Yesterday evening, a horrific act of terrorism was carried out in Manchester, UK as music fans left an Ariana Grande show. As the 2015 Bataclan massacre proved, soft targets like concerts, where non-political music fans are going to have fun can prove to be an opportune target for terrorists. Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe shared his thoughts on the Manchester bombing, which has left at least 22 dead and 60 injured, after a comment from an acquaintance of his:

 

I am so sick of reading headlines like this. We as a race, THE HUMAN RACE, have to do better than this. A music concert is supposed to be a place where people gather to forget their problems for a few hours, not somewhere to roll the dice with your life. At times like this, I think the only thing a normal person can do is try to be the best, most moral, human they can be- in our jaded era, I believe this is more necessary than ever. For instance, this evening after I read this headline, I ran into a very loose acquaintance at the grocery store & mentioned the news. This person joked “Maybe they did it because it was an Ariana Grande show.” I was too shocked to even say anything- I utterly fail to find the humor in the fact that at least 19 people are dead & many more injured, whatever you may think of someone’s music. I know nothing about Ariana Grande or any of her songs, but I can guarantee that people of many different races, religions, & beliefs were at that show for the same reason- to have a good time. Some of them won’t go home tonight. This is not fucking funny to me. This sort of jaded, joking, mentality is evidence to me of the continual chipping away of our humanity by the pathetically low standards of our era. We are better than this, people. It’s dehumanizing, just like the freakish & twisted beliefs that allowed this asshole terrorist to kill a bunch of people they didn’t know. Everything you do & say has consequences, even if you don’t believe that. Make sure you do your best to think & speak with a moral heart- maybe your kindness will prevent someone from going down a dark path- you never know who you may effect positively. My thoughts & prayers are with y’all in the U.K. tonight.

A post shared by D. Randall Blythe (@drandallblythe) on May 22, 2017 at 7:06pm PDT

Sure, most metal fans might not like Ariana Grande because she plays pop music. That’s totally beside the point, however. That a terrorist chose a show that would be frequented by teens and tweens, most of them girls, is awful, and the fact that all those killed an injured were just there for a night of music they enjoyed regardless of their political or religious leanings is sad and senseless. Think about Blythe’s words before you make a tasteless joke.

Bram Teitelman

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