Another major act has said “hell no” to appearing in North Carolina — Pearl Jam has canceled their Raleigh gig scheduled for April 20th.
For the scores of socially evolved, live-music junkies living in North Carolina, 2016 is not shaping up to be the best year ever.
Fans of everyone from Springsteen to Steven Schwartz musicals are going to have to travel across state lines to see performances, which is usually not feasible from a time and/or money standpoint.
But what these performers understand is that the disappointment even their most loyal fan might feel at the cancelations pales in comparison to the injustice inflicted through the state’s recently passed HB2 law.
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Pearl Jam released this statement online, which is handwritten so you know it means business:
It reads:
It is with deep consideration and much regret that we must cancel the Raleigh show in North Carolina on April 20th.
This will be upsetting to those who have tickets and you can be assured that we are equally frustrated by the situation.
The HB2 law that was recently passed is a despicable piece of legislation that encourages discrimination against an entire group of American citizens. The practical implications are expansive and its negative impact upon basic human rights is profound. We want America to be a place where no one can be turned away from a business because of who they love or fired from their job for who they are.
It is for this reason that we must take a stand against prejudice, along with other artists and businesses, and join those in North Carolina who are working to oppose HB2 and repair what is currently unacceptable.
We have communicated with local groups and will be providing them with funds to help facilitate progress on this issue.
In the meantime we will be watching with hope and waiting in line for a time when we can return.
Perhaps even celebrate.
With immense gratitude for your understanding,
Pearl Jam
Other acts like Cyndi Lauper and Duran Duran have chosen to move forward with NC appearances, but still make it the focus of their shows.
Lauper announced all profits from her June 4 show in Raleigh will go to support the fight against HB2. Most recently, Duran Duran launched a petition to repeal HB2 during their performance, urging those in attendance to sign.
Here’s lead singer Simon Le Bon speaking at the gig:
Brian
I find it interesting and instructive that non gay-icons like Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam have actually done something very powerful by canceling their shows in North Carolina while the “gay icons” have either refused to take a stand or done something tokenistic like “donating funds from my concert to the GLBT cause”.
It’s kind of a slap in the face to the political correctness that is so prevalent in the GLBT community where we are all expected to adore these “gay icons” – usually females – who actually couldn’t care a rat’s ass about our rights and the oppression of male homosexuality in general.
Maybe it’s a wake-up call to the GLBT community in general, especially gay men. For too long, you have been living in a make-believe world of “gay icons”.
onthemark
@Brian: No, it makes total sense if you consider that there are LGBT people who actually LIVE in NC, and are paying taxes there, and are the victims of HB2.
Brian
@onthemark: There is no such thing as an LGBT person.
I sincerely hope you are not making excuses for the “gay icons” who refuse to step up to the plate in the name of male homosexual rights.
martinbakman
Eddie Vedder is awesome.
onthemark
@Brian: Oh really? – in your mind, HB2 is somehow about “male homosexual rights”? That’s interesting when 95% of the buzz is about TRANS rights, and we know you won’t pretend to care about THAT.
lol.
Brian
@onthemark: The “buzz” is beside the point. The real issue is discrimination against homosexuality.
Male-to-female transgenders do not menstruate, and are thus not women. They can put on as much mascara as they wish – still doesn’t make him a woman
Louis
@Brian: Your transphobia is repulsive and you make the rest of us look shameful and embarrassing period.
You were born as you are just as they were you have no idea and seem to genuinely not care about what transgender americans experience in this country and how detrimental and clearly prejudiced this legislation actually is to these individuals.
Transgender woman by the way are men who are now transitioned into the body they were meant to be in in the first place which would be a woman and that IS normal thats their identity thats their bodies the real bodies they are meant to be in.
Its hard enough for us trying to fight for our right to love and be treated with dignity love respect and understanding its even worse when people from our own community intentionally dismiss other members of this community who deserve the equal respect dignity compassion love and understanding .
Educate yourself instead of putting down these brave souls if I was transgender I would embrace it because its exactly who I was meant to be its not abnormal or wrong .
Your mentality is no different then any republican right now who is permeating discrimination and prejudice towards and against these people.
Stop making our community look like hypocrites you should be lifting these people up and supporting them and their equal rights in this country instead of dehumanizing them and treating them as if they are less then we are and that their rights and their dignity as human beings is less valid then ours are.
Brian
@Louis: Get over it. Never have I disdained a person’s right to consider themselves transgender. Just don’t expect everybody else to reward you for it.
If you can’t understand that distinction, it’s your fault.