This dude has the biggest album of the year, hovering in the Top Ten all the while, without the sales tricks of those who get all the publicity, with their vinyl and multi-CD packages, and yet you can't even say his name. HUH? Furthermore, his album is GREAT! Just as listenable as Chris Stapleton's big award winning record, and far superior to those in pop country, like Luke Bryan, never mind the rest of the wankers, but everybody is too afraid to touch him. Is that the country we now live in, where people are afraid of doing what's right?
Yes, the agent booked a tour (thank god Wallen is going on the road, and he'll do boffo at the b.o.), and there's incredible blowback saying he said he wouldn't, that he was done with Wallen. CAN NO ONE CHANGE THEIR MIND? Are we really living in a zero tolerance society?
Seems like it.
So this ignorant punk uses the N-Word. He's so dumb and uninformed that he doesn't realize only Black people can utter it, like Dave Chappelle at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. But Wallen, like the rest of young America, has listened to a zillion rap songs, he's invested in the culture, because hip-hop is American culture, but since he's living in the boonies he doesn't know how to behave, what he can say or what he can't. It's not like he used the N-Word as a put-down, in fact it was as a term of endearment. That doesn't justify its use, but the penalty here far outweighs the crime.
Marilyn Manson is not censored by the Grammys, and Morgan Wallen can't even get a nomination, never mind winning the award he deserves, Album of the Year. If Harvey Mason, Jr. had any cojones, he'd have Wallen OPEN the damn Grammy telecast, demonstrating the organization is a big tent, and everybody is included. Hell, Pee-wee Herman opened the VMAs and he was caught red-handed!
If you commit a faux pas in the future, deny it. Because those who admitted the offense got the same punishment as those who did not. Harvey Weinstein is an enemy of the people, but Louis C.K? Come on, he's a COMEDIAN!
And don't be holier-than-thou, all we have to do is subpoena your Google search history. Yes, they sued for the use of pornography in Utah but then it was revealed from TV records that everybody in the Beehive State watches it and the case was dropped. Ain't that America, HYPOCRITES!
Imagine if you stole a cookie from the jar and could never have a cookie again! That is what this is like, better to deny your action. And sure, there's video in this case, but what kind of jerk films his neighbors late at night? These are the gotcha people, no different from Project Veritas. Mark Zuckerberg puts a stake in the heart of democracy and he skates. But Zuckerberg is a Harvard dropout, who is a billionaire. What are Wallen's bona fides? ONLY THAT HE CREATED A HIT DOUBLE ALBUM! And that's harder to do than to create Facebook. If you study inventions/discoveries, you know they're in the air. Darwin's theory would have been named something else, as a matter of fact they're still discussing if he deserves the credit a hundred and fifty years later!
And forget the right wing rednecks, how about the left wing elite? Which has contempt for Morgan Wallen just for the fact he sings country music. He's considered a rube. I hate to tell you, but you can grow up in the country, in the south, and still be smart. You might have an accent, but it doesn't affect your intelligence.
But I guess college students are triggered by Walden. Well, in that case America must be remade so the scores of things that trigger me are eradicated. I mean nobody should be shot, but are we now protecting feelings? All this anti-bullying crap, you never hear the bullied speaking up, because they know there's no way you can get rid of it, the only way is to stand up to your oppressors. Want to beat the bullies? Don't coddle your kid and speak to the school's administration, give him karate lessons, teach him how to fight back.
I know that's politically incorrect. I'd love it if women could wear cutoffs and halter tops in a construction zone with no hoots, no blowback, but come on, that's not the way things are. But there's no reality anymore, it's all theory. All the life lessons my parents taught me are out the window, because what...society is going to protect me, the law? Yeah right.
As for those on the right... I don't even want to get into Fox News and Tucker Carlson, but I will say most of those on the right are reasonable and the best way for the left to make progress is to embrace them, and get them to hear reality, as opposed to alternative facts. I'm not saying to pander, I'm just saying let's have some humanity, some decency. Not for all, not for those stirring the white nationalist plot, but that's not everybody.
Meanwhile, Trump breaks the law ad infinitum and not only has he escaped punishment, most of the Republican party thinks he won the election! Wallen's "crime" pales in comparison to those of Trump, but he's the one paying the price.
If you're rich and connected, you skate. If not, good luck with the public defender!
And once again, I'm not defending Wallen, I'm just saying the penalty now outstrips the crime, BY FAR! Turns out we didn't kill is career. He was only more successful, and if it wasn't in the grooves it wouldn't be so, the right couldn't make the "Let's Go Brandon" songs a hit.
But it's easier to sit on your duff and stay out of the fray.
But it's not only with Wallen, it's with all female issues. Men can't have a seat at the table. Yes, men are the offenders, but not all of them! Talk to a man, unlike Morgan Wallen he knows what he can't say, but that does not mean he believes it. Meanwhile, so much of what's on the hit parade denigrates women, HUH?
I don't know Morgan Wallen, I've got no stake in his career. There are much worse crimes than using the "N" word. But killers go free and Wallen remains in jail?
Well, maybe metaphorical jail, but if you even mention Wallen's name to a non-fan they put you down, even though they've never listened to the music. Isn't this behavior exactly what the left is decrying on the right?
You should listen to "Dangerous," it's far superior to most of the records nominated for awards today. And it's got a better chance of lasting. It's full of melody and hooks, the building blocks of music, and each song wasn't written by twenty people. Get enough people involved and no one gets the blame, do it yourself and you're a target. Imagine if Zuckerberg didn't have the infrastructure, the troops of Facebook behind him. HE'D BE OUT OF BUSINESS!
And it's not like the right is even supporting Morgan Wallen. Everybody has moved on but the fans. The music sells itself in a world where what is a hit is jammed down people's throats, talk about an accomplishment!
So one of these days eyes are going to turn to you. You're gonna screw up, everybody does. But imagine if the punishment far exceeds the crime. And no matter what you do, you can't recover, you must atone forever. Give Wallen credit, because so many other acts would have busted out by now. Just shutting up is a punishment, in a world where even wannabe celebs are communicating with their fans online 24/7.
The sixties were about fighting injustice.
Today it's all about tribes. You can't violate the mores of the tribe. You can't criticize it. That's even worse than Wallen using the "N" word. But get big enough and you can elude punishment.
Nothing is gonna happen because nobody wants to take the risk.
Musicians used to be famous for taking risks, but now if you want the truth you'd better fire up Netflix. Because musicians are mostly cartoons. I mean at least Morgan Wallen spoke his truth in his lyrics. He wasn't endlessly boasting, busy becoming a brand.
At least the CMAs allowed "Dangerous" to be nominated. It'd be like creating a list of the best films and leaving out the "Godfather" and "Citizen Kane." WAIT, they went for "Gone With the Wind" and even Abraham Lincoln!
Have we lost our minds? Is rationality out the window? Is it all tit for tat? One strike and you're out?
Don't call your friends, don't get involved in groupthink. I ask, sitting at home, alone, reading this, do you think Morgan Wallen has paid enough and the restrictions should be lifted? And if not, at least listen to "Dangerous," once. Don't drop the needle and scowl, check it out, it'll draw you in, IT'S JUST THAT GOOD!
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