Report: Protest At Missouri Heavy Metal Festival Leads To Dialogue
June 27, 2004Jeremiah Tucker of The Joplin Globe reports: Five people representing the City of Refuge Ministries stood outside the Underground Revolution Theater in Joplin, Missouri about 6 p.m. Saturday (June 26) to hand out leaflets and talk with the people attending a Joplin heavy-metal concert (see previous story).
However, they probably did more listening than talking.
For nearly 45 minutes different people engaged the protesters, sometimes loudly, in conversation making points that the concert was drug-and-alcohol free and that sometimes teens need something different than preaching.
Dan Anderson, an evangelist with City of Refuge Ministries, said that they were a little shocked that most of the points their detractors made were delivered with a liberal dose of profanity, and he said he still wasn't swayed and believed that the heavy-metal music was negative and was not beneficial to youth.
"They're so blinded and caught up with it themselves that they can't be persuaded," Anderson said.
The two-day, heavy-metal music festival was originally scheduled to play in the Cesspool, a music venue inside Feebletown Skatepark, 1039 S. Joplin Ave. But on Tuesday the Joplin Fire Department did an inspection of the Feebletown and the Cesspool. The fire marshal and building inspector returned Thursday and shut down the skatepark and the Cesspool for building- and fire-code violations. Read more.
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