I first entered the barricaded area that was home to the Marilyn Manson protesters. Adults and children held banners and shouted "Jesus loves you" to concert goers as they passed by. One protestor approached the arena's steps and began preaching; a few officers asked him to leave. He continued his sermon, and they escorted him to a squad car. The brief scuffle that followed was really as physical as the evening got. A few Mansonites verbally sparred with the group of protestors as they made their way towards the arena, but campus security and the Orange County police set things up to minimize exchanges between the two groups. Most of the estimated 2,000 ticket holders were directed up the one side of the walkway; protesters were corralled on the opposite side. (I did see one Mansonite stick out her tongue at the group of protesters, but they were too busy hoisting a large wooden cross to notice.)

Youth pastor, Peter Vivaldi took a break from singing and chanting to speak with me about what he hoped to accomplish at the protest. "We're here to make our presence known and to challenge this group's (Manson's) message. There are a lot of lonely, confused youths out there looking for answers and we want them to know suicide isn't the way out." When I asked whether or not Marilyn Manson had a constitutional right to perform the concert, Vivaldi conceded that they did, but pointed out that he also had a right to protest. Other protesters were not so generous with first amendment rights; they didn't understand why Marilyn Manson and his "suicide message" wasn't banned.

The Mansonites I spoke with didn't see the issue as a moral one at all. When I asked how they felt about the protestors, one heavily made-up Manson look-alike replied "They should put down their bibles and pick up the Constitution." Most believed the protestors wanted to "impose their Christian views on everyone." They claimed they were there to see an independent and talented performer with an appealing anti-conformity message.

Those looking for a Marilyn Manson melee were probably disappointed. Most of the press sat around looking bored. There was even time for a pizza, and the officers who flanked the car when it first pulled up jokingly harassed the driver after they realized she was sporting a Domino's uniform.

Surprisingly, the campus police were the most entertaining folks to watch. Because nobody could enter the arena with chains of any kind, officers were scrutinizing approaching ticket holders closely. Since most of the concert goers were decked out Marilyn Manson style, an awful lot of chains were being toted back to cars or dropped in boxes. After watching this for an hour or so, one officer remarked, "I could have made a fortune checking chains for $1."

After the concert started and the crowd began to thin, I overheard another member of campus police offer the most enlightened comment of the evening: "Everyone's got their views, and it's nice that they can each say what they want." It's not only nice, it's essential. Those caught up in tonight's clash of ideas may not realize it yet, but the conflict itself is more important than any resolution.

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