Baltimore Riots Won’t Stop Maryland Deathfest

In case you’ve been living under a rock recently: these are not good times for Baltimore. The death of 25-year-old African American Freddie Gray from a spinal injury allegedly caused by police brutality has resulted in a massive number of protests, including a riot this past Monday, during which, The Washington Post reports, “hundreds of angry residents torched buildings, looted stores and pelted police officers with rocks.” Given that this is at least the third major scandal involving the death of a black man following a police scuffle this year (and at least the billionth example of such an incident, period, if you count the ones that didn’t result in riots/receive mainstream media attention), it should call attention to, and start a conversation about, some very, VERY serious issues.

And arguably, it may be doing just that… but it’s also causing a lot of nerd rage. Y’know, just as some Higher Power’s way of reminding us that the human race can really be worthless sometimes.

First, sports nerds were cranky because yesterday the Baltimore Orioles played the Chicago White Sox in a game that was historic because it wasn’t open to the public. (I’m not sure why the hell they couldn’t just cancel the goddamn game if fan safety was such a serious concern, but I guess professional sports wait for no man.) Now, metal nerds are fretting that the city’s current state of unrest could result in the cancellation of this year’s Maryland Deathfest, prompting the fest’s organizers to assure fans on Facebook that “MDF XIII will happen according to plan. Don’t believe any rumors.”

Which is ridiculous. For one thing, MDF is still three weeks away, and a LOT can happen in three weeks. It’s hard to imagine that things in Baltimore won’t have settled down some by that time — which would render any MDF cancellation rumors a non-issue — and if they haven’t settled down… well… guys, nobody loves metal more than I do, but if that’s the case, we’ll have much bigger fish to fry than the fate of a music festival.

I guess what I’m really saying is: let’s keep our eye on the ball here, okay, people?

[via Noisey]