Nathan Gale used to psych himself up for football games by blasting Pantera through his headphones. People around him were freaked out by how much the guy loved the band.
On Wednesday, Gale ran onto the Ohio stage where Damageplan was playing and killed former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darryl Abbott.
Wednesday also marked the 24th anniversary of John Lennon's assassination, another instance of a deranged fan murdering the object of his obsession.
But "fan" seems the wrong word to describe these killers.
It's a particularly American breed of psychosis. People become immersed in an aspect or person in popular culture. They buy all the rare items and memorabilia they can get their hands on. They write letters to their icons, some of which read more like diary entries.
Worshiping a pop culture icon becomes a full-time job. And for some people, it gets even scarier. They start to imagine they are the person. Gale believed Pantera was trying to steal his identity, according to some reports.
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But anyone could forget that behind all the image and spin, musicians are just regular folks, right?
In other countries, one of my coworkers pointed out, people go kamakazi for a political cause, as part of war or as a religious act. In America, Gale performed the equivalent over a band breakup.
In some sense, Gale's addiction to Pantera smacks of an almost religious zeal. More specifically, Gale was obsessed with the idea of owning some aspect of Pantera. He even went so far as to tell friends Pantera had stolen his songs.
Perhaps Gale was looking for an identity. This makes sense in an American culture obsessed with individuality and making something of oneself.
Dimebag's brother and bandmate Vinnie Paul Abbott along with the rest of his family are probably asking why it happened. The same goes for people who knew Erin Halk, an employee at the club Damageplan was playing in; Nathan Bray, a fan; and Jeffery "Mayhem" Thompson, Damageplan's bodyguard. Halk, Bray and Thompson were also killed by Gale.
I wouldn't know what to tell them.
But perhaps it's time Americans begin examining what they worship.
