freedom and censorship
I just read a news story about Starbucks refusing to stock Bruce Springsteen's new album because of some shakey lyrics and some behind the scenes politics.
The move affects me...not at all. I have been in one Starbucks in my entire life in an airport once. I didn't even know they sold music. Here's my gripe though. People are upset at Starbucks for "censoring" Mr. Springsteen.
Nobody is censoring him. Starbucks is excercising their right to sell whatever they want to sell. They are not telling Bruce Springsteen what he can or cannot say. He has the freedom to say or sing whatever he pleases. Nobody is telling him he can't. Starbucks is just saying they don't want to sell it. Just because Starbucks doesn't want to help Bruce make a living from his endeavor doesn't mean they are taping his mouth shut (though if you throw in some handcuffs and a spanking, he might like it). Nobody from Starbucks is going over to stately Springsteen manor with a baseball bat saying, "You sing that one more time and I'm bashing your head in!" Lack of support is not censorship. Let's face it. If Starbucks is censoring Bruce Springsteen, they are doing a lousy job of it. I think he's number 1 with a bullet on the hit parade.
The same thing happens with "artists" who ask for grants from the government for their "work" and get denied. They scream censorship. Nobody's silencing you. They just refuse to support you. There is a big difference. You can still make your "art". Just don't quit your day job if you want to eat.
You choose to do or say whatever you please, and in this country, your ability to do so is protected as your right. If someone thinks what you are doing or saying is worth money, it's their choice to support you monetarily. If they don't, it is also their choice not to. That isn't censorship. It's deciding to do something else with your money, or store space, or whatever. That is also freedom.
If I make an album and nobody buys it, and Starbucks refuses to stock it in their stores, that isn't censorship. That's good taste (cuz any of you who know me know, I don't sing all that well).
The move affects me...not at all. I have been in one Starbucks in my entire life in an airport once. I didn't even know they sold music. Here's my gripe though. People are upset at Starbucks for "censoring" Mr. Springsteen.
Nobody is censoring him. Starbucks is excercising their right to sell whatever they want to sell. They are not telling Bruce Springsteen what he can or cannot say. He has the freedom to say or sing whatever he pleases. Nobody is telling him he can't. Starbucks is just saying they don't want to sell it. Just because Starbucks doesn't want to help Bruce make a living from his endeavor doesn't mean they are taping his mouth shut (though if you throw in some handcuffs and a spanking, he might like it). Nobody from Starbucks is going over to stately Springsteen manor with a baseball bat saying, "You sing that one more time and I'm bashing your head in!" Lack of support is not censorship. Let's face it. If Starbucks is censoring Bruce Springsteen, they are doing a lousy job of it. I think he's number 1 with a bullet on the hit parade.
The same thing happens with "artists" who ask for grants from the government for their "work" and get denied. They scream censorship. Nobody's silencing you. They just refuse to support you. There is a big difference. You can still make your "art". Just don't quit your day job if you want to eat.
You choose to do or say whatever you please, and in this country, your ability to do so is protected as your right. If someone thinks what you are doing or saying is worth money, it's their choice to support you monetarily. If they don't, it is also their choice not to. That isn't censorship. It's deciding to do something else with your money, or store space, or whatever. That is also freedom.
If I make an album and nobody buys it, and Starbucks refuses to stock it in their stores, that isn't censorship. That's good taste (cuz any of you who know me know, I don't sing all that well).
John put this out here at 11:10 AM
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