It really saddens me to see how many listeners send in emails saying they need advice because they are being bullied. I remember when I was a kid, there was a boy who really was a bully. We’d take the same route to grade school every day and one winter, he threw snowballs at me that really hurt. Until one day, I made a snowball and stuck a piece of a broken icicle in it. Hit him right in the face. Gave him a black eye. He went crying to school, I had to go to the principal’s office, but he stopped bothering me after that! Now I’m not saying it’s ok to be violent, but today things are different. Check out this site if you are being bullied: www.stopbullying.gov. And Pulse of Radio reports Disturbed frontman David Draiman took to Twitter on Wed (Jan 18th) to comment on anti-social online behavior such as hate speech and cyber-bullying. Writing in response to some other tweets on the same topic, Draiman posted, “One of the biggest problems with Internet culture is people’s tendency to write whatever, without thinking it through properly beforehand. I encourage everyone on here to make informed statements based on forethought and fact. Don’t let the fact that you are simply sitting behind a keyboard, with no one watching, and nothing to be accountable for, lull you into believing that your words/actions do not have consequences.” Addressing the “consequences,” Draiman continued, “Bullying, for example. Whether in person or online, it is immoral, and reprehensible, and the effects it has are crystal clear.” He went on, “There are always repercussions, from tweets to Facebook posts. Friends lost, relationships ended, criminals caught by bragging about the crimes they have done . . . Bullies have been called out and charged for such occurrences as well.” He concluded, “The thing about the written word is that it stays. People without conscience are just that. Unfortunately, this medium gives them a greater opportunity to do damage.” Earlier in his posts, Draiman emphasized that he was not for the curtailing of free speech, saying, “Anything is OK to type, that’s what freedom of speech is; but to everything, there are consequences & repercussions.” Hit http://www.stopcyberbullying.org for more….Geezer Butler posted a message on the Black Sabbath site telling fans Tony Iommi has written two new songs since his diagnosis of a form of cancer called Lymphoma. Geezer said the encouragement and well wishes from their fans has helped to spark the spirits of everyone in the band. Sabbath is determined to be on this summer’s Download Festival bill as headliners. Stay tuned….RockAccess reports Trapt is working on a new album “Reborn,” and is offering up a new song , “Bring It” for 49 cents at Vibedeck.com/trapt. Check it out and the band has scheduled a few club dates, See Road Rage.…Tons of Birthdays today! Paul Stanley of Kiss is 60! Offspring bassist Greg Kriesel is 47, Sid Wilson of Slipknot is 35, Rob Bourdon of Linkin Park is 33, Matt Tuck of Bullet for My Valentine is 32. Sunday, Steven Adler of Guns N’ Roses will be 47 and Ben Moody of We Are The Fallen and ex-Evanescence will be 32. This weekend, be sure to check out hardDrive and tonight’s hardDrive XL with Lou Brutus! And GO BIG BLUE!
