Woodstock 1999: The Rioting Of Woodstock 1969

The rioting of Woodstock 1999 was an uncontrollable mass of violence and destruction. Woodstock ’99 was a music festival that attempted to imitate the same event thirty years ago — Woodstock 1969. Woodstock ’69 was an event that encouraged peace and love through rock ’n’ roll as a peaceful protest of the Vietnam War. However, the Woodstock event of 1999 turned out very differently, with reports of fans tearing down the plywood walls, starting bonfires, and looting the merchandise shops. In the aftermath there were even several accounts of sexual assaults. This event begs onlookers to question what exactly was so different in these two events that one could successfully encourage such serenity among people while the other seemed only to breed

While music can encourage violence, there is no evidence to prove that music is a direct cause of violence. Listening to a song about rape cannot force someone to commit that act. Despite this, arguments are still made that music can cause violence. It is proven that “auditory stimuli — and therefore music — bypass ‘conscious awareness’ in eliciting emotions, suggesting that in some cases ‘affect precedes interference’” (Johnson, 17, 2009). However, even this claim cannot justify that music directly begets violence. The music to which Johnson is referring to is the instrumental part of the music; not what the lyrics are saying. This is much like how a sharp, out of tune note could create a sense of discomfort or may elicit goosebumps on a listener 's arm. The music described by Johnson has no message, and thusly no encouragement for violent acts; the reactions to such music are simple sensations, and not involuntary acts of