the head. The teachers saw it why didn't the school councelier? The smallest piece goes to the bullies that would not leave these two alone even though they knew what they were doing was wrong.

While it has been proven that constant exposure to music that incites violence can ready people for such an action(groups of soldiers listening to death meatal before patrol to "get the rage going"), the fact remains that music is incapable of pullng the trigger, much the same way that a gun manufacturer can't pull the trigger.

a great theatrical act,just as alice cooper was.

He's fake as boob implants are. He is just a show.