Too Much To Dream

Andrea,

I was a big Dixie Chicks fan. I'll eventually start listening to them again, but they really ticked me off with their recent behavior.

As to the lack of protests at their recent US concerts, I think they were very lucky that they were overseas for several months before they had to go in front of a US crowd - particularly if the Battle of Iraq was still in full swing. I suspect that you would have seen a quite different concert.

My take on this is that you should not bite the hand that feeds you. They have the right to say what they want. I have the right to not buy their music.

I'll probably resume listening to their music again, but if so, only stuff that came out before that European tour.

I guess I don't see how the Dixie Chicks "insulted [anyone] for not thinking the way they do" or "insulted the audience." They expressed an opinion, pure and simple - an opinion that a lot of people share. Although I must admit it tickles me to see how rankled pro-war people got (and still get) over it.

Kind of reminds me of the Flint-Money Magazine flap, where Flint was named No. 300 out of 300 on a "Best Places to Live" list. Flint people burned magazines, etc. and just managed to keep it in the press longer what a crappy town they lived in (see "Roger and Me"). If only they had just let it die, it would have been much better.

Well, Mr. Adam Wordsmeanthings, your point is? So "a lot" of people share insulting opinions, how nice. And that means what, exactly? That we who do not share this opinion (or think, at the very least, that such trash-talk should not be aired to strangers) had better watch out because ooooh, "a lot" of people are against us? What are you going to do, Mr. I've-Got-A-Big-Crowd-Behind-Me, form a torch-bearing mob and come after us warmongers? And I see by your invocation of St. Michael of the Moore's Sacred First Big Hit Mockumentary that you're one of his little sycophants too. Tell you what, why don't you air your poopy diapers on someone else's blog, yah big baby.

My point was, they weren't getting up there and saying "Death to Puppies!" or "Bomb the White House!" or anything like that. It was a political opinion, sure, but on a subject with fervent supporters on both sides. War tends to polarize people. And they certainly weren't saying, in any way, "If you don't agree with us, you're stupid."

I guess I'm not welcome here. That's OK. It must be my poopy diapers. :-)

Damn, "war polarizes people." That's got to be the most profound statement I've ever seen in print since the last time I read the list of ingredients on the back of a box of Cracker Jacks. As for you not being welcome around here, certainly not as long as you are going to serve up the same old lines of tired bullshit that have been making the rounds on the internet (of life) since well before 9-11-01.

Being wrong is okay. Lots of people make mistakes. Without making mistakes, people can't learn. It's a process. But when you know you're wrong, and you keep at it, that's cause for concern.

The phrase "same old lines of tired bullshit" is essentially meaningless. Adam didn't even really make an argument -- he merely stated that Natalie Maines had a political opinion, and that her opinion is shared by many Americans. He wasn't saying that we're a big powerful mob (though pro-war people often use that very argument), or that pro-war people better watch out, or really anything like that. I'd say Andrea's projecting a bit, not to mention that her jingoistic phrasing labels her far more of a sycophant than Adam, who seems to be a relatively thoughtful person.

It's so ironic that pro-war people -- people who support attack -- so often see themselves as under attack, even while they're attacking anti-war people. This phenomenon has been well-documented in psychology: we tend to see in others those things we're most guilty of ourselves.

Maines' comment wasn't so much a political opinion as a churlish hateful spewage.

A sycophant to who, John? To myself? Oh -- and DON'T talk over my head to others about me on MY OWN BLOG. If you have something to say about me, say it to ME. And DON'T try your amateur psychoanalysis on me. EVER. Or would you like me to pull my "Gee, men sure don't like it when women argue with them" line out of my hat? It's at least as stale as your "Gee, Andrea is projecting" shit.

I read on LT Smash's website a few weeks ago his take on the celebrity bru-ha-ha going on back in the states. He was fine with it. He thought everyone was entitled to their opinion. Hell, he was sure he had friends and neighbors back here that had probably marched in the anti-war rallies, but that didnt stop them from being his friends. I responded to his thoughts with the idea that this really boiled down to money. If he was supporting his friends and neighbors and they were using his money to support a lifestyle that launched platforms of anti-americanism, he might feel some responsibliity to stop buying their books, records or seeing their movies.

Really, the only way you could prevent me from talking over your head would be to 1) ban me from your comments, or 2) stand up. Telling me not to say this or do that or try the other must feel good -- I've connected with my inner Diana Ross in much the same way from time to time -- but apart from your personal feelings, it's irrelevant: I can and will say what I like, wherever I'm allowed to do so.

I don't really think that threatening me with your bad, irrational arguments does much to refute any of my arguments that you find irrational or stale. It's really just so much chest-banging and poo-slinging.

Bush's actions in Iraq and with regard to domestic policy (his erostion of reproductive rights, his desire to fight AIDS in Africa while making it more difficult to do so in the U.S., his rhetoric about "liberation" in Iraq while hiring an Attorney General who would love nothing more than to do away with the Bill of Rights, his talk of inclusion and compassion while promoting the death penalty and staying mum on gay rights while bashing affirmative action) do make me less proud than ever to be an American. I love the Constitution and I love the concepts of individual liberty that our nation was founded upon, but when I look at where our country is today -- rabidly nationalistic, defiantly simplistic, xenophobic (i.e., our childish posturing toward France) -- I feel shame that we've squandered our freedoms on shallow bickering, shallow patriotism, and shallow religion. I was born in this country, and I'll likely die in this country. This is as much my country as anyone else's, and if I have an opinion about it, I'll say so. If you think that's a threat, then you should get better acquainted with yourself.

Was that direct enough for you?

Well, congratulations, you are banned a second time. I will continue to ban you until you run out of IPs. I have all day. I am also closing the comments to this weblog. I don't shit on your blog, stay off of mine.

I AM NOT INTERESTED IN HAVING ANY SORT OF CONVERSATION WITH YOU. YOU BORE ME. YOU ARE DULL. I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR OPINIONS. STAY AWAY.

There, did that get through your thick skull?