megotelek

Well, I guess I won't be listening to Heart anymore...

Let me clarify. I think it's fine for them to say they don't want someone to use their songs without permission. That's perfectly within their rights as artists and while I think it's a little silly, again, they wrote the song. Theirs. They can say who gets to use it.

My problem is with this statement they sent:

"Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image...[It] was written in the late '70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women...There's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there."

Wait. "in NO WAY represent us as American women"? Are they saying that Sarah Palin does not represent American women at all? That she isn't an American woman? Are Ann and Nancy Wilson claiming to speak for ALL AMERICAN WOMEN? That seems...awfully presumptuous. They couldn't just have said, "Her positions don't represent us, so we ask that our song not be used to promote her"?

No. They're claiming to speak for all American women and telling us that we don't like Sarah Palin. Except that the last time I checked, I am an American woman. A Republican American woman. A Republican American woman who likes Sarah Palin and what she stands for and who will be voting for McCain in November.

Oh, right. We don't exist. Thanks for reminding me, Heart.

Ohh, great, now I have to stay out of the Black Donnellys thread over at TWoP also....somebody is complaining about the fact that there aren't enough "minorities" represented. The show is about four Irish brothers. Irish! An Irish family! Not four Irish brothers and their token black/Asian friend. That makes me so mad when people do that...there aren't enough minorities! Like on Friends or The Class. Look, I know it's hard to deal with, but people tend to hang out and be friends with other people who look like them. You might think that's stupid, but it's true. The only context I've ever seen the true multicultural diversity thing work on is workplace-centered shows like ER and Grey's Anatomy. And you would be friends with these people because they are your colleagues.

I hate it when people go out of their way to classify others based on looks/race/religion/whatever. You might think you're being 'diverse', but you're really being divisive. The only way to truly be color-blind is to actually be color-blind. Treat everyone the same regardless. If you go out of your way to point out that someone is 'African-American' (or any other race) for whatever reason, even a positive reason, you are enforcing the idea that they are different. And that it's okay for them to be treated differently. Argh. I didn't mean for this to come out as a rant, but it's one of my biggest pet peeves from people who claim to be so culturally 'enlightened'.

( Cut for length...more ranting... )

Man, it's good to get all that off my chest. And, in rereading that, I've come to the conclusion that I'm a libertarian. Huh.