Image via WikipediaI have to say up front that I am a Hank Williams, Jr. fan. I have been for a long time and will continue to be one. So, as such, I feel the need to make a comment or two about his inartful comments the other day on Fox & Friends when he compared President Obama and Speaker John Boehner playing golf together to be the equivalent of Hitler playing with Netanyahu. The comments got his Monday Night Football anthem "Are You Ready for Some Football" pulled from being aired on this week's game.Williams has come out and apologized for using a poor analogy. He was trying to emphasize that Boehner and Obama are polar opposites on the political spectrum, much like Hitler and Netanyahu would be. Granted, he could have used a better analogy. You can never really win when you bring Hitler into the conversation. Of course, those on the left were quick to compare George W. Bush to Hitler, but I digress.
The big thing is, why should we even care what Bocephus thinks politically? He is, after all, primarily an entertainer, and a damn fine one at that. I will say that Hank Jr and I definitely sit on the same side of the political aisle, but I learned a long time ago that I do not care what my favorite entertainers have to say politically. If I did, I would have ceased to be a Jimmy Buffett fan a long time ago since he is decidedly more liberal than I am.
The other thing about entertainers and politics is this; why would you even want to get out there with your political views and possibly alienate a portion of your audience? Years ago, I was at a Jackson Browne concert, and he kept spouting off on his left wing ideology. It was a major turnoff. All I wanted was to hear him sing Running on Empty and his other songs. I didn't care what he thought the CIA had been up to.
In fact, the Jackson Browne concert is where I learned my lesson in regards to entertainers and politics. For several years after that concert, I basically gave up listening to Jackson Browne. It was only after I got my iPod and was going through all my old CDs to load onto it that I started listening to all those old Jackson Browne tunes. There was a lot of good shit on those CDs. Who cares if he is a left wing nutjob.
My point in all this is, yes, Hank probably used a poor choice of words on Fox & Friends. Yes, ESPN is probably within its rights to have pulled Hank's anthem on Monday night, just as I was within my rights to not watch MNF in protest of their decision (though to be honest, I didn't plan to watch anyway). The bigger point is, who cares what a singer has to say about politics? These shows should be talking to them about their music, not politics.
I am getting sick and tired of ANY OF OUR PRESIDENTS AND HITLER'S NAME USED FOR ANY REASON PERIOD. SCREW HANK WILLIAMS JR.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with Hank Williams Jr.'s analogy, and he should have been aware that interviewers love to put a personality in those situations, so shame on him, but I agree with you in the sense that you can't let big name stars, atheletes, etc rule your thinking you need to make your own decisions based on YOUR research.
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