Image courtesy of Jimmy Baikovicius's Flickr Paul McCartney - Out There Concert | 140420-5806-jikatu: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jikatu/13926451541/in/photolist-ndCGRt-eWckE7-aRPacg-fy86ku-ndBL6h-oi3fon-a9of4N-JZ6XR2-9UNkw2-K72QnK-aRP8Cn-aRPbMn-aRNvTz-og1jXu-aRPCGH-aRNvN8-bzhcec-ePUDRV-6RBC5s-JWR8Db-byZGof-aRNSsk-oi3H6j-K72QDB-K75DmF-9WFLtC-bnfKKv-ohKDxD-aRP8ht-JaAjcC-4XC6vZ-fy86Fw-afVmtz-aRn4oV-aRPbhz-8YXFnp-8YXCix-K425PS-aRP8wM-eizZ3B-afYakJ-ngri1R-pdzpgU-ndDbb8-dsJziP-aRP8JV-ndD9vu-JFbd2f-JaNxwQ-K4tVAh
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Now, this was pretty funny.
If Paul McCartney did not show us all a way to deal with people who take themselves way too seriously, and who show absolutely no sense of humor at all, then I have no idea how best to deal with it at all.
We all know that this world has no shortage of extremists and lunatics in this world. Why, just earlier today, while driving, I saw someone in front of me driving a pickup, and sporting a "Extremely Rightwing" bumper sticker on.
Now, I know that extreme sports and extreme things in general seem to be having their moment in the sun of popularity in our culture lately, but it still amazes me that there are so many people like that, who take such obvious pride in their admittedly extreme political positions. It also seems to me that they are trying to make their presence felt, trying to make sure that everyone knows that they are there, almost as a form of intimidation. Which, of course, is what fascists tend to do. Because if there is anyone politically who champion taking things to an extreme, it would be fascists, of course. And these days, we have someone in the White House who was endorsed by outright fascists groups and organizations and sympathizers, and who himself is often accused of being a fascist - and not without some justification!
The Westboro Baptist Church take extremism to a whole new level, and often even put rightwing extremist nut jobs to shame. Hell, they go so far as to piss some rightwing extremists off with some of the things that they do, such as protesting at funerals for little girls shot during random mass shootings, or protesting at funerals of soldiers fighting faraway wars.
Of course, the Westboro Baptist Church people protest everywhere, and almost everything, because the world does not fall in line with their extremist, literal interpretation of the Bible. They protest everywhere, far and wide, and that certainly includes certain aspects of popular culture that they feel are just signs of this society's decadence, including concert.
Even someone who most people would feel is quite tame by way of comparison to many of the artists out there, these people decide to target. After all, there are some bands and musical acts who truly do show far more extreme signs of decadence and outright disrespect for the Church (especially the Westboro Baptist Church) or the Bible in general.
And so, there they were, protesting just before a Paul McCartney concert. Trying to make their presence felt, being visible and making sure that everyone heard their extremist, excessive views, and their disapproval of the lifestyles of pretty much everyone who was attending the concert, despite the fact that they most likely knew almost no one personally who was going. Why should a little thing like a lack of knowledge in this regard stop them? It never stopped them before.
Anyway, Paul McCartney lightly made a joke of it, thanking the Westboro Baptist Church for their warm reception and welcome, which seems to me like him taking the high road, acknowledging their presence while expressing no anger or anything. Frankly, he showed far more class than any of them did in the process.
If you want to read a bit more about how he handled it specifically, then please click on the link below, which will take you to an article all about it. I recommend it, because indeed, the former Beatle handled himself quite well under the circumstances.
Paul McCartney posts meme mocking the Westboro Baptist Church following protests outside Kansas show By Rhian Daly Jul 20, 2017
Part of me actually pities the parishioners at the Westboro Baptist Church and their ilk, as vile as they are. You're obviously dealing with people who've been brainwashed since birth, programmed to embrace misery and hate, and to project the same onto anyone who refuses to join them. I wonder if it ever occurs to any of them, perhaps when they're on their deathbeds and time is fast running out, that they've wasted their entire lives on bigotry and dogma masquerading as "God's work".
ReplyDeleteI can understand and sympathize with that sentiment. Indeed, they probably feel that the Westboro Baptist Church offers them something that they cannot get elsewhere in their lives. But the level of hatred that they spew is both disgusting and frightening, and it has gotten so systemic as to be almost a joke (although there is nothing funny about that particular joke). All in all, McCartney handled it as well as anyone could have, under the circumstances.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they really test the limits of free speech. By which I don't mean for one second to suggest that they shouldn't be allowed to express their grotesque views – I'm a strong proponent of the idea that living in a democracy worthy of that name means you can essentially say whatever you like (short of threats, slander, libel, child pornography, shouting "fire" in a crowded theater, etc). However, does that mean they have the right to approach mourners at a funeral? As you undoubtedly know, they picket soldiers' funerals on the grounds that the military doesn't ban gays and lesbians, which of course doesn't jive with their rampant and obsessive homophobia. At what point does the boundary between "free speech" and "harassment" get crossed? On a lighter note, I certainly agree that McCartney's use of humor in his response was excellent.
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