I am writing this in response to a story about racism that was published in the Feb. 9 edition on page three.
I feel that it related racism and the metal scene in Prince George in a way that is far from realistic in every sense. The metal scene in Prince George has always been steady and a popular subculture group for teenagers and seasoned "heavy metallers."
It has it ups and downs, but recently, as everywhere else in the world, it's getting bigger and bigger constantly. I should know, I play in one of the many metal bands that are in town, I have been involved in many sides of the music scene and have been going to local shows since I was 13. I'm now 21.
I do realize the story spoke of black metal predominantly, but the majority of people in society aren't going to be able to distinguish one type of heavy metal from the next, there are literally too many genres to name nowadays.
From my perspective, the local metal scene and the metal scene all over the world has always been a total melting pot of societies, races, and cultures. This story painted a picture of violence, hate, and racism in a music scene that is filled with respect, and for the most part, a bunch of good-hearted people.
I know there was probably a whole bunch of teenager's parents who read this story and thought "my son/daughter has been going to these metal shows and that's the kinds of things and people that are involved?" Well, this isn't the case, it never has been.
Anywhere and everywhere you go there are going to be people who have racist views, or perhaps, are involved with the drug trade or gangs, etc. But for the most, you never know and will never know. But as soon as one of those people surfaces to the public, we all, for some reason, get a bad rep because we listen to heavy metal and are part of the subculture they were seen at.
I hope this opens a lot of people's and parents' eyes to the fact that just because a small group of white supremacists listen to black metal does not mean that our music scene is involved with things like violence and hate, etc. This is ridiculous.
Sam Wright
Prince George
