Things that annoy me (5 Viewers)

[Panzer ace]

All protesting does is remind me that I am surrounded by ignorant, misinformed, easily manipulated idiots.

And if you think that is because some are on the opposite side of my Republican political views you are wrong.

Nothing reinforced my feelings about idiotic protesters more than the January 6 riots.

 

[Warrior]

All protesting does is remind me that I am surrounded by ignorant, misinformed, easily manipulated idiots.

And if you think that is because some are on the opposite side of my Republican political views you are wrong.

Nothing reinforced my feelings about idiotic protesters more than the January 6 riots.

Nice to see MN law enforcement working with ICE finally; if they had done so from the beginning, two protestors would still be alive today.

 

[mikemiller1955]

I realise ‘celebrities’ have been expressing their personal opinions on political matters for decades, however in recent years their opinions have crept into being front line news and reported like they actually mean something.

I personally don’t give a toss about their so called wisdom, which many seem desperate to share. Sadly most come across as demented hypocrites full of self importance and entitlement, like we all should be awed by their mis-placed reverence. The result has been a complete turn off and I find myself avoiding their music and acting performances at an ever increasing rate. Why can’t they simply shut their gobs and stick to their chosen profession like the smart ones do?

Yep...bands with protest song agendas have been around forever...Arlo Guthrie...John Lennon...Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young...Black Sabbath...Pete Seeger...Bob Dylan...even Green Day...the list is endless...you can dislike it...you can avoid it...you can flat black ball it...but you get to say what you want...why can't they...you can't censor free speech...

 

[Combat]

Yep...bands with protest song agendas have been around forever...Arlo Guthrie...John Lennon...Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young...Black Sabbath...Pete Seeger...Bob Dylan...even Green Day...the list is endless...you can dislike it...you can avoid it...you can flat black ball it...but you get to say what you want...why can't they...you can't censor free speech...

Some of those songs are good. Springsteen's is embarrassing. I actually laughed out loud and couldn't believe it was real. They have a Bruce station on satellite radio where they were in ecstasy all day over it. Not a single person could apparently bring themselves to criticize it. I even wonder if it was AI written.

 

[mikemiller1955]

Some of those songs are good. Springsteen's is embarrassing. I actually laughed out loud and couldn't believe it was real. They have a Bruce station on satellite radio where they were in ecstasy all day over it. Not a single person could apparently bring themselves to criticize it. I even wonder if it was AI written.

Bob Dylan..."The Times They Are Changing"...political and social changes...Americans are unhappy...I seriously doubt "The Boss" needed AI to compose the lyrics...he has a ton of political songs written well before AI...

 

[tdubel]

Regarding musical protests, I always try to stick with the music, if it is a good song, I like it regardless, ie if a movie entertains me, I like it regardless. Great example is War Pigs from Black Sabbath - it is as like today as when written in 1970. I think the difference is Sabbath put their lyrics to work for what they wanted to express. It resonated with some, others not, etc. There are other artists IMO (my opinion) who have utilized their platform politically for many reasons - Springsteen is an activist and IMO an egomaniac (as a lot are) and he likes to be in the press. Maren Morris for example became political and "left Nashville" when her career was going to the toilet and she was trying to remain relevant. I think the Dixie Chicks did that too over the George Bush issue.

I really don't care what most say as their opinion is really no more important than any other opinion. I do think the ones that continue to be activists hurt their careers. Springsteen, not so much b/c he is well liked musically regardless, but you will see most of them steer clear b/c it doesn't make good business sense to piss off your fans. I think Carrie Underwood receives unwarranted attention simply because she took an opportunity to sing at an inauguration. End of the day, why should that be penalized either, it is an incredible honor IMO to be asked to do it, same as singing the national anthem for the NFL.

I think there is more made out of these situations than it really matters. RE Springsteen - as a paying concert goer, I would certainly rather hear him sing for 2 hrs than pontificate on his stances, that is the one angle where they would all annoy me. RE I don't want to hear Jason Aldean talk about his views all night long either, really there for the entertainment!

End of day, like I said - Sabbath IMO were the masters at putting their messages in their songs and not alienating any part of their audience. In other words, when you saw them, you were there to be entertained, not preached at. There is actually an interview out there online with Ozzy where he addresses politicians, I cant find it now, but it is really an interesting take where he basically says his goal was to entertain fans, not preach or piss them off!

Tom

 

[tdubel]

On another note, how deep does this Fraud in Minnesota go? How many of the current politicians were either involved or turned a blind eye? This is really turning nutty with numbers, the figures are literally astronomical from what I am reading. Somebody should and hopefully is prosecuted over this, this is just crazy, it makes Baltimore City Maryland corruption which is monumental look little league in comparison.
WOW.

 

[tdubel]

while I'm a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment...and I'm not justifying the shooting by any means...and while it was his legal Constitutional right to carry a gun...I am thoroughly convinced the ICE officers grossly over reacted...still...a sad ending...but...you play stupid games and you win stupid prizes...I would not have taken a gun to peaceful rally...and again...Pretti got a horrible over reaction by ICE...totally unnecessary...

Probably just about where I fall on this one. Also, I do think the reassignment of Bovino (Border Patrol) was the right decision. My biggest point is and always will be, people need to be smarter about what situations they put themselves in and take responsibility for that. That is where my FAFO comes from, I just find people doing dumb things and as you say unfortunately winning stupid prizes, it is just not worth it. AND if it continues to be uncovered that these are funded protests aimed at achieving chaos, I just find that criminal in many senses of the word.

As a side, I do not believe in "roving patrols"< I find them to be not helpful as well as prone to lots of unknowns and dangers. I do think there is a common ground here - turn over the criminals and respect the ICE detainers and warrants at the département of corrections level. I feel like that is common sense on all sides and should avoid these repeated situations.

There will always be situations where there is going to be a Federal Warrant for a bad guy/gal and in a way, these are no different than Federal Warrants served by Federal Marshals. Maybe you turn those situations over to the Federal Marshals (there is usually 100%) local cooperation on serving these warrants as a lot of times, Federal Marshals end up serving State warrants at the jurisdictions request. Maybe that is the solution here too.

There needs to be a more unified approach as I don't hear anybody on any side wanting to keep illegal alien criminals in the US. I think that is one thing the Nation is nearly unified on.

TD

 

[Combat]

Bob Dylan..."The Times They Are Changing"...political and social changes...Americans are unhappy...I seriously doubt "The Boss" needed AI to compose the lyrics...he has a ton of political songs written well before AI...

If he wrote that song himself, maybe he should have used AI.

 

[paxtoysoldier]

Good points Tom. There must be some less dramatic way to deport felons.

 

[Warrior]

Regarding musical protests, I always try to stick with the music, if it is a good song, I like it regardless, ie if a movie entertains me, I like it regardless. Great example is War Pigs from Black Sabbath - it is as like today as when written in 1970. I think the difference is Sabbath put their lyrics to work for what they wanted to express. It resonated with some, others not, etc. There are other artists IMO (my opinion) who have utilized their platform politically for many reasons - Springsteen is an activist and IMO an egomaniac (as a lot are) and he likes to be in the press. Maren Morris for example became political and "left Nashville" when her career was going to the toilet and she was trying to remain relevant. I think the Dixie Chicks did that too over the George Bush issue.

I really don't care what most say as their opinion is really no more important than any other opinion. I do think the ones that continue to be activists hurt their careers. Springsteen, not so much b/c he is well liked musically regardless, but you will see most of them steer clear b/c it doesn't make good business sense to piss off your fans. I think Carrie Underwood receives unwarranted attention simply because she took an opportunity to sing at an inauguration. End of the day, why should that be penalized either, it is an incredible honor IMO to be asked to do it, same as singing the national anthem for the NFL.

I think there is more made out of these situations than it really matters. RE Springsteen - as a paying concert goer, I would certainly rather hear him sing for 2 hrs than pontificate on his stances, that is the one angle where they would all annoy me. RE I don't want to hear Jason Aldean talk about his views all night long either, really there for the entertainment!

End of day, like I said - Sabbath IMO were the masters at putting their messages in their songs and not alienating any part of their audience. In other words, when you saw them, you were there to be entertained, not preached at. There is actually an interview out there online with Ozzy where he addresses politicians, I cant find it now, but it is really an interesting take where he basically says his goal was to entertain fans, not preach or piss them off!

Tom

Regarding Springsteen; I went to Bentley college from 1978-1982, several of my high school friends attended Boston University, used to go to parties on their campus, BU had a strong NY/NJ vibe to it, so Springsteen was huge at the parties, I was not a fan in high school, but he grew on me, specifically the album "Born to Run", IMO one of the greatest rock albums of all time, featured three HUGE songs, Born to Run, Thunder Road and Jungleland, back when he had chops and was great at what he did.

Then things went sideways IMO and he started to crank out commercial garbage like Born in the USA, Dancing in the Dark and Glory Days among others.................fast forward to now; good for him that he wants use his platform to pontificate about politics and write protest songs.

What Springsteen and other singers/actors/actresses fail to get through their heads over and over and over and over and over is when you come out with a position/come down on one side politically, you are going to piss off half your fan base, the other half will think you're brave and are a swell person.

A guy like him who has to move piles of money out of the way to go to the bathroom could care less; just like I could care less about him and his music, no longer a fan, won't listen to song one of his, wouldn't attend a concert of his if the tickets were free.

His choice to ramble about politics; my choice to no longer listen to his music.

It's that simple.

 

[Desertkiwi]

Yep...bands with protest song agendas have been around forever...Arlo Guthrie...John Lennon...Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young...Black Sabbath...Pete Seeger...Bob Dylan...even Green Day...the list is endless...you can dislike it...you can avoid it...you can flat black ball it...but you get to say what you want...why can't they...you can't censor free speech...

Mike, I probably need to clarify here, my post wasn’t about their music or movies they make, it’s about their political rants when being interviewed or on talkback shows and the like. Sure celebrities have a right to express an opinion and share their views, however when it comes to the political stuff it gets awkward and IMO uncomfortable real fast. In some cases it’s actually embarrassing to hear them speak.

I guess it’s fine if you agree with their views, however I’d prefer not to be exposed to their personal ravings regardless of what side they support.

Most have made bucket loads of cash and become so called celebrities through their performances and professional careers, not from telling everyone who they vote for.

For me using their celebrity status to grandstand their political opinions is painful viewing and comes from a place of privilege and an over abundance of entitlement and a complete turn off. I don’t know why they think their political opinions matter, arrogance maybe?

As you say it’s their right to express themselves publicly and I’d be the last person to stop them doing it, however I won’t be paying to view their next movie or listen to them sing. Cheers

 

[tdubel]

Good points Tom. There must be some less dramatic way to deport felons.

I do not disagree, I just think there is a lack of common sense in application caused by the politics of both sides.