Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Next, they'll make a protest record: Rock legends boycott North Carolina

We know they take religion very seriously in the Bible Belt. Perhaps a little too seriously.

In case you haven't been following the news lately, rock legend Bruce Springsteen cancelled a concert over the weekend in North Carolina in protest of that state's newly minted law discriminating against gays & lesbians. Canadian star Bryan Adams followed suit, announcing the cancellation of a pending show in Mississippi. As society in general has become more accepting of the gay community in recent years, it is the Bible Belt states, such as Mississippi and North Carolina, who are most resistant to societal change, citing the Old Testament of the Bible as the basis for their arguments.

31 years ago, Springsteen, along with bandmate "Little" Steven VanZant (alternately nicknamed Miami Steve), Hall & Oates, Jackson Browne, Run-DMC, George Clinton, Bono, Pat Benatar, Peter Wolf, and dozens of other artists formed Artists United Against Apartheid to protest the political policies, since abolished, in South Africa. Remember "Sun City"?



Something tells me the more artists that decide to follow Springsteen & Adams, the more likely it is we'll see a similar protest record. Just sayin'.

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