We’re pretty used to being outraged at the Outsider Club.
From the financial cartels siphoning money from the middle class, to the too-big-to-jail banks that commit grand larceny with no fear of prosecution, to the government’s prying eyes peeping into every single thing you do, there is no shortage of things to get mad about.
But one news item this week got my blood boiling more than all of those “big issues”.
It concerns the death of both rock n’ roll and free speech…
As a musician and an occasionally provocative columnist, both topics are near and dear to me.
I read an article this week by a woman so offended by a song she heard at a local Trader Joes grocery store that she not only complained to several levels of store management, but wrote a painfully fascist article detailing the entire episode.
So what song could be offensive enough to ruin a grocery shopping trip? An obscenity laced hip-hop tune? A ear-splitting hardcore, heavy metal anthem? The latest Justin Bieber single?
No sir. It was a Rolling Stones song!
Yes, the Rolling Stones, perhaps the most famous rock band in the world. So, how could someone in this day and age get so worked up about a song that delights millions of radio listeners almost hourly on classic rock stations around the world?
Chalk it up to good old-fashioned political correctness…
The song playing in the grocery store was “Under My Thumb”, a foot-tapping ditty that happens to be one of my favorite Stones singles. But according to author Lynn Stuart Parramore, it’s an anti-female screed that should be wiped from the collective memory of the country.
Here’s what happened:
As I was standing in line, I heard the jaunty marimba of the Rolling Stones’ 1966 smash hit, “Under My Thumb.” We’ve all heard the song 1,000 times — it’s a very catchy tune, from a talented, superstar band. But it also features lyrics that are not exactly friendly toward women. As I listened, I thought about how the song plays in the wake of Elliot Rodger’s killing spree, fueled, as the killer explained in a lengthy manifesto, by his rage against women and desire to control them.
We’ve been wringing our hands, asking how young men can become so hostile and eager to dominate to women. Well, isn’t it because our culture feeds them the message at every turn, even in the most mundane settings? What does it mean that degradation of half the population is considered appropriate background noise to everyday life?
Wait, what? You’re implicating the Rolling Stones in a deadly, psychotic rampage? Do go on…
I printed out the lyrics to “Under My Thumb” and brought them into the store with me. I was directed to a young man named Kyle Morrison at the manager’s station, to whom I explained in friendly terms that I was a frequent shopper and that I had heard a song playing over the sound system which, in the wake of the Elliot Rodger killing spree, made me feel uncomfortable.
Without looking at the page, Morrison’s first response was to tell me rather smugly that art was a matter of interpretation.
My “smug” interpretation is that Lynn Stuart Parramore is emblematic of a new generation of whiny, cowardly killjoys who want to scrub anything offensive to anyone out of the public sphere. Oh, what an enjoyable existence it would be if we banned everything that was offensive to one person.
There would be no Beatles. There would be no Picasso. And there would be no George Orwell…
In fact, you can say goodbye to ALL music, art, literature, politics and, hell, even most free-flowing conversations.
All so deluded people like Ms. Parramore can live peacefully in their sanitized little bubbles.
This politically correct whitewashing is one of the more subtle threats to our personal liberties at large; it flies in the face all the tenets America was built on.
We’ve seen it blown up to tabloid proportions with Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling — an obvious bigot, who I personally loathe. After Sterling’s racist comments were leaked, he was fined a whopping $2.5 million and completely banned from the NBA. He was also forced to sell his $500 million property.
Now, we can all agree that Sterling is a bad dude, and he has a history of hideous racism that’s even worse than the comments he made.
But now an American citizen’s personal property has been confiscated over private and personal opinions. That my friends, is a slippery slope of epic proportions.
Now Sterling has hired a team of private investigators to dig up dirt on the rest of the NBA owners and commissioners. I’m guessing they’ll come up with plenty more despicable things the rest of these guys have said in private as well.
It’s McCarthyism, and it’s dangerous as hell.
In fact, one man was fired from his job for simply stating the same sentiments I am here. Josh Olin was canned from his video game development gig after posting this on Twitter:
Imagine being fired for expressing a personal opinion, outside of work. Here’s how Olin defended himself:
Anyone who follows me knows my tweets were not in support of Sterling’s actions. Rather, they were promoting three core tenets I believe in: 1) The harm sensational media presents to society. 2) The importance and sanctity of your privacy within your own home. And 3) The right to be whatever you want to be as an American, as long as it isn’t hurting anyone else. That last point not to be confused with condoning Sterling’s actions, which I don’t.
His firing could help promote a chilling effect where Americans will just keep their mouths shut instead of saying anything that someone may find offensive. That is terrifying. Just think about it: do you want to live in a world where every little thing you say and do can be dug up and used to destroy you, all based on what used to be considered free speech?
Allow me to quote pastor Martin Niemoller:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Just wait until one of your opinions becomes the target.
Now, I’m sure that by using that Niemoller quote, I offended all kinds of people.
That’s because everyone is offended by something. That’s what always made America such a wonderful place: we can disagree with one another freely, without fear of tyrannical forces shutting us up. Free speech only exists because of unpopular opinions. Devoid of offensive and sometimes downright horrible views, free speech is just “speech”.
If Parramore were that offended by the song, she can take her money elsewhere. Nobody is forcing her to shop at Trader Joes. Trader Joes is a private business. It can play whatever songs it likes. And kudos to the company, because it stood up to her and refused to change its radio playlist.
And that is the beauty of America, she doesn’t have to shop there. She has the choice. Just like I’m free to call her an uptight, wretched old crone.
And she is free to disagree with me, and call me whatever she wants. As are you, the reader.
As Voltaire famously said: “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.”
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to drop the needle on my Rolling Stones record…
