Dixie Chicks v. Diane SawyerNewsNo More Whistlin' Dixie is a little story that recounts the interview with the Chicks in which they fail to be whole heartedly ashamed of saying, "Just so you know, we're ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas." I'd never heard of the Dixie Chicks until this blew up, unsurprising as it seems they are a bit "country". It seems though that the banal remark, something of a cause celebre for free speech advocates, has caused widespread condemnation, demonstration and vitriol resulting in the interviewer bending over backwards, seemingly finding their words incomprehensible, to extract an apology. They said it, they apologised (tenuously). In the furore they exercised their right to speak and became more famous than they were. The media fuss might make some people wonder why they even care what they dixie chicks said and perhaps think more rationally about the important issues. Go Dixie Chicks I say. Probably still won't listen to them though. Posted by Paul at April 29, 2003 04:59 PM |
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As no one has been threatening to sling their boney arses in jail, I do rather think the 'fighting against censorship' and 'striking a blow for free speech' meme that is floating around is a bit odd. They freely said what they wanted, as have the people who freely slagged them off for doing so... that they may have suffered negative commercial consequences for this entirely fair use of their gobs is neither here nor there regarding their right to sound off. That we have the liberty to speak our minds is vital and an objective right, the absence of which means tyranny pure and simple... but that does not always make it a good idea. You may think your boss is a stupid malodorous clown, and you cannot be sent to jail for saying that to him whilst the entire office listens, however... Posted by: Perry de Havilland at April 30, 2003 06:53 PMYeah I agree with you for the most part - and really I have no great interest in anything the dixie chicks have to say, on iraq, on texas, on gwb, on music. They said their bit, got famous, got criticised and apologised. Who cares? The thing that causes me slight concern is the banality of their words, something like, "we're ashamed gwb is from texas", and the extreme reaction which it seemed to spark. The extreme reaction it seems to me was flamed by the media anxious for an enemy within to berate and many, many people seem to have been suckered into going along with it all. The role of the media is one that interests me. In the UK our broadcast media is regulated to ensure impartiality in news output whereas our print media is not. The result is that you can trust the TV news wheras you need to read two or three newspapers to get a semblance of balance. Is it not as bad for a corporation to corrupt the people as it is for a state to control the media output? Posted by: Paul at May 1, 2003 03:55 AM |