I agree with all the others who said that the band probably didn't have enough time to evaluate the safety of the building, nor do I think that it really was their job to do so. As many have said, most of the time, bands don't see the stage until they start their show. Out of the tons of shows that I've seen in my life, most bands either come out to a completely dark stage or to blinding stage lighting. Neither of these conditions are anywhere near adequate enough for band members to make a safety assessment in those short moments prior to the 1st song being played.

You keep using the word "apologize", yet everyone keeps pointing out that Jack should NOT have to apologize. Perhaps the definition of the word needs to be clearly defined for you:

a·pol·o·gize
[uh-pol-uh-jahyz]
verb (used without object), a·pol·o·gized, a·pol·o·giz·ing.
1. to offer an apology or excuse for some fault, insult, failure, or injury: He apologized for accusing her falsely.
2. to make a formal defense in speech or writing.

To further elaborate, here is the word's origin:

Word Origin & History

apologize
1590s, "to speak in defense of," from Gk. apologeisthai (see apology). Main modern sense "to regretfully acknowledge" is attested by 1725. The Gk. equivalent, apologizesthai, meant simply "to give an account."


Here are a few of the things that Jack has said:

“I'd love to say I'm sorry. It is obviously a very tragic and unfortunate incident. This is not what music is supposed to be about. After 25 years of being in show business, nothing like this has ever happened. What do you say? Gee, I'm sorry. That doesn't cut it. There are no words that can possibly express the way I feel right now. I'm devastated.”

"It's been almost 10 years and no matter what I say it's never going to make anybody feel any better about it, and sometimes it might make them feel worse, so I really would rather not say too much, you know,"

"After The Station, I was really down, was taking anything I could take," he said. "I would just sit for hours and cry."

"I can't imagine how people feel who lost like their wife, lost their son, lost their daughter, lost their husband or whatever, I can't imagine the depth of their pain." But he said people should realize that the fire haunts him, too. "This was a life-changing event for everyone," he said. "It's not like something I forget about."

“My heart aches for all the families and friends of the victims whose lives will forever be changed by this terrible tragedy. I too lost many friends that night, but I can’t begin to equate that to the loss of a family member. For what it’s worth, you have been in my prayers and always will be.”

Captain Can Main wrote:

The apology could even be worded so as not to imply guilt.

"I am so sorry for your loss that night." "It was the worst night of
my life and I would do anything to change it."

I really don't think that the few quotes above are much different than what you are proposing that Jack should have said. :-\ It just seems to me that you want the man to attone for something, anything, to almost beg to be punished for it all. Sure, he hasn't made the best choices in life, and he may not exactly be a model citizen (Hell, let's be honest, many musicians aren't), but that doesn't mean that he hasn't replayed the entire night over and over in his head, wondering if there was some sign, some moment that he missed where he could have acted on and erased the whole nightmare away.

Are the above quotes not enough personal grief and anguish for you, CCM? And, as for the victims claiming that "we just want to hear him say that he is sorry"... Is that truly all that they want from Russell? Surely the above sentiment would equally suffice.

I truly believe that if he were to apologize about this, it would open him up to a flood of civil suits. I don't doubt for a minute that the lawyers advised the band and Jack that they need to choose their words very carefully. The band already paid out $1 million (which was covered by their insurance) due to this tragedy. This is NOT the 80s anymore... GW and Jack simply cannot afford more than that, nor can they afford to spend months donating their time (which is what you think they should have done; I haven't read anywhere that this is what the victims & their families expected), while putting their business on hold. Make no mistake, this is their BUSINESS and their LIVELIHOOD and they all have their own families to support. I know that I certainly couldn't afford to do that, no matter how terrible I felt about someone else's suffering.

You keep referring to Christian Bale in this whole thread. In my eyes, there is only one difference between the 2 situations: Christian was NOT in that theater the night of that massacre! He had nothing to lose and everything to gain by placing himself front and center to the whole incident and he could probably buy and sell every single band and crew member of Great White (past & present!) many, many times over, so he could easily afford to devote the time. PR and image are a main selling point for an actor. The last time he was headline news, it wasn't painting a very pretty picture of Bale... Quite the contrary: an egotistical, beligerant, & violent diva (have you forgotten about the time he was caught screaming, cursing, & throwing things during a tantrum?)! Do not think for a second that his actions weren't in the slight bit self serving. All actors know that if the public (their 'audience') loves you, they will always be drawn to your work, thus adding to your marketability and your continued success. An actor's public image, looks, and relatability is as important, sometimes more so, as their acting ability.

And, here is a very different perspective of it all, written by a fan who saw their show 2 nights prior: Open Letter To Jack Russell. Perhaps this is the most important positive thing to come out of this horror: Businesses are now being forced to comply to much improved safety laws. Had The Station even complied with the laws in place at the time, the outcome could have been drastically different.

Debbie

P.S. Yeah, I editted this many times. I'm a self-imposed spelling/grammar nazi, who had time to have another cup (or 2) of coffee by the time I finished writing all of this and I keep finding mistakes... So, what? LOL!

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Whatever, it's all just meaningless drivel anyway...



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2013 02:33PM by RockerChic.