Karen Hipp, a sixth-grade science teacher from South Carolina, was recently busted by her superiors for disseminating inappropriate material to her students in the form of a CD featuring “songs about killing and death,” including the work of schlocky Scandinavian rockers H.I.M. Shocked parents, or the fleshy midsections of shocked parents, were calmly captured by the dispassionate cameras of the local Fox News affiliate as they asked to hear Hipp’s lamentations as she’s driven from town or at least that she play the kids, like, some Slayer next time.
“These are sixth-graders listening to songs about committing suicide or killing others,” said one of the parents who did not want to be identified. “I found it very inappropriate.”
This parent said he first heard the music after his children brought home a CD which they say has a sampling of the songs Hipp plays in class on it. His children also told him that Hipp has downloaded several of the songs for the students to take home and listen to.
One of the songs, called “Join Me In Death,” is by a rock band called “Him.” It has lyrics like, “We are so young. Our lives have just begun. Baby, join me in death.”
While no one’s yet to explain why Hipp turned the weekly pizza party into an exploration of man’s more necro impulses, the video report at the Fox News website does reveal that Hipp also included Drowning Pool’s “Bodies” in her suiCD-R, so perhaps she was just preparing the kids for their eventual career as low-level functionaries in our armed services?
Teacher Plays Songs About Suicide, Parents Say [FoxCarolina via Blabbermouth]
The heartagram is one of the greatest things ever. It’s like, there it is.
When i saw the heartagram and started to read the post i knew that it was gonna involve “Join Me”… Next time what: “Rip Out The Wings Of a Butterfly” promoves cruelty on animals?
Little Billy, did you see Mommy on television? I told the world how concerned , I am for your developing mind…… Now go to your room and play “Vice City” alone ,so we dont have to inter-act until Dinner time.
I played my little sister Aphex Twin’s “Come To Daddy” with that great lyric, “I want your soul!” and she turned out alright.
Play them some classical, we know nobody committed suicide in those days!
I used to play Testament-The Gathering for my 10YO brother all the time back in the day. It cured him of his debilitating love of Ska and he is now a happy, healthy college freshman.
Do Not Resuscitate!
This reminds me of the time I played ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ at couples counseling.
@Hiphopopotamus: This reminds me of the time I played ‘Closer’ at the zoo.
“sui-CD-R”? Very inspired.
So suicide is inappropriate for sixth graders now? I was in sixth grade in 1994-1995, and damn near every day someone donned a “Kurt Cobain 1967-1994″ t-shirt. Which I’m pretty sure many of their parents bought/tacitly condoned/look the other way on. And frankly, I never heard much of a suicide motif in either “Join Me in Death” or “Bodies.”
The “Join Me in Death” song is not good for everyone. As we observe in the title, that there has a word “join” and “death” so it means that when the person dies they want us to be died also.
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HIM is my absolute favorite band.
I’ve been listening to them since I was 14, and I’m 21 now.
I used to play their songs in school and I never had anyone complain about the music.
I was in the National Honor Society, in T.A.T.U (Teens against tobacco use), in F.C.C.L.A (Family community and career leaders of America), and I was a student judge at the local courthouse.
HIM’s music is simply good, and it doesn’t corrupt the youth.
If people killed themselves after listening to this music, there was probably more to the situation than we knew, and they would have done it regardless of if they heard HIM’s songs.
That’s my opinion.