Afroman, well known for his 2001 hit, succeeded in his mission to make a
comeback…but not necessarily for his music as he had hoped. If you haven’t
seen the .30 second video of Afroman slapping a fan (but nonetheless stage
trespasser), watch it now . The most disturbing aspect of the Afroman
incident was arguably not the blow to the concert goer’s face, but rather the
musician’s seeming lack of concern right after, immediately returning back
to playing his guitar, not missing a beat.
Some believe this cavalier attitude (only reinforced by his tweet later on
that states, “it is what it is”) could suggest that he’s reacted similarly before.
But what causes this acting out? There are many reasons that this might
occur:
- Learning that violent coping skills are acceptable from a trusted
individual, such as an abusive parent or close friend, and therefore
not learning more effective ways to handle pent up emotion or not
learning the value of self control. - An attitude that their target is out to get them/ inferior to them/a
nuisance, and the most immediate way to deal with them is through
intimidation and violence. (He failed to react the same way when the
male concert goer walked on stage too, but that may also be due to
remaining in shock from the first trespasser.) - A loss of control. For example, in his apology, Afroman cites his quest
to make a career comeback. Thus, despite not receiving consent, the
target walks on and dances on stage and attempts to dance on him,
may have sent him into a rage because it took the focus off his talent
and disrupted his focus. - Not having an outlet for his emotions, and learning that anything
short of aggression is weakness – particularly because it works. Many
support the idea that Afroman was sexually assaulted on stage and
some say that warrants self-defense. It is important to note that
self-defense requires necessary and proportionate force to that of the
initial aggressor. - The anger may not even have anything to do with the concertgoer.
Perhaps Afroman keeps anger inside, which manifests at arbitrary
triggers.
What do you think?
