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Show j "By Brian Gray A popular greeting card shows a doctor speaking to a woman in the hospital delivery unit. The doctor is pointing at a newly-born newly-born infant and is telling the mother, "Listen, lady, I just deliver them. ..I don't explain them!" The doctor has little need for explanation. But I can't say the same for some parents as evidenced by last weekend's problems at a Salt Palace rock concert. The concert featured two mega-metal rock bands named Judas Priest and Slayer. For those readers not well-versed in hard rock music, the groups are similar. Musically, hard rock bands have as much talent as any one-year old pounding a spoon on the metal tray of a high chair. Vocally, the bands sound like a dog caught in barbed wire. Judas Priest members have become millionaires by singing such romantic ballads as "Turbo Lover" and "Love Bites." I can't fault them for their success. They are living proof that America is a bountiful land of opportunity, even for the mediocre. And I also can't fault their young fans, adolescents who worry less about song lyrics than Clearasil. The young fans are merely following a long tradition of rebellion. In pre-radio years, young, rebellious Americans threw tea into Boston Harbor. Har-bor. Today, in a country enamored by head sets, the rebellious youngsters opt for shrieking and groaning, the same beastial sounds one can hear at Hogle Zoo on a clear, sunny day. Musical rebellion occurs every generation. Older Americans were disgusted when their children applauded Frank Sinatra. Once grown up, these same children warned against the evils of Elvis. Fifteen years later, the Hound Dog generation denounced the Rolling Stones. But one thing has changed: The tendency for some parents to shirk their responsibility. The police report from the Salt Palace is a good example. Before the rock groups even took the stage, police had hauled about 40 teenagers into a special detention room. Most of the kids were hopped-up on liquids and chemicals, and police were kept busy confiscating mini-bottles, hip flasks and drug paraphernalia. para-phernalia. The paramedics were called in since many of the teens were unable to stand up. One security official described the scene as reminiscent of Dante's Inferno. If a parent were called by the police and told that their teenager teena-ger had been transformed into an incoherent, wobbly jerk, you would think the parent would be concerned. Before the teen left in an ambulance, you would think Mom and Dad would load themselves in the family car and haul the kid back to his or her bedroom and a firm scolding. You would think his head-set privilege might be suspended. But not according to the police report. In a story published by a Salt Lake daily newspaper, a police officer says some parents react to the news by saying, "So what? It's a concert, isn't it? They're supposed to party!" In that case, says the cop, the teenager if mobile and vertical vertic-al is simply "written up" and turned loose. "That's all we can do," said the police officer. The police should take one further step. They should admit the parents to a mental health facility for a thorough examination. examina-tion. Apparently, I'm not alone in this view. At this weekend's LDS General Conference, L. Tom Perry, Quorum of the Twelve, urged parents not to abdicate their responsibility of teaching children to institutions and church leaders. "Parents who expect some other institution to pick up this responsibility," responsibil-ity," he said, "are expecting what never was and what never will be." He was shocked, he said, at how many children do not know how to make a bed, turn off lights or mow the lawn. If he is shocked by the lack of household chores, imagine his reaction if he entered Dante's Inferno! In 30 years we've gone from Pat Boone's "Puppy Love" to "Turbo Lover." But while that hardly represents progress, the problem is not the rock concert. The problem is the father and mother who allow Judas Priest to babysit. I don't think Judas Priest has the proper credentials for such a task. |