Chicks Rock
As in the Dixie Chicks. I have always been a fan of the Dixie Chicks - even to the point of going to a concert, which this oft-weary mother of two (and one on the way) never does anymore. And, following Natalie Maines’ comments about the war, I was proud to continue to be a fan. We should always remember that part of what makes this country so great is being able to say what you think. And I, for one, am glad that Natalie had the balls to do it.
There’s a really interesting article in Entertainment Weekly about how Natalie feels now about having said what she did. It’s definitely worth a careful read. I can already imagine how the article will be cherry-picked to imply that she hates country music, when she was very specific about decrying the industry and not the music or its fans.
At the risk of making this a sexist issue, um, I think it is. You don’t see the careers of Sean Penn, Martin Sheen or Ben Affleck under a microscope after their public comments about war or politics. They are usually a sound byte or two on “Entertainment Tonight” or “Access Hollywood” and then all is forgotten - even Kanye West’s controversial comments were fairly quickly dismissed. But when a woman stands up and speaks her mind in a public way, she must defend herself and her actions again and again. Think about Jane Fonda. Or Elizabeth Taylor. Or Natalie Maines.
The thing about the Dixie Chicks is that their comments were fairly benign. They didn’t like the war. They did not support President Bush’s war efforts. Well, as you probably know by now, neither do I - and almost fifty percent of our country’s population. And yet, in the midst of this, ridiculously laughable efforts to quash dissent emerged - like the pathetic call from Rep. Catherine Ceips of SC to force an apology (and a free concert) from the Dixie Chicks. In case you missed it way back when, here is the text of the bill:
H. 3818
STATUS INFORMATION
House Resolution
Sponsors: Rep. Ceips
Document Path: l:\council\bills\bbm\9577sl03.docIntroduced in the House on March 19, 2003
Adopted by the House on March 19, 2003HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number