Guantanamo Bay is the location of the infamous United States Naval Base at the southern-most tip of Cuba. The U.S. gained control over this portion of Cuba under the 1903 Cuban-American Treaty which granted U.S. lease over the area. Cubans are continually irritated by the American inhabitants by claiming that the American presence is illegal and a threat to international law. Within the Naval Base however, there is a detainment camp for suspected terrorists established in 2002. It has been rumored that cruel and unusual punishment comes from within the confines of the establishment. Recently, I found this bizarre article that confirmed these beliefs.
Turns out many popular artists songs are blasted through the cells as an "interrogation tool". Artists such from "AC/DC, Britney Spears, the Bee Gees, Marilyn Manson and many other groups" have been reported of being used to torture the inmates. Even "the Meow mix cat food jingle, the Barney theme song and an assortment of Sesame Street tunes also were pumped into detainee cells". It was also reported that there was "repeated playing of a song called "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" by the band Drowning Pool" by one weary inmate.
Many other musicians have decided to take a stand against Gitmo such as "Pearl Jam, R.E.M., and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails are among the musicians who have joined the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo". If Gitmo is closed down an American community must be willing to take custody of the prisoners. President Obama plans to have Gitmo closed by January 2010 but the "Republican opposition on Capitol Hill have made fulfilling that promise less likely".
I found this article very interesting as well as puzzling. There is no doubt in my mind that those prisoners are being tortured but I never thought that they were being tortured through music. If I were an artist whose music was used for torture purposes, I would be thoroughly angry. I think it's about time to close down old Gitmo because it's becoming clear that it's just an inhumane torture prison. I also believe that the celebrity support and endorsement from musicians alike will shine light on the fact that something must be done regarding Gitmo. Hopefully Obama can make it happen by January 2010 like he had planned.
Source: http://new.music.yahoo.com/various-artists/news/musicians-crank-up-the-volume-on-guantanamo-debate--61995482
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Current Event #6; Torture Music Used At Guantanamo Bay
Posted by Elysia at 2:01 PM
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1 comments:
Wow, I have never heard of anything like this before and I find it rather appalling. Music should not be used for torture purposes and if I found out my music was being used anything other than entertainment, I would feel like I was doing almost part of the torturing, which is something no artist should have to feel like.
On the other hand, if I were being tortured, I would much rather listen to an annoying piece of music than anything else those people think up. Perhaps that makes the torture less effective, but since most of the torture inflicted on the prisoners is purposeless anyway it shouldn't matter.
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