ROCK OUT CENSORSHIP (R.O.C.)
P.O. Box 147, Jewett, Ohio 43986
http://www.theroc.org

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 1998

CONTACT:
John Woods: roc-hq@theroc.org
Kenny Moore: roc@theroc.org

GRASSROOTS ANTI-CENSORSHIP ORGANIZATION CONDEMNS POLICIES AND PRACTICES OF TEXAS- BASED CRIME PREVENTION GROUP

Approximately 70 people attended the Friday and Saturday sessions held in Fort Worth. CPRC organizers urged teachers to closely monitor fans of such bands as Marilyn Manson and other metal and goth groups. School officials were told that regular searches of lockers should be conducted as well as closely monitoring what books they are checking out of the library and reading, and what internet sites are being visited by these young people. To the parents of young people who are fans of certain bands it was strongly suggested that they hospitalize their children for various evaluations based solely on their particular musical taste.

CPRC Director of Programs, Ramon Jacquez told the group that just being a Manson fan constitutes reasonable grounds for these actions. Jacquez went on to urge school and police officials to classify goth-fans as a street gang and viewed the same as such notorious groups as the Crips, the Bloods and the Latin Kings.

"This is alarming, no it's outright appalling," says John Woods, co-founder of the Ohio-based Rock Out Censorship. "If school, police and parents implement and follow the course of actions being put forth by groups like CPRC, I foresee the rights and liberties of many a Texas youth getting trampled under the jackboot of oppression. This will open the door for unlimited searches, seizures and unforeseen harassment."

Rock Out Censorship is also casting a suspicious eye upon the involvement of members of the Arlington Police Department with this group. It was reported in numerous news sources that Arlington Police Officers actively took part in these seminars. One officer, Buddy Evans passed out material from Manson-related websites and from Manson's 1998 autobiography, "The Long Hard Road Out of Hell." He also screened 12 minutes of Manson's hour-long home video, "Dead to the World" (1997).

"This is very scary," says Woods. "Knowing that school, police and community officials are cooking up such a campaign against a certain segment of Texas youth just outrages me. These are the same people who are the first to voice "concern" about kids being exposed to 'harmful matter' when it comes to music, films, art , the internet or what-have you. What about the harm these young people are going to be subjected to at the hands of the CPRC. "These people constantly talk about 'protecting the children', we at ROC pose the question 'who is going to protect the children from them?' This is not about protecting children, this is about absolute oppression of children."

"If such selective application of the term 'gang' is allowed to apply to people simply for their taste in music being something differing from that which authority would have them listen to, we would pose the question 'what's to stop them from applying the same type of monitoring on people for their political beliefs'? Using this skewed logic, religious Republicans could just as easily term people holding liberal Democratic beliefs as being 'gang members' simply due to the 'threat' such people pose to the political beliefs of those pushing this. " adds R.O.C.'s Florida Representative Kenny Moore. Moore goes on to say that, ""This is clearly beyond unconstitutional and unacceptable in a free society--with the idea of hospitalizing kids for their musical tastes beginning to move into the realm of outright Nazism. We call for the immediate dismissal/resignation of any government official (be they legislators, police administration, or school administration) that is considering implementing the policies being recommended by the CPRC."