Music and Politics: Religious leaders react angrily to Roger Waters' latest outspoken attack on treatment of Palestinians

[Paul R]

Just for the record Paul, the article seems to be somewhat inaccurate. As I understand it, the pig was not "adorned with Jewish symbols". Apart from a (single) star of David, there was a crucifix, a crescent and star, a hammer and sickle, a Shell Oil logo and a McDonalds sign, so he seems to have been equally willing to offend Muslims, to whom the pig is an equally offensive symbol (as you know).

 

I'm not defending what seems to have been an offensive act at best. Just pointing out that the author of the original article does not seem to have been either accurate or even-handed in describing Waters' actions.

 

Actually, if I saw a giant balloon with lots of archetypal American symbols on it plus an image of black people being lynched, I would probably take it as a condemnation of the racism in America's past, rather than something anti-African American. It all depends how you choose to look at things.

 

(*sigh*)

 

All I have said was -->maybe<-- it is time to re-examine this.

 

It is every bit as possible I missed the issue with what Waters did as much as you just missed the implications of what I said about the lynching balloon. I live in a country where such a thing as a balloon depicting a black person being lynched, used as a prop in the way Waters did and by a white musician would result in riots, deaths, property damage, and enormous amounts of hate. The reaction would be starkly unbelievable to someone who was not born and raised here. Hell, it is starkly unbelievable to me.

 

Paul