Or, Why do we let cheap and easy get rewarded?
I’m going to spin out into a very brief commentary on Pop Culture… Ben Haggerty, AKA Macklemore has a Top 40 hit called “Same Love”. Lyrics below.
“Same Love” (with Ryan Lewis) (feat. Mary Lambert)
When I was in the third grade I thought that I was gay, ‘Cause I could draw, my uncle was, and I kept my room straight. I told my mom, tears rushing down my face She’s like “Ben you’ve loved girls since before pre-k, trippin’ ” Yeah, I guess she had a point, didn’t she? Bunch of stereotypes all in my head. I remember doing the math like, “Yeah, I’m good at little league” A preconceived idea of what it all meant For those that liked the same sex Had the characteristics The right wing conservatives think it’s a decision And you can be cured with some treatment and religion Man-made rewiring of a predisposition Playing God (Italics mine), aw nah here we go America the brave still fears what we don’t know And God loves all his children, is somehow forgotten But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago I don’t know And I can’t change Even if I tried Even if I wanted to And I can’t change Even if I tried Even if I wanted to My love My love My love She keeps me warm She keeps me warm She keeps me warm She keeps me warm If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me Have you read the YouTube comments lately? “Man, that’s gay” gets dropped on the daily We become so numb to what we’re saying A culture founded from oppression Yet we don’t have acceptance for ’em Call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board A word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it Gay is synonymous with the lesser It’s the same hate that’s caused wars from religion Gender to skin color, the complexion of your pigment The same fight that led people to walk outs and sit ins It’s human rights for everybody, there is no difference! Live on and be yourself When I was at church they taught me something else If you preach hate at the service those words aren’t anointed That holy water that you soak in has been poisoned When everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless Rather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolen I might not be the same, but that’s not important No freedom till we’re equal, damn right I support it (I don’t know) And I can’t change Even if I tried Even if I wanted to My love My love My love She keeps me warm She keeps me warm She keeps me warm She keeps me warm We press play, don’t press pause Progress, march on With the veil over our eyes We turn our back on the cause Till the day that my uncles can be united by law When kids are walking ’round the hallway plagued by pain in their heart A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are And a certificate on paper isn’t gonna solve it all But it’s a damn good place to start No law is gonna change us We have to change us Whatever God you believe in We come from the same one Strip away the fear Underneath it’s all the same love About time that we raised up… sex And I can’t change Even if I tried Even if I wanted to And I can’t change Even if I tried Even if I wanted to My love My love My love She keeps me warm She keeps me warm She keeps me warm She keeps me warm Love is patient Love is kind Love is patient Love is kind (not crying on Sundays) Love is patient (not crying on Sundays) Love is kind (I’m not crying on Sundays) Love is patient (not crying on Sundays) Love is kind (I’m not crying on Sundays) Love is patient (not crying on Sundays) Love is kind (I’m not crying on Sundays) Love is patient Love is kind
OK… got it?
So Macklemore has positioned himself as, and is being hailed as, a Leading Voice in Liberal Tolerance when it comes to Homosexual Love.
On the contrary;
Macklemore is a Coward.
One must understand that anytime you read a story, or listen to a song, the writer has Carefully chosen the words.
So Listen, Carefully.
Macklemore specifically chooses not just to express his deep concern he might have been Gay when he was a child (because he kept his room clean), and subsequent “relief” once he determined, (his mother told him) he was NOT… he then Chooses Mary Lambert to sing a chorus about Lesbian Love. Lesbian Love… Not the Love one Man shares with another Man… Lesbian Love…
Why does this matter?
Two reasons.
First, it immediately makes Macklemore disingenuous. Take a moment and replace the incredible Mary Lambert with a Male singer weilding a Extraordinary Baritone reminiscent of say
Isaac Hayes. Then change the words to “He Keeps Me Warm.” I’ll wait.
How does that feel? Different?
Second of course is the fact that a Majority of Humans have no problem with Lesbians. Zero problem.
There has been an entire Movie industry built upon Lesbian “Love”. An Industry so large and so prolific that it has determined the format we watch all movies in at home.
Why? Because…
Lesbians Like it.
Heterosexual Men Like it.
Heterosexual Women don’t mind it as much as they often profess… In fact, most arguments against porn from women is related to it undermining their individual influence over Men. In other words; Objectification… Destruction of the Family… Unreasonable expectation… body image… etc. (The Exploitation of Women argument(oddly never Men) becomes slightly more difficult in the internet age where many of the Female AND MALE porn actors are accessible in terms of expressing opinions outside of the movies they participate in. The majority of these people make it clear they are Choosing to Participate of their own Free Will. Human trafficking related to porn exists… as it does in prostitution and illegal garment manufacturing industries. It is horrible and already illegal. There are no fans of slavery, in any form, on this site…)
This above phenomena has a great deal to do with Biological Imperatives. In other words, hard wiring of the species… good or bad.
So not only did Macklemore take the road headed to the low hanging fruit displaying his own prejudices, he also tried to make sure his song wouldn’t offend his friends in the Rapper community. Where’s the courage in that? What barriers, exactly, are being torn down? What growth in acceptance is he promoting by doing something so small? What’s brave about doing that small something in 2013 when the porn industry has been doing it in front of a massive audience since it’s inception?
In the end, nobody cares. At least those among us who believe in the supremacy of the Individual don’t care.
What I do care about however is accolades being poured upon an individual who is neither courageous nor tolerant. And I care about those accolades being offered only because of the importance certain factions of our society wish to fuel further balkanization for political purposes. Why bother mentioning the Right Wing Conservatives when it’s the Rapper Community who has the problem… just not with Lesbians.? Is it just me saying it?
Because you’re a Coward.
(For those of you who might want to bring to my attention that Macklemore has MEN in his video, I will respond that nobody sees the video anymore. And, he knows that. Where do you go? MTV? VH1? Nice try not to think.)
makeaneffort 