Down in Muhlenburg, Kentucky, lives a 31-year old Exodus fan named James Evans. According to Evans family, he's a fan of heavy music in general and likes posting lyrics to his favorite songs on Facebook. So on August 24, Evans posted the lyrics to Exodus' "Class Dismissed (A Hate Primer)" from their Exhibit B: The Human Condition record. Specifically the following lyrics from the song.
"Student bodies lying dead in the halls, a blood splattered treatise of hate. Class dismissed is my hypothesis, gun fire ends in debate."
As fans of heavier music, we've all seen worse. Apparently nobody else down in Kentucky has though, because the post got Evans arrested. Seriously.
According to a story published by NBC 14 News, Mike Drake, the Muhlenberg County school resource officer, said multiple agencies received calls concerned about the post and Evans was arrested for terroristic threatening.
Exodus guitarist Gary Holt released this statement about the fan's arrest:
“The idea that an individual in this great country of ours could be arrested for simply posting lyrics to a song is something I never believed could happen in a free society. James Evans was simply posting lyrics to a band he likes on Facebook, and he was locked up for it. The song ‘Class Dismissed (A Hate Primer)’ was written as a view through the eyes of a madman and in no way endorses that kind of fucked up behavior. It was the Virginia Tech massacre perpetrated by Seung-Hui Cho that was the subject and inspiration to write the song, one in which we put the brakes on playing it live after the Sandy Hook shooting, as we did not want to seem insensitive.
As some of us in Exodus are parents, of course these things hit close to home, it's every parent's worst fear. These moments are the stuff of nightmares, and life, as well as music, isn't always pretty. But when we start to overreact to things like lyrics by any band, including Exodus, and start arresting people, we are caving in to paranoia and are well on our way to becoming an Orwellian society.”
Listen, I get the fear of yet another school shooting in this county. They're happening often and everyone is extremely concerned just as they should be. That being said, technically the dude didn't do anything wrong. I absolutely understand wanting to investigate the guy after he posts something like that and maybe asking him and his family some questions. Maybe even looking into if he has access to weaponry, who he knows, whatever. We live in that kind of world now… but arresting the dude and straight up labeling him a terrorist? That might be one step too far, even as a precaution.
What are your thoughts? Should Evans have thought twice about posting the lyric or should measures have been taken prior to the arrest?
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HNZrHZ0-xI[/youtube]
