Classical Weaponized

This recently appeared on the Trombone-L (email list), and I just had to post it.

I had hoped that this email would prompt me to say something useful, or intellectual, or witty. I haven't made it that far, however. My opinion is actually relatively brief.

If Mozart in detention works wonders, then who am I to argue? Fact be fact, I cannot explain my way out of it. Shortwave baroque creates some uncomfortable juxtapositions, and perhaps that discomfort leads the listeners to conform.

On the other hand, I dislike a pure association between musical genres and a moral or ethical position. I am reminded of Gary Larson's Far Side cartoon where the great deity chef sprinkles the Earth with the jar of jerks, "Just to make it interesting." No community lacks its spattering of jerks and saints, no genre is loved purely by liberals or conservatives, and no art is an absolute divider between two parties.

Provocative story, in any case.

Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2010 18:31:49 1000
From: Luke Aaron
To: trombone-l@XXXXXXXX
Subject: [Trombone-l] Classical music weaponized

Classical music is being used increasingly in Great Britain as a tool for social
control and a deterrent to bad behavior. One school district subjects badly
behaving children to hours of Mozart in special detention. Unsurprisingly, some
of these youth now find classical music unbearable. Recorded classical music is
blared through speakers [1] at bus stops, outside stores, train stations and
elsewhere to drive away loitering youth. Apparently it works. Detentions are
down, graffiti is reduced, and naughty youth flee because they find classical
music repugnant.

The last line of the article is:
The dangerous message being sent to young people is clear: 1) you are scum; 2)
classical music is not a wonder of the human world, it's a repellent against
mildly anti-social behavior.

What are your thoughts on this? As horrible as the idea may seem (using Mozart
as a tool of torture), it appears to actually work. What does this say about
the youth of today? What does this mean for the future of music?

[1]
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/203685-Weaponizing-Mozart-How-Britain-...
--
Luke Aaron
https://launchpad.net/~lukeaar