Dixie Chicks Pay a Price for Free Speech
You may remember that while in concert, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks told a London audience earlier this week, “Just so you know, we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”
That is ridiculous. Sure, free speech allows you to say whatever you please, but there’s no reason to tell a foreign audience in a foreign nation that you’re ashamed of where you’re from because that happens to be where the President of the United States resides. These girls are American entertainers making very un-American statements. I don’t care if you support the war or not, but there is no need to slap Mr. Bush in the face during the week of his war plan announcements.
Their remarks have angered many US fans, including many Texans who refuse to listen to the Dixie Chicks. Several radio stations have removed their songs from their play lists and have started petitions and online forums for people to leave comments on the issue. This isn’t being taken well by the anti-war protesters who cheered for the Dixie Chicks after they made those statements last week.
Writing under different screen-names in several forums, I have brought up the issue of boycotting the Dixie Chicks because of their statements. In almost every case, I was maliciously attacked by ‘Chicks’ supporters and anti-war demonstrators who just don’t see it my way.
One poster told me, “You can get the —- out of this country with every other conservative who criticized Clinton.” One writer said, “anyone who actually supports Bush is Nazi who sees no harm in bombing innocent children.”
These are just two of the negative comments I have received, and those don’t compare to what true stanch-supporters of Bush get when they engage in online chat and social debate. It’s amazing how quickly a person who justifies his/her anti-war protest using freedom of speech can forget that Dixie Chicks protestors have that same right.
When I call people out with the comment, “You are a hypocrite for scorning pro-war supporters when you yourself are just as passionate to be against it. You cheer for the Dixie Chicks when they defile Bush, and yet you jump all over anyone who was offended by the Chicks’ anti-Bush statements.”
This is not a two-way hypocrisy. Pro-war and pro-Bush supporters at least try to use logic when arguing a case, yet anti-war marchers only see the war as baby killing and innocent blood-shed. No, not every pro-Bush supporter is right. In fact, many are just as blind as anyone who actually believes this is a war for oil and total world domination. It is also true that many pro-war supporters don’t know their facts and many have no idea what they’re talking about, but you don’t see them attacking protesters the way protestors do in return. Read the rest of this entry »