The Huffington Post has an article up titled “A History of Music Torture in the ‘War on Terror,’” and it’s right up there for some of the most idiotic spew I’ve ever seen. The words “music” and “torture” together are funny anyway, but their tales of mental anguish borne by detainees forced to listen to music they don’t like rank far beyond stupidity.
Describing how he experienced music torture “on many occasions,” Ahmed said, “I can bear being beaten up, it’s not a problem. Once you accept that you’re going to go into the interrogation room and be beaten up, it’s fine. You can prepare yourself mentally. But when you’re being psychologically tortured, you can’t.” He added, however, that when music was introduced, at the end of 2003, “It makes you feel like you are going mad. You lose the plot and it’s very scary to think that you might go crazy because of all the music, because of the loud noise, and because after a while you don’t hear the lyrics at all, all you hear is heavy banging.”
Poor Ahmed. The trauma he endured must have been incredible. Life-changing. Scarring, even. [Just in case you haven't figured it out yet, my sarcasm meter is off the charts.]
What kind of music counts as “torture” these days?
# “F— Your God,” by Deicide
# “Bodies” by Drowning Pool
# “Enter the Sandman” by Metallica
# Eminem’s Slim Shady album
# Meat Loaf
# Aerosmith
# 2Pac, “All Eyez On Me”
# “Babylon” by David Gray (which, by the way, is a beautiful song performed on acoustic guitar.)
The amusing thing is, with the exception of Deicide, Eminem and 2Pac (all classless and talentless acts), I own this entire list. I listen to many different kinds of music, and my music is going while I sleep, while I work, read, study, eat, and just about any other time except when I’m watching TV. In other words, pretty much 24-7. I don’t think it’s torture. But these animals apparently do.
Naturally, the normal lefties in the music biz have all come out to throw stomping-foot fits about their music being used in such a “barbaric” manner. While I’m sure my dad, a Christian pastor who once grounded me for owning a copy of Van Halen’s 5150, would agree that having to listen to metal for hours or days on end would be something he’d do nearly anything to avoid, I’m fairly certain he wouldn’t consider it torture either.
Not every musician is a frothing-at-the-mouth liberal, however, and there was some sanity in the comments made by a member of the band Drowning Pool, as well as others interviewed.
Bob Singleton, who wrote the theme tune to Barney the Purple Dinosaur, which has been used extensively in the “War on Terror,” acknowledged in July that “if you blare the music loud enough for long enough, I guess it can become unbearable,” but refused to accept that there were any circumstances under which playing music relentlessly at prisoners could be considered torture. “It’s absolutely ludicrous,” he wrote. “A song that was designed to make little children feel safe and loved was somehow going to threaten the mental state of adults and drive them to the emotional breaking point?”
Indeed. So let’s take stock here. Waterboarding? No, can’t do that. Denying them clothing? No, that’s torture (for the guards, maybe). Sleep deprivation? Shame on us for even thinking it. Music? No! Rage Against the Machine’s singer says it’s “barbaric.”
So what, pray tell, are we allowed to do to terrorists to elicit information that will save American lives? No one on the “anti-torture” side has come up with a good idea yet. When they do, let me know. While they’re at it, let’s see if they can come up with a way to get the detainees to stop throwing their feces and trying to attack the guards while hiding behind their “religion.” Until then, I’ll be blasting Avenged Sevenfold in my earphones–with a smile, in hopes that somewhere, some detainee is listening to the same song.
