The question everyone’s been asking since June is this: Is Randy Blythe really guilty? Well, let’s look at the facts:
Fact 1: I wasn’t there, so I don’t know.
Fact 2: You weren’t there, so you don’t know either.
Fact 3: You’re not a lawyer, so shut the fuck up.
I feel really sorry for both Randy and the fan who got killed, because this is unfortunate and no one wanted this to happen. But why are people everywhere throwing verdicts around? How do they know?
Here’s something very basic you need to understand about killing someone: If you start shoving your friend as a joke, and then at one point you push him harder, he falls down, hits his head and dies, you’re fucked. Sure, it’s not as bad as purposely killing a man, but it’s still involuntary manslaughter, and you’re still going to jail.
So you don’t have to be a cold-blooded murderer to be responsible for someone’s death, you just have to be really unlucky. So in Randy’s case, I have no idea what happened and if he’s responsible in any way, but some of his fans are just not being realistic about it.
My honest opinion, and this is coming from someone who is not a Lamb of God fan, Randy never intended to hurt anyone. I don’t know the guy, and again, I wasn’t there, but I am sure he just wanted to keep playing and finish his set. Unfortunately, security didn’t kick the kid out the first time he did that crap, so now look what happened.
Here’s what Phil Anselmo had to say on the matter:
I mean, you get on the stage at a metal show, you, nine times out of ten, are pretty much gonna jump off the front of the stage. He hits his head on the ground… I’m no lawyer, I’m no cop, but there’s this thing called ‘free will,’ and when you do something like that, that, to me, is accidental death.
I disagree with Phil, because security should not allow you to get on stage, period. As long as it’s so easy to hurt yourself or hurt anyone else while jumping into the crowd, as cool as it is, don’t do it. If you allow this type of behavior, then eventually bad luck might make an appearance.
It’s all fun and games until someone dies. I’m sorry it happened to Randy, but it could have happened to Pantera back in the early 90s, and it can happen to anyone who lets fans get on their stage and get crazy. The intensity of metal music is what we all love about it, and to share that intensity with the band and the other fans in the pit is great.
But as a musician you should simply be more careful, and ask your security to keep the fans on the floor. It’s also a good idea if you don’t get involved personally, and let security do their job. Just a thought though, again, I wasn’t there. And neither were most people commenting on this matter.
Image credit: Wikipedia
Phil quote credit: Blabbermouth
