Andrew L. Urban
No, I’m not going to name them, but one by one, actors, musos and singers are losing my patronage. Big deal, they may shrug. But it’s not about them. It’s about me. I don’t imagine that the withdrawal of my relatively paltry patronage will even register in their professional life. But it is taking some stress out of mine.
I’ve debated internally for some time about mentally divorcing their professional talent from their publicly stated political opinion among my favourites. But lately, political opinions of some creatives have been turned into performative agitation, some close to violence. There are examples of artists of thinking about blowing up the White House, or punching a hated political figure on the nose…and some less violent but highly aggressive remarks. These types of actions go beyond political differences; they present as violence-adjacent. Fascist…
Then there are the morally repugnant political views, many expressed openly at opportunities such as the Oscars, where lapel pins and grotesque badges or accessories are flaunted like bling. “Free Palestine” and other terrorism-aligned exclamations, come to mind.
The more I was a fan, the more shocked I am by the stupid and aggro extremism exhibited. Love your work … hate your extremism. I now resile from these famous and fatuous ignoramuses.
Our admiring relationship with actors, singers, etc is a glue made of personal and creative elements. They expose their most intimate feelings in front of us…er, no. They pretend to. They put on a lapel pin and make a vile statement that reveals their real persona. At that moment, I feel betrayed, like a friend tossed aside.
In the past, I’d try to make allowances, thinking that he/she was a great actor, say, so don’t let that cloud your perception. But that doesn’t hold water 100% of the time. Certainly not when the actor or singer comes out as a Hamas supporter. Or wants to ‘stop the war’ showing support for Iran, the greatest terrorism exporter who has screeched ‘Death to America’ over the years. Even if this is driven by sheer Trump Derangement Syndrome, it isn’t acceptable in a civilised world.
Never mind that I’m left with a shrinking menu of arts & entertainment, it’s much less discomfiting. No more soured milk of human kindness …