So I run into this short note on NBC News saying that a certain guy, Andrew Vactor by name, was listening to music too loudly in public and to be punished for that received a most curious sentence. Andrew could simply pay a fine of $150 but the judge thought of an alternative. She allowed reducing the fine ($35 instead of $150) on condition that the guy would spend 20 hours listening to classical music! How do you like that?
The idea is clear, of course – the judge simply wanted to show Andrew what it's like, to be forced to listen to something against your will and taste. But the fact itself made me wonder. How many of today’s teenagers would perceive listening to classical music as punishment? I’m afraid to know the answer, to be honest. It’s kinda sad that we are gradually losing that fragile sense of the beautiful that is brought up by classical music. Parents, please, if you like classics, try planting it in your kids from early childhood!
As for Andrew, he was an ardent fan of rap music so he chose to pay the full fine. The guy, however, mentioned that it was rather for the ‘lack of time’, not because the unbearable punishment.
The idea is clear, of course – the judge simply wanted to show Andrew what it's like, to be forced to listen to something against your will and taste. But the fact itself made me wonder. How many of today’s teenagers would perceive listening to classical music as punishment? I’m afraid to know the answer, to be honest. It’s kinda sad that we are gradually losing that fragile sense of the beautiful that is brought up by classical music. Parents, please, if you like classics, try planting it in your kids from early childhood!
As for Andrew, he was an ardent fan of rap music so he chose to pay the full fine. The guy, however, mentioned that it was rather for the ‘lack of time’, not because the unbearable punishment.
