OT: My rant about Roger Waters

[TRAGChick]

....which should be in the "Rant!" forum, but....I don't "know" anyone over there.

OK:

This past Tuesday, we went out to see "Roger Waters Presents the Dark Side of the Moon Tour" (not sure if that's the title, but oh well....he did a bunch of Pink Floyd stuff...)

Anyway, here's my reason for this thread:

Roger is a very talented Songwriter/Musician....he had an AMAZING Backup Band; played Classic Floyd and new stuff...

....but, he chose the stage Visual Screen to go off about George Bush, the War, and the state of our current World -

Now, as a Singer myself, I understand the whole "Freedom of Speech" / "Artistic Expression" thing...but to be honest with you, Mark was more into RW than me....I knew songs like "Wish You Were Here", etc....I was singing along; having a great time....

....but IMHO, that's ALL I should've been having: A GOOD TIME.

I wanted to go to a "Classic Rock" Concert, sit back, enjoy the music / talent, and just get lost in Music for a few hours....

....NOT be bashed over the head about what an ASSHOLE George Bush is!!!

If I WANTED to know Roger's Political views, then he should've presented them in the "New York Times" or something like that....

....so I can read it IF / WHEN I ask myself:

"Gee.....I wonder what ROGER WATERS thinks of the World today!!"

End of rant.

[conversationpc]

I wanted to go to a "Classic Rock" Concert, sit back, enjoy the music / talent, and just get lost in Music for a few hours....

....NOT be bashed over the head about what an ASSHOLE George Bush is!!!

Agreed and I would feel the same way if the act I was going to see were bashing liberals. I go to a show to experience the music, not be indoctrinated with the artist's political views.

[squirt1]

I guess they have a lot of money and are not worried about their fanbase.. In this country 50% will be angry with any political statements. It NEVER belongs where people pay their hard earned $$$ to see music. I want music ,not politics. Ask the Dixie Chicks how well their rantings went. I know who is of what party because they show up at fund raisers, just don't want to pay to hear it at concerts. Sorry about your evening, but it will let others know.

[Moon Beam]

Your a better Woman than I Nora.
Had I been at a show like that I just might have had a full blown hissy fit.
I would go beyond the Boo's and Hiss factor if I ever attended a "Rock Concert"
turned into a political stage.

If these Musicians want to really jump on the campaign trail, I think
they should go door to door of the American Public......bet they'd never do that.

[Angiekay]

Same thing happened in St Paul when I saw him last week. I mentioned in another thread my disappointment in his need to get political at a concert. As my sister(who until then was TOTALLY enjoying the show)said, "I've just lost all respect for Roger Waters". You're an artist, play music. If you want to be political, run for an office.

[larryfromnextdoor]

nora, check out your nearest Ted Nugent concert, that should even everything out..

the music is just a back drop ....

[squirt1]

I never was interested in Ted NRA Nugent either. He does do a lot of good with feeding the poor with his hunting I must say.

[Voyager]

I saw Roger Waters in Vegas, and the same thing happened. Personally, I agree with everything he said, so it did not bother me. But I do agree that he should find a different soapbox for his political views, as he may alienate some of his conservative fans. Maybe he should be on Larry King Live some night. But then again, it's pretty obvious to the whole world that George Bush is a tyrant. Many people around the world compare him with Hitler. Would it be wrong for Roger Waters to criticize Hitler on stage?

[Rick]

I saw Roger Waters in Vegas, and the same thing happened. Personally, I agree with everything he said, so it did not bother me. But I do agree that he should find a different soapbox for his political views, as he may alienate some of his conservative fans. Maybe he should be on Larry King Live some night. But then again, it's pretty obvious to the whole world that George Bush is a tyrant. Many people around the world compare him with Hitler. Would it be wrong for Roger Waters to criticize Hitler on stage?

No, but if you pay to go see someone sing, you want to hear them sing, not blather about their political views, no? If people want to hear his political views, he can do those shows separately. He might even draw a crowd in this climate.

[conversationpc]

But then again, it's pretty obvious to the whole world that George Bush is a tyrant. Many people around the world compare him with Hitler. Would it be wrong for Roger Waters to criticize Hitler on stage?

BDS is running rampant in this forum...The comparison isn't even close to being valid. Hitler was responsible for MILLIONS of deaths. Whether you agree with Bush's policy as it relates to the war on terror or not, he has not purposely targeted innocent people. Unfortunately, innocent people get killed in war. It really sucks but it happens but Bush hasn't sent millions of innocent people away to death camps or slaughtered hundreds of thousands of people dead in the streets.

[Voyager]

The comparison isn't even close to being valid. Hitler was responsible for MILLIONS of deaths.

Bush hasn't killed millions yet, but around 3,000 USA soldiers and up to 200,000 Iraqi citizens and soldiers have been murdered as a result of his unjustified war.

[Just Mindy]

No, but if you pay to go see someone sing, you want to hear them sing, not blather about their political views, no? If people want to hear his political views, he can do those shows separately. He might even draw a crowd in this climate.

Exactly. Nora that would have pissed me off, so I don't blame you for your rant. Whether or not I agree with what his views are does not matter. I paid to hear some music. If I wanted politics I could have just stayed home, logged on to MR and check out the Live Earth thread, saving some money in the process.

[JrnySuxBalls]

Whatever. Views on Bush have far surpassed being "political", it's more like: do you have a conscience or not?

If views on the war affect your concert experience, just go out & see Charlie Daniels.

[Saint John]

The comparison isn't even close to being valid. Hitler was responsible for MILLIONS of deaths.

Bush hasn't killed millions yet, but around 3,000 USA soldiers and up to 200,000 Iraqi citizens and soldiers have been murdered as a result of his unjustified war.

Those 3,000 American patriots were killed by people that would like nothing better than to slaughter EVERY single person in the U.S. We'll never know what catastrophic event(s), if any, the war over there has stopped over here. As far as the dead Iraqi's goes, that amount of deaths is on par, actually a bit LOWER, with the historical amount Hussein is known to have killed annually. And the "unjustified war" you speak of came about as the result of a bi-partisan vote based on both parties reading the same intelligence reports. Saddam Hussein had a nice offer. Pack your shit and leave. He didn't and now he's with Allah. I'm gonna buy a Qur'an and shit on it this week. As an added bonus I might make up a "Fuck Allah" t-shirt as well. I'm feeling silly this week. Haven't had a drink in 10 days. That's gotta be why.

[conversationpc]

The comparison isn't even close to being valid. Hitler was responsible for MILLIONS of deaths.

Bush hasn't killed millions yet, but around 3,000 USA soldiers and up to 200,000 Iraqi citizens and soldiers have been murdered as a result of his unjustified war.

Those 3,000 American patriots were killed by people that would like nothing better than to slaughter EVERY single person in the U.S. We'll never know what catastrophic event(s), if any, the war over there has stopped over here. As far as the dead Iraqi's goes, that amount of deaths is on par, actually a bit LOWER, with the historical amount Hussein is known to have killed annually. And the "unjustified war" you speak of came about as the result of a bi-partisan vote based on both parties reading the same intelligence reports. Saddam Hussein had a nice offer. Pack your shit and leave. He didn't and now he's with Allah. I'm gonna buy a Qur'an and shit on it this week. As an added bonus I might make up a "Fuck Allah" t-shirt as well. I'm feeling silly this week. Haven't had a drink in 10 days. That's gotta be why.

What's more, the official Iraqi death count for citizens was around 35,000 the last I checked and most of those were not the results of coalition bombing, but infighting, suicide bombings, etc. At least thanks for using the term "unjustified" rather than the usual insane rantings of "illegal" by the BDS crowd.

[Eric]

Fuck Roger Waters!

[Red13JoePa]

I agree.

Just shut up Waters, you craggy old prune.

[Angiekay]

Whatever. Views on Bush have far surpassed being "political", it's more like: do you have a conscience or not?

If views on the war affect your concert experience, just go out & see Charlie Daniels.

You know what....I saw Charlie Daniels two days after Roger Waters and he didn't say ONE WORD about the war, negative or positive. At the end of his concert he said God Bless America and that was it.