Skip to main content

Hey Bruce Springsteen; you hypocrite




Bruce,

I love your music man. It is old-fashioned, but I like it. My favourite song is actually not Born in the USA or the like, but Streets of Philadelphia. Not only is it a nice tune, I really like the message too.
But you know, I don’t like how you play your politics.

Make no mistake, I don’t MIND your politics and I am sure we can agree on a lot of things – and even in this case I may even agree with your belief. So the point is not where you stand on the issue. 

But I don’t like the hypocritical way you play it.

So you cancel a concert and boycott a state that you disagree with. I am sure you think that it is your way to express your support for people who are getting the short straw. I am sure you see it as your right to play in front of whoever and wherever.

But Bruce, can I ask you this:

Have you refunded all the money you made from selling songs to the states that hold a different view to you?
Have you asked those citizens not to buy your records?
What about the countries like Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and dozens of others like them who actually torture and kill gay people? Have you ever played in those countries? Have you ever sold songs or earned royalties in those countries?
What did you do before the issue of marriage equality became a bandwagon? 
Have you played in North Caroline previously? What happened to that money?

It’s pretty easy to ‘show your support’ when you are in a position of strength and financial independence. But it is also extremely hypocritical. If you really support the cause, show it in a way that matters. I am sure that many gay/transgender people will value your support without asking the tough questions. But I reckon you are being a hypocrite. Show ‘em the money, Bruce. Give back every cent that you made from a person or a place with whom you disagreed fundamentally with. 

Let’s see how that goes, and let’s talk again.

And if you can’t do that or never thought of doing that, then let me make another suggestion. Why you don’t just go out and say your support the cause. Why don’t you write a song about it – like Streets of Philadelphia? Why don’t you demonstrate that gay people are nothing to be afraid of? Why don’t you employ transgender people in your business?

You see Bruce, by hating the haters, you are actually endorsing meanness as a legitimate strategy for solving an argument and persuading people. I am sure you see where this is going? If not, let me spell it out: it is exactly the strategy followed by radical religionists – boycott and bully until they bend to see it your way. That is no way to promote your dogmas Bruce. 

It may work, but it is not right. Why don’t you re-think your stance because from where I am standing it looks pretty self-righteous. I expect better.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Open Letter to the CEO

Dear Mr CEO You said your job is to develop a vision and create an organisation with the right values that will make that vision a reality, so I thought I would drop this note in your lap for consideration. It is my contention that what goes for ‘strategy’ and ‘best practice’ in the modern corporate boardroom is a terminal degree of “me too-ism”. I think you have bought into a narrative that is promulgated by people who have a gnostic view of the world and specific agendas that appeal to the pseudo-thinkers of the world, but are in reality going to lead your organisation to its premature demise. OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY Over the years business organisations have been eaten away slowly from the inside by social justice warriors (SJWs). How this happened, requires us to go back a few years and in the evolution of the business organisation. Once you understand that, you will see how it has infested your organisation. Business organisations used to have a simple, clear obje...
Post a Comment
Read more

If not confidence, what is it then?

Confidence almost invariably leads complacency to over-confidence which leads to’ arseholeness’. There must be rare occasions when this progression does not naturally occur, but I can’t think of an example. There is a truism that’s states: Confidence breeds confidence. That IS the nature of confidence. So, by definition, confidence always ‘grows’ – and inevitably people don’t know when to stop. I am sure some self-help gurus will argue that you can never have too much confidence. (I’d say, think ice-cream.) Some gurus will say that the problem is rarely once of too much confidence and that the bigger issue is growing confidence. To this I say: maybe so, but only if you understand the need to manage the confidence growth – and knowing when to stop. THAT is never taught – and that is my issue. I don’t believe lack of confidence is the opposite of confidence. I am not advocating being unsure. What the world desperately needs, is more humility. Old-fashioned and contrary to the culture ...
Post a Comment
Read more