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Comments on Guest opinion
SB 1070: Outraged artists should speak out in Arizona, not boycott
An open letter to all artists boycotting Arizona
Posted Jun 25, 2010
Charlie Levy Special to TucsonSentinel.com
Guest Opinion: An open letter to artists boycotting Arizona: By not performing in Arizona, artists are harming the very people and places that foster free speech and the open exchange of ideas that serve to counter the closed-mindedness recently displayed by the new law.
It seems only logical for a concert promoter, whose business is being hurt, to have this opinion. I do have sympathy for the many people whose economic well being is impacted by business groups, musicians and tourists boycotting AZ. But, I also see how the actions proposed in this piece would be painted by the opposition. “Look,” they would say. “these entertainers don’t really care about principles. They only care about money.” I hope national touring groups continue to boycott Arizona. I would even suggest that national acts which don’t boycott AZ should be boycotted themselves. This is going to play itself out before the summer is over, as I believe the courts will strike this law down. My memory of the civil rights movement is quite different than that of the author of this article. Boycotts like this one:
Instead of a boycott, which is a shotgun approach, why not use a more targeted strategy: work/donate to replace the idiots who voted for the law. And the brain-dead governor who not only signed it but continues to make statements that illuminate her apparently unlimited ignorance.
mark, the short answer is that most of the bigots who voted for this bill are in very safely Republican districts, and upwards of 70% of their constituents are supporters of this legislation. Getting them voted out is unlikely. I hope Brewer loses, but Goddard has a poor track record as a candidate. Another part of the original article I wanted to address is voter registration drives using musicians. Fine idea, but we have many great local musicians, too many to name them all, who would gladly participate in such an effort. It seems more and more to me that the real complaint of the author of this piece is that he is personally losing money by having national acts boycott AZ.
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1
4 comments on this story
Freedom has a cost
Boycott AZ
It seems only logical for a concert promoter, whose business is being hurt, to have this opinion. I do have sympathy for the many people whose economic well being is impacted by business groups, musicians and tourists boycotting AZ. But, I also see how the actions proposed in this piece would be painted by the opposition. “Look,” they would say. “these entertainers don’t really care about principles. They only care about money.” I hope national touring groups continue to boycott Arizona. I would even suggest that national acts which don’t boycott AZ should be boycotted themselves. This is going to play itself out before the summer is over, as I believe the courts will strike this law down. My memory of the civil rights movement is quite different than that of the author of this article. Boycotts like this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Bus_Boycott
were used as a tool. So to say MLK and other civil rights leaders would not have used boycotts seems to go against the facts.
Instead of a boycott, which is a shotgun approach, why not use a more targeted strategy: work/donate to replace the idiots who voted for the law. And the brain-dead governor who not only signed it but continues to make statements that illuminate her apparently unlimited ignorance.
mark, the short answer is that most of the bigots who voted for this bill are in very safely Republican districts, and upwards of 70% of their constituents are supporters of this legislation. Getting them voted out is unlikely. I hope Brewer loses, but Goddard has a poor track record as a candidate. Another part of the original article I wanted to address is voter registration drives using musicians. Fine idea, but we have many great local musicians, too many to name them all, who would gladly participate in such an effort. It seems more and more to me that the real complaint of the author of this piece is that he is personally losing money by having national acts boycott AZ.