When it comes to Beyoncé, I've long wanted to say to the right, "Doth protest too much."
There were Bill O'Reilly's comments in 2014:
"She (Beyoncé) knows - this woman knows - that young girls are getting pregnant in the African American community. Now it's about 70 percent out of wedlock. She knows and doesn't seem to care. She should be smart enough to know that what's she doing now is harming some children."
There was Mike Huckabee in 2015:
"It was President Obama who said in an interview with 'Glamour' who said that some of the lyrics he won't listen to with his daughter because it embarrasses him. Well, here's my point. If it embarrasses you, then why would you possibly think it's wholesome for your children to put it into their heads?"
He added:
"They're great parents (the Obamas), they're careful about making sure that their kids get a lot of vegetables and eat right, that's terrific. Well, what you put in your brain is also important as well as what you put into your body, and that was my point based on what the president himself said. ... My point is, she (Beyoncé) doesn't have to do some of the things that she does in the lyrics because it's not necessary. She has nothing to make up for. She's an amazing talent."
Then there were the numerous critiques by right-wing talking heads over the past several days with regard to Beyoncé's Super Bowl halftime performance:
- "[The Super Bowl halftime show was] representative of the cultural decay and the political decay and the social rot that is befalling our country." - Rush Limbaugh
- "This is football, not Hollywood, and I thought it was really outrageous that she used it as a platform to attack police officers who are the people who protect her and protect us, and keep us alive. And what we should be doing in the African-American community, and all communities, is to build up respect for police officers..." - Rudy Giuliani
- "[Beyoncé owes her] success to the capitalist system the leftist Black Lives Matter movement is intent on destroying." - Breitbart News
- "...Them coming out, Beyoncé in those Black Panther-type uniforms, would that be acceptable if a band, a white band came out in hoods and white sheets in the same sort of fashion? We would be appalled and outraged. The Black Panthers are a subversive hate group in America..." - Fox News regular David Clarke
- "So in 'Formation,' women dressed like prostitutes. That's the message to little girls today. And so before we knew what she was going to be dressed as, I should have known it. this is only 8:43 p.m. last night, Eastern time. 8:43 -- no family hour. Family hour is over. There is no family hour." - Laura Ingraham
- "[Beyoncé's Super Bowl performance was] a racist political statement in support of Marxist cop killers..." - Gateway Pundit's Jim Hoft
- "...She gave the middle finger to police officers all across the country, and I think that that was clearly not the place for her actions." - Fox's Rod Wheeler
Can we please cut it out with this false dilemmic type of thinking? Speaking out against police brutality is not speaking out against all police officers. If one were to criticize a single steakhouse, would they then be told they're anti-steakhouses? No. I thought the Republican Party was the party of personal responsibility. Why then, according to many in the GOP, are certain professions exempt from holding responsibility for their unlawful actions, including law enforcement, Republican politicians, and large corporations (you know, because they're people), among others? Shouldn't the law be applied equally regardless of one's profession? Of what point are laws if the repercussions from breaking them are largely dependent on one's occupation?
In addition to that, I find it quite ironically humorous conservatives like Rudy Giuliani and Laura Ingraham bash Beyoncé for not providing "wholesome," family-friendly entertainment, considering the fact her halftime spectacle came in the midst of a game where grown men pound one another into oblivion for 60 minutes, leaving many of them severely hampered short- and/or long-term. Give me a break (no, not literally, even though this may be viewed as "wholesome," family-friendly entertainment to some)...
Lastly, what is it with the double standards with regard to entertainers and freedom of speech? If Ted Nugent goes on one of his controversial conspiracy-laden rants, I don't hear Rush Limbaugh, Rudy Giuliani, or Laura Ingraham criticizing him. So, why, according to them, is it okay for some entertainers to let their political views be publicly known but not others? I may not like what some conservative entertainers have to say about politics, but while I may criticize their arguments, I'm not going to criticize them making their viewpoints be known publicly. They should be afforded that right just like everyone else. It'd be nice to see the Rudy Giulianis of the world think similarly. Beyoncé is an entertainer, who, like everyone else, has the right to express herself. If someone doesn't like that, fine, but that doesn't detract from her 1st Amendment rights. ...and here I thought the GOP was the party of freedom and personal responsibility. Like I said, they doth protest too much...
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/10/anti-beyonce-rally-planned-outside-nfl-headquarters-over-hate-speech
http://thinkprogress.org/culture/2014/04/27/3431245/oreilly-beyonce-teen-pregnancies/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/18/mike-huckabee-beyonce_n_6496326.html
http://mediamatters.org/research/2016/02/08/conservative-media-get-into-formation-to-attack/208439
There were Bill O'Reilly's comments in 2014:
"She (Beyoncé) knows - this woman knows - that young girls are getting pregnant in the African American community. Now it's about 70 percent out of wedlock. She knows and doesn't seem to care. She should be smart enough to know that what's she doing now is harming some children."
There was Mike Huckabee in 2015:
"It was President Obama who said in an interview with 'Glamour' who said that some of the lyrics he won't listen to with his daughter because it embarrasses him. Well, here's my point. If it embarrasses you, then why would you possibly think it's wholesome for your children to put it into their heads?"
He added:
"They're great parents (the Obamas), they're careful about making sure that their kids get a lot of vegetables and eat right, that's terrific. Well, what you put in your brain is also important as well as what you put into your body, and that was my point based on what the president himself said. ... My point is, she (Beyoncé) doesn't have to do some of the things that she does in the lyrics because it's not necessary. She has nothing to make up for. She's an amazing talent."
Then there were the numerous critiques by right-wing talking heads over the past several days with regard to Beyoncé's Super Bowl halftime performance:
- "[The Super Bowl halftime show was] representative of the cultural decay and the political decay and the social rot that is befalling our country." - Rush Limbaugh
- "This is football, not Hollywood, and I thought it was really outrageous that she used it as a platform to attack police officers who are the people who protect her and protect us, and keep us alive. And what we should be doing in the African-American community, and all communities, is to build up respect for police officers..." - Rudy Giuliani
- "[Beyoncé owes her] success to the capitalist system the leftist Black Lives Matter movement is intent on destroying." - Breitbart News
- "...Them coming out, Beyoncé in those Black Panther-type uniforms, would that be acceptable if a band, a white band came out in hoods and white sheets in the same sort of fashion? We would be appalled and outraged. The Black Panthers are a subversive hate group in America..." - Fox News regular David Clarke
- "So in 'Formation,' women dressed like prostitutes. That's the message to little girls today. And so before we knew what she was going to be dressed as, I should have known it. this is only 8:43 p.m. last night, Eastern time. 8:43 -- no family hour. Family hour is over. There is no family hour." - Laura Ingraham
- "[Beyoncé's Super Bowl performance was] a racist political statement in support of Marxist cop killers..." - Gateway Pundit's Jim Hoft
- "...She gave the middle finger to police officers all across the country, and I think that that was clearly not the place for her actions." - Fox's Rod Wheeler
Can we please cut it out with this false dilemmic type of thinking? Speaking out against police brutality is not speaking out against all police officers. If one were to criticize a single steakhouse, would they then be told they're anti-steakhouses? No. I thought the Republican Party was the party of personal responsibility. Why then, according to many in the GOP, are certain professions exempt from holding responsibility for their unlawful actions, including law enforcement, Republican politicians, and large corporations (you know, because they're people), among others? Shouldn't the law be applied equally regardless of one's profession? Of what point are laws if the repercussions from breaking them are largely dependent on one's occupation?
In addition to that, I find it quite ironically humorous conservatives like Rudy Giuliani and Laura Ingraham bash Beyoncé for not providing "wholesome," family-friendly entertainment, considering the fact her halftime spectacle came in the midst of a game where grown men pound one another into oblivion for 60 minutes, leaving many of them severely hampered short- and/or long-term. Give me a break (no, not literally, even though this may be viewed as "wholesome," family-friendly entertainment to some)...
Lastly, what is it with the double standards with regard to entertainers and freedom of speech? If Ted Nugent goes on one of his controversial conspiracy-laden rants, I don't hear Rush Limbaugh, Rudy Giuliani, or Laura Ingraham criticizing him. So, why, according to them, is it okay for some entertainers to let their political views be publicly known but not others? I may not like what some conservative entertainers have to say about politics, but while I may criticize their arguments, I'm not going to criticize them making their viewpoints be known publicly. They should be afforded that right just like everyone else. It'd be nice to see the Rudy Giulianis of the world think similarly. Beyoncé is an entertainer, who, like everyone else, has the right to express herself. If someone doesn't like that, fine, but that doesn't detract from her 1st Amendment rights. ...and here I thought the GOP was the party of freedom and personal responsibility. Like I said, they doth protest too much...
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/10/anti-beyonce-rally-planned-outside-nfl-headquarters-over-hate-speech
http://thinkprogress.org/culture/2014/04/27/3431245/oreilly-beyonce-teen-pregnancies/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/18/mike-huckabee-beyonce_n_6496326.html
http://mediamatters.org/research/2016/02/08/conservative-media-get-into-formation-to-attack/208439
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