Heavy Metal Anthropology
I'm scheduling this episode to release later than I made it. I'll be attending a Slipknot, Horror, and Cypress Hill concert with my son when it shows up online. I don't remember the last metal concert I went to, probably would have been the early 80s, and I honestly don't recall that I've been to a live rap show. This will be interesting.
It triggered a memory of a concert my dad took me to in 1979 and how he showed me to approach situations where I might not be personally interested in the subject matter, but I could still gain important things from the experience.
If you're in circumstances and with people who have different, even opposing, views and preferences, instead of avoiding them and casting judgments one way or the other, use the opportunity to learn about them. Just shift into neutral and observe. What's in this experience for them? What are the values and desires that are driving their experience? At the very least, enjoy their enjoyment.
Tonight I expect to see things I wouldn't choose to look at any other time. But tonight isn't for me; it's for my kid. Just like I remember my dad's willingness to drive four hours to take my friend and me to the biggest concert event of the summer, I want my son to remember this one night from this quickly passing part of his life with some measure of fondness and gratitude.
#metal #geezer #peoplewatching