Bruce Springsteen: please play North Carolina!

Steven Salaita al-Bassaleh 9 April 2016

Springsteen’s decision to boycott North Carolina is harmful to the very movement he claims to support. (Shayne Kaye)

Iconic rock-n-roller Bruce Springsteen recently canceled a gig in Greensboro in protest of North Carolina’s Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, which critics claim is homophobic and transphobic.

“Some things are more important than a rock show,” the singer declared, expressing solidarity with the “freedom fighters” who requested the boycott.

But Springsteen’s decision is harmful to the very movement he claims to support.

It’s also deeply unfair to Christians. God promised them a world of gender binaries. They didn’t wrest the fallow, unused land from a few dozen Indians (who by the way had emigrated from Virginia) just to see their civilization come unglued.

If you get down to it, the boycott of North Carolina is anti-Christian.

Christians shouldn’t be forced to share spaces with people they find unsavory. Those trying to commandeer respectable, civilized bathrooms are fundamentally different.

They have strange beliefs and inhabit pathological cultures. They’re trying to take away our freedom. I mean, how many LGBT democracies can you name?

Calling these violent elements “freedom fighters” ignores the fear that constantly grips the Christian majority. We have to remember that all political conversations must revolve around our feelings.

Nobody supports the LGBT community more than I do. I’m just worried that Springsteen’s decision is counterproductive and a real problem for those who only want to live in a world with people who share their biological predisposition.

Boycott just isn’t practical. Why doesn’t Springsteen focus on something more realistic, like donating concert proceeds to reassignment surgery?

Why doesn’t he make a token visit to an LGBT community center and snap a few photographs? These are the sort of things that make a real difference.

Artists are healers, after all. There’s been a terrible misunderstanding between Christians and the transgender population. Both sides have made mistakes. The point isn’t to assign blame. Both groups need to work together to make sure that Christians don’t feel guilty about their supremacy.

In North Carolina, LGBT people can vote. They’re citizens. They own homes. Sure, hate crimes and discrimination kind of suck, but, like, whatever. What more do they want? Seriously, how would these people fare in South Carolina?

And, if we’re going to be honest, their own leadership is the problem. Why don’t they do something for their people instead of sitting around complaining about Christians, who shouldn’t have to apologize for being industrious and successful.

Where do you think that cigarette you’re currently enjoying came from? Do you laugh at those Crying Jordan pictures? Have you sampled Lexington-style barbeque? Well, don’t ever smoke, eat pork butt, or post ironic memes again or you’re a hypocrite.

Finally, if history teaches us anything, it’s that politics has no place in rock-n-roll! Life is all about our own gratification. We just wanna groove out to the sick riffs of “Born in the USA” without thinking about things like violence and inequality.

Look, I’m all for LGBT rights and stuff, but boycotts are way uncool. Why can’t we just have some dialogue, instead?

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Comments

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Chuck Hamilton replied on

I find it more than a bit hypocritical that someone such a staunch supporter of BDS on Palestine, a position I have always shared, does not have the same empathy for others he asks for from the world. That's akin to be a human rights activist who is a Zionist. I am very disappointed in you, Dr. Salaita, you no longer have my support.

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Ali Abunimah replied on

This is a piece of satire. Just in case that is not completely obvious, it is actually tagged ”satire.”

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Chuck Hamilton replied on

Yes, thanks, my bad. Good piece, really puts the anti-BDS movement in the correct perspective.

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Rich replied on

I love satire. My grandfather had a saying I feel is one of the best. "Some people will complain even when they are hung with a new rope" I still have not grasped it, but some how it makes sense to me.

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cape_crusader replied on

It wasn't clear???

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Jonathan House replied on

Scrolling fast, it took me a moment to go from incredulity to realizing what it is, and it is, indeed, terrific.

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tom hall replied on

Brilliant, Steven. I was actually fuming as I read along. Where was the "dialog and discussion" angle? That's one of my favorite hasbara gambits. And then, saved for the end, there it was.

The strained outrage displayed by Springsteen and Steven van Zandt over anti-LGBT bigotry looks very much like an act of displacement- a means of demonstrating their ongoing commitment to justice without seriously endangering their standing in American show business circles through embracing the BDS call.

We're not worried, though. They'll cross over when the numbers indicate it's safe to join the boycott. Of course, by that time even Bob Dylan will be grievin' for Gaza. That's show biz.

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Kent Lebsock replied on

Wow, Steven, very disappointed in you. It's ok to boycott and divest for Palestinians oppressed by one of the two great evil empires, but when it comes to queer people, oh, don't protest, chat? Kind of naive. Ever been to the xristian south Steven?

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John Costello replied on

Professor Salaita's brilliance is really on display with this article. Read here, by civil rights advocates, it's a wonderfully sarcastic parody of the silent majority's reverse racism, get over it, anti-politically correct tea party movement. Read there by them, it just might land him a job at UNC.

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Gerry replied on

When I go into a public toilet facility I demand to see a birth certificate from others hanging around the urinals. If someone is in a stall I demand they slide the document under the stall door. Then I feel safe when I do my business.

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Anonymous replied on

The ironic part of this satire is that the irony attempted in the satire is either lost on your audience because it wasn't there to begin with.

The comparisons purported here aren't legitimate, rendering the piece "unfunny".

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Gerry replied on

Never thought about it before but the term "ironic irony" cancels each other out and brings us back to the bald text. What if it was "ironic ironic irony"?

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Mark replied on

Was Springstein bullied into withdrawal of his offer to perform in N Carolina?
Who dun it? LGBTI community?

Steven Salaita

Steven Salaita’s latest book is Uncivil Rites:  Palestine and the Limits of Academic Freedom.