# Concert SUICIDE **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 29, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566 "2003-09-29T22:44:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Themis00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/13edae/32.png) [@Themis00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Themis00)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/1 "2003-09-29T22:44:10Z")
How FAR will people go? What’s next? ☹ [http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20030929/D7TS63400.html?PG=home&SEC=news](http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20030929/D7TS63400.html?PG=home&SEC=news) ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/2 "2003-09-29T22:55:38Z")
Well, it is now illegal to kill yourself on stage in Ft. Lauderdale. There goes my spring break plans. I’ll have to return the heard of Rhinos that would have trampled me… ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/3 "2003-09-29T23:50:01Z")
An excerpt from the CNN [article](http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/29/suicide.concert.ap/index.html). > [@](#): > > ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (AP) – The St. Petersburg city council passed a law Monday designed to scuttle a rock group’s plans to feature an onstage suicide. > > The hard-rock band Hell on Earth had said that a suicide by a terminally ill person would take place during a concert Saturday to raise awareness of right-to-die issues … > > … Tampa-based Hell of Earth, known for such outrageous onstage stunts as chocolate syrup wrestling and **grinding up live rats in a blender** , created the furor by announcing the suicide would happen Saturday at the Palace Theater in downtown St. Petersburg. [sup]EMPHASIS ADDED[/sup] Last time I checked, blending up fresh rat Margaritas constituted **animal cruelty**. How is it that these headlines aren’t about the conviction of these slimeballs on such charges? Increasing public awareness about the right-to-die is all well and fine. Setting the entire movement back by “glamorizing” it is more than a little fucking stupid. Blenderizing live rats goes beyond fucking stupid and into the realm of tort offense and just plain evil. [Mrs. Lovejoy] Won’t someone please think of the rodents! [/Mrs. Lovejoy] ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/4 "2003-09-30T02:23:50Z")
Old hat. G.G. Allin promised to commit suicide on stage on Halloween for years before he ODed in 1993. From the [All Music Guide](http://www.allmusic.com) entry on him: > [@](#): > > For years, G.G. Allin promised to leave this world with a suicide on stage, preferably on Halloween. Instead, Allin died a traditional rock & roll death – cocaine and heroin in the veins – which is the only traditional thing he ever did. > > In the strictest sense, Allin was not a musician, he was a performance artist with an insatiable desire to shock. Allin was notorious for performing in the nude, defecating and urinating on stage, smearing excrement all over himself and the audience, attacking the audience, mutilating himself, and ending the show quickly; his last concert lasted under ten minutes and ended in a riot. ---
**Author:** ![Conflict\_of\_Interest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/57b2e6/32.png) [@Conflict\_of\_Interest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Conflict_of_Interest)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/5 "2003-09-30T06:29:53Z")
**Last time I checked, blending up fresh rat Margaritas constituted animal cruelty. How is it that these headlines aren’t about the conviction of these slimeballs on such charges?** Not that I disagree with you on this \*\*Zenster{/B] But I’d need to see a cite on where the killing of rats constitutes animal cruelty. Or are there accepted methods of killing them and illegal methods? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/6 "2003-09-30T07:47:58Z")
> [@](#): > > “This show is far more than a typical Hell On Earth performance,” Tourtelot said in an e-mail last week. “This is about standing up for what you believe in, and I am a strong supporter of physician-assisted suicide.” _Suuuuure it is!_ Some folks need to get over themselves and stop believing their own bullshit. This is a crass publicity stunt, nothing more. And will do nothing but hurt the fight to legalize physician-assisted suicide. Dweeb. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/7 "2003-09-30T07:50:19Z")
> [@](#): > > In response, the city council met Monday morning to unanimously approve an emergency ordinance making it illegal to conduct a suicide for commercial or entertainment purposes, and to host, promote and sell tickets for such an event. What do they do the the suicide? Put his family in jail? Blenderize his pet rat?? 😮 ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/8 "2003-09-30T08:06:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Conflict of Interest \* > … Not that I disagree with you on this **Zenster** But I’d need to see a cite on where the killing of rats constitutes animal cruelty. Or are there accepted methods of killing them and illegal methods? You have got to be kidding? Legality or no, what message is being sent (free speech)? What animal (as in decapitated bats) should next be infused upon the stage? … Even in the name of (supposed) art? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/9 "2003-09-30T09:59:44Z")
You can kill rats to be vermin-free, but you really can’t grind 'em up for fun or entertainment. I know, it really doesn’t make much difference to the rat, but we have to _some_ standards ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/10 "2003-09-30T10:09:08Z")
Yes, but is there a law that says I **can’t** grind up rats? What if I was starving and had no other food, and I made sure the meat was relatively disease free? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/11 "2003-09-30T10:15:41Z")
Well, if the rats are dead to start out with, THEN you can use the grinder… ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/12 "2003-09-30T12:18:10Z")
Ah, but they have to die somehow. What if I had shot them with a BB gun? I need to find a copy of the Rules for Killing Critters… ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/13 "2003-09-30T12:43:05Z")
They were just doing a test to see if their makeup was safe for humans. The results were… inconclusive. ---
**Author:** ![NotMrKnowItAll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6bbea6/32.png) [@NotMrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotMrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/14 "2003-09-30T12:46:29Z")
Oh hell, my mom must be a hardened felon. She used to grind up mice in a blender to make “mouse medium” for her lab. Ahh, dear old mum, she made the best pate. ---
**Author:** ![Qazzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/aeb1de/32.png) [@Qazzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qazzz)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/15 "2003-09-30T13:25:27Z")
I don’t know if this really pertains to the discussion, but [this article](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,87249,00.html) is about a Danish artist whose “art” involved a bunch of blenders with goldfish in them. Viewers were at liberty to turn them on if they wished. Everybody complained that it was animal cruelty, but the judge thought differently; the fish were killed “instantly,” and therefore it wasn’t cruel. I suppose the same thing could be said about a rat. ---
**Author:** ![Misery\_Loves\_Co](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Misery\_Loves\_Co](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misery_Loves_Co)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/16 "2003-09-30T14:17:48Z")
Setting aside for a minute what **Qazzz** just said: What is so difficult to understand about the difference of grinding up a live animal vs grinding up a dead animal? Which would you prefer? To die, and /then/ be chopped into little bits, or to still be alive while you’re chopped into little bits? Please tell me you can see the difference? ( **NotMr** , I’m assuming that yer mother’s mice were pre-dead before they were puree’ed, no?) And **Qazzz** There’s a bit of a difference between a fish and a rat - one is a small object suspended in a liquid - the other is not. Have you ever tried to grind up a large solid obect (say, a carrot) in a blender? It doesn’t work very quickly. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/17 "2003-09-30T14:32:09Z")
Can’t anyone view this stunt as the pure marketing schtick that it is? ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/18 "2003-09-30T14:33:40Z")
Nice publicity stunt by Hell on Earth. I bet their web traffic has jumped 1000% ---
**Author:** ![Qazzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/aeb1de/32.png) [@Qazzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qazzz)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/19 "2003-09-30T15:02:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Misery Loves Co. \* > \*\*Setting aside for a minute what **Qazzz** just said: What is so difficult to understand about the difference of grinding up a live animal vs grinding up a dead animal? > > Which would you prefer? To die, and /then/ be chopped into little bits, or to still be alive while you’re chopped into little bits? Please tell me you can see the difference? ( **NotMr** , I’m assuming that yer mother’s mice were pre-dead before they were puree’ed, no?) > > And **Qazzz** There’s a bit of a difference between a fish and a rat - one is a small object suspended in a liquid - the other is not. Have you ever tried to grind up a large solid obect (say, a carrot) in a blender? It doesn’t work very quickly. \*\* Yeah… A food processor would be much more suitable for the larger animals. Good point. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566/20 "2003-09-30T15:08:32Z")
What about the Bass-O-Matic? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concert-suicide/204566.md?page=2)