I have never spent any significant amount of time in the state of Ohio. I've bounced off the Cincinnati Airport a couple times, but I've never been around the place long enough to have any sort of serious opinion. Until now...

First, there was the election. I knew before the votes started spewing out on Election Day that John Kerry had to win two out of three key states (Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio) to pull off the election. Florida has some sort of disconnect with the legitimate voting process, so give that one to Bush. Pennsylvania is pretty much a Massachusetts neighbor and still claims a liberal New England mentality, so give that one to Kerry. That left Ohio.

Ohio lost hundreds of thousands of jobs (mostly manufacturing) during Bush's first four years, and that was much more than most states. If anyone had a personal beef with the Prez, it was Ohio. Strangely enough, the race was a dead heat, and in the end, Ohio went for the incumbent. Therefore, the nation went for the incumbent.

Don't blame Ohio, I thought. The Democrats should have swayed some other states to go their way. I didn't understand the choices of that big chunk of northern land, but I also didn't want to hold it against them. Until now...

Last week, the guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, along with three other people, was shot and killed in a club by a fanatical mentally ill fan. The crazy and armed fan took exception to the fact the hard core band Pantera had broken up, and Abbott had formed a new band called Damageplan. The needless violence took place in Columbus, Ohio.

A buddy of mine named Trae turned me on to Pantera back in high school. We used to thrash around on dirt roads in my home town listening to their debut album The Cowboys from Hell. Their intense-yet-genuine sound resonated with many angst-ridden teenagers, and their grassroots legions grew without the benefit of MTV videos or radio play. It was the kind of band The Man feared. Success without FCC approval. To this day, I still pull out my favorite Pantera album, Vulgar Display of Power, to summon up some intense energy.

Now, the lead guitarist of that monster rock band is dead, shot five times by a madman named Nathan Gale. He shot almost every one in the band and killed three others including the band's bodyguard. The police shot and killed Gale at the site.

So what's the deal, Ohio? The president shits on you, and you vote him back for another term. Hard core bands come to town to help people vent their frustration, and you let an armed gunman come into your clubs. Your professional football teams are lousy. Your winters are freaking cold, and apparently there's not a whole lot to do in all that farmland.

A guy I know just came back from three weeks' of traveling the east, and he made a brief stop in Ohio. "It's amazing how difficult people try to make things when you're trying to get something done," he said. "I just kept saying, why are you being like this?"

That's my question to Ohio: Why are you being like this? Is there such a fear of change that you will vote back Presidents who do nothing for you. Is there such a fear of change that you kill an exceptional guitarist from a glorious hard core band when he starts up a new hard core band? Is there such a fear in you? Fuck your fear.

There is a bane in Ohio these days, and it will probably still be a long time before I make a substantial trip to that bizarre influential state.

Rest in Rock, Dimebag.

Chris Jungle has a hard core.