Here's the thing. This isn't a gay issue. It about an artist, talented though he may be, who used his art and public platform to advocate the extermination of a specific group of people. If the song had referenced any other group...do you believe the African American, Jewish, Asian, Hispanic, Muslim, etc..communities would calmly dismiss this? Believe me, you would hear them. In fact, we would all be crying foul...and rightfully so.
Mr.Banton is a very talented artist and, admittedly, he has affected a lot of good, as part of his humanitarian involvement with poor and ill people of the Caribbean and those efforts should be acknowledged and respected. However, this isn't like a report card..you can't do extra credit and cancel out your F in math with an A+ in history. Indeed, he has performed the song recently. In addition to the videos making viral youtube.com rounds, a Dancehall magazine interviewed him on his last tour, and had reported that,unfortunately, the song was performed. So, the apologies ring hollow..and, more than likely, issued by the agency (not the artist) in an attempt to curb the increasing cancellations.
Final note, I WISH he apologized or no longer performed "Boom Bye Bye". I own a venue and had contracted, with an outside production company, to rent the facility for a concert. Buju Banton was to play at my venue next week. The cancellation of this show equals a minimum $20k loss in contract obligations and event income..and in this economy..it could very well be the breaking point which forces me to close. So, I would have loved nothing more than to find that this artist had long ago expressed regret and that the protests against him were the misguided efforts of some overzealous activists. And when all else failed, I pleaded with management for a direct apology from Banton..even one which stated that although he believes homosexuality to be a sin, he rejects anything which encourages violence against homosexuals and disavows the views he once expressed in "Boom, Bye Bye". No chance.
I am a very strong supporter of free speech and artistic expression, but even the Constitution draws the line at free speech protection for calls to violence. As well, it is important to remember that actions lead to reactions and those who disagree have rights to express that disagreement, as well.So, while an artist may have the right to express and spread hateful rhetoric through his music, I have the right to deny the use of my stage and microphone, as a supportive platform to do so.
Here's the thing. Everyone is approaching this as a gay issue and it's not. It about an artist, talented though he may be, who used his art and public platform to advocate the extermination of a specific group of people. If the song had referenced any other group...do you believe the African American, Jewish, Asian, Hispanic, Muslim, etc..communities would calmly dismiss this? Believe me, you would hear them. In fact, we would all be crying foul...and rightfully so.
I am a very strong supporter of free speech and artistic expression but, even the Constitution excludes Free Speech protection for hate speech and calls to violence.
Mr.Banton is a very talented artist and, admittedly, he has affected a lot of good, as part of his humanitarian involvement with poor and ill people of the Caribbean. However, this isn't like a report card..you can't do extra credit and cancel out your F in math with an A+ in history. His humanitarian efforts should be acknowledged and respected, but his
Here's the thing. Everyone is approaching this as a gay issue and it's not. It about an artist, talented though he may be, who used his art and public platform to advocate the extermination of a specific group of people. If the song had referenced any other group...do you believe the African American, Jewish, Asian, Hispanic, Muslim, etc..communities would calmly dismiss this? Believe me, you would hear them. In fact, we would all be crying foul...and rightfully so.
I am a very strong supporter of free speech and artistic expression but, even the Constitution excludes Free Speech protection for hate speech and calls to violence.
Mr.Banton is a very talented artist and, admittedly, he has affected a lot of good, as part of his humanitarian involvement with poor and ill people of the Caribbean. However, this isn't like a report card..you can't do extra credit and cancel out your F in math with an A+ in history. His humanitarian efforts should be acknowledged and respected, but his
Re: “Buju Banton show cancelled (update)”
Oh..and PS....I'd like to give a BIG middle finger to Microsoft for the nightmare known as VISTA. It froze my computer, made me redo my whole post..then posted the unfinished post twice and the finished post has someone else's name? WTF????????? Write a hate song about VISTA!