Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Michelle Shocked Cancellations [updates; 14 confirmed; statement from Telluride]

Update, April 1: Shocked on Piers Morgan tonight? (Yep - video here.)

(Thanks for the links,  NBCDaily BeastE! OnlineNZHerald, and A.V. Club - and to Janis Freaking Ian for commenting!)
____

Original post and updates follow:

Late update: All scheduled shows (per Shocked's website) through the month of June are NOW CANCELLED. (The latest was the Harmony Bar in Madiso, WI.) Worth noting that she has only THREE TWO confirmed gigs scheduled for the entire rest of the year.

Wednesday morning (U.S. Tuesday afternoon) update: Lots more happening. Looks like Telluride is cancelled. Michelle has scheduled a radio interview for Thursday morning (U.S.).

Page II: With several MS tweets.

_____________

American singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked has just shocked and lost roughly 99.99% of her fans:
Michelle Shocked, known for living up to her surname, cleared out San Francisco club Yoshi’s last night, and shut down the venue, after she went on an anti-gay tirade, which she summed up by saying, ”You can go on Twitter and say ‘Michelle Shocked says God hates fags.’”
Very, very depressing. (Shocked was one of my influences when I was still learning the ropes of songwriting back in the 1980s. "Memories of East Texas" and "Anchored Down in Anchorage" were two of my favorites.)

I'm going to list any cancellations of Shocked's shows I hear about here. First, here's her own tour schedule as of right now. (I've saved a screen grab of it, so we can compare if anything is deleted.)

In chronological order:

• Cancelled:
McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, CA, is getting pummelled by fans on their FaceBook page about this Saturday's show. No cancellation announcement yet that I've found. 
Update 3:30 PM Sydney (9:30 PM U.S. PDT): Cancelled. Thank you commenter.

• Cancelled: March 28, Santa Cruz, CA, Moe's Alley (thank you for the comment)

Cancelled: March 29, Novato, CA, Hopmonk Tavern

• Cancelled: April 24, Winters, CA, Palm's Playhouse

 Cancelled: April 25, Portland, OR, Alberta Rose Theater

• Cancelled: April 26, Seattle, WA, Meander's Kitchen

Possibly Cancelled: April 27, Eugene, OR, Cozmic. A friend in the radio business in Eugene told me this just a bit ago, I'll update when I have more; for now, Shocked's schedule shows the show - Cozmic's does not. Update: a tweet from Cozmic.

Cancelled: May 3, Boulder, CO-based radio show eTown

• Cancelled: May 4, Madison, WI, Harmony Bar. My sister in Madison called the Harmony. Oy:
I just got off the phone with Harmony. He sounded a little stressed. They must have had a lot of calls. "The Show's Been Canceled." Even before I asked!
• Cancelled: May 5, Evanston, IL (fixed), Evanston Space. Thank you to Space for the comment below: "After looking into last night's incident in SF, we have cancelled our May 5 show with Michelle Shocked. Refunds given at point of purchase." Tweet here.

• Cancelled (Wednesday AU Update): June 23, Telluride, CO, Telluride Blugrass FestivalHey Reverb says that Telluride has confirmed they have cancelled. It looks like this was a very hard decision for Telluride, as they have had whatthey call a 20-year relationship with Michelle, and they talk about the phone call with her:
Planet Bluegrass has told us that Michelle Shocked (Sister Shocked & The Campbell Brothers) has been replaced by Drepung Monks on the Telluride Bluegrass lineup. According to festival organizers, Shocked said on the phone “God loves everyone” and will do a lengthy radio interview this within the next few days to talk about the Sunday show in San Francisco.
Interesting. I've reached out to Telluride for a comment. They've responded:
Hi Thom- Thanks for reaching out to us. Yes, we have replaced Michelle Shocked's appearance at our Telluride Bluegrass Festival lineup with The Drepung Monks. They will be opening the 40th anniversary festival with a special meditation on love & peace open to all Festivarians as they begin the creation of a large mandala sand painting. Their powerful presence will be woven throughout all 4 days of the festival's tapestry culminating in a profound main stage set on Sunday morning (which replaces Michelle Shocked's previously scheduled performance).
We've known Michelle for 20 years and she has always been open and loving - and a thoroughly unique and inspiring artist. So we were very saddened and concerned by the reports from Sunday's show.
Best, Brian
• Cancelled: October 11, London, UK, King's Place Folk Union (via this message; this was listed as "tentative")

• Cancelled: October 13, Cork, Ireland, Triskel Arts Center

• Cancelled (14th confirmed cancellation):

    Late response from Germany (8 PM Tuesday, Sydney): I just got a response to an email to the Burg Herzberg Festival in Germany, where MS's website says she's performing on July 19. From Gunther:
Thanks for the e-mail!
Due to the fact of nine hours difference we expect some words from Michelle, because this has come to a complete surprise to us. Anyway, if it is like it seems right now, we will cancel the show within the next 24 hours.
MAKE LOVE WORK,
Gunther
   I'm guessing that's a "No."

   Update, Thursday, 2 PM, AU: From the comments, Burg Herzberg now has this on their website:
We had to cancel Michelle Shocked. During a concert the last days in San Francisco she said things like: "When they stop Prop 8 and force priests at gunpoint to marry gays, it will be the downfall of civilisation" and "You are going to leave here and tell people, 'Michelle Shocked said God hates faggots.'" Personally as well as the managers of a festival with the motto "Art of Peace" we can not deal with such crap.
Not exact quotes, but when it comes to parsing parsley, I ain't persnickety.

• Radio Interview: Michele is scheduled to do a radio interview on Thursday morning. Here's the Twitter exchange.

• Michelle has responded to a tweet:
________

Michele Shocked on FaceBook and on Twitter. (Standard request that if you leave her a comment, please be more respectful than she was.)

Petition: From the comments: Change.org has started a petition to get the rest of her shows cancelled.

Michelle Shocked in 2008 (h/t):
Q: Early on in your career, you were incorrectly assumed to be a lesbian. You once said that you were an honorary lesbian. Now that you’ve been married, divorced and found religion, why do you think many who claim to be Christians are so openly hateful toward homosexuals?
MS: In his time, Jesus was hanging out with the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the lepers, all the people that proper society had banished or had determined were underclass. Today, it is easy for me to imagine that Jesus would hang around those who have been scorned, abandoned and neglected. We live in a homophobic society. But homosexuals are a group of folks who Jesus would recognize. Jesus even says that he didn’t come here to be righteous. He came here for those who needed salvation.

Wo. Yoshi's cut her mic. And banned her for life. Good for them.

Janis Ian, from the comments (!):
Well, that's too bad. As a performer with 45 years of shows behind me, I've had walk-outs when I sang about interracial couples, and when I sang about AIDS, and walkouts more recently when I sang about gay marriage. I am the first to argue that I have a right to sing and speak about those things on stage, just as the audience has the right to walk out, object to the management, and ask for their money back if they feel deceived.
Our country is in large part founded on the concept of free speech - the right to speak your mind politically and socially. But there is a huge difference between "Free speech" and "Hate speech." It is sad when a talented person chooses to use that talent in the service of their own misplaced rage, and their disappointment in their own life. I often wonder if people like this die and meet God, who will smack them upside the head and say "Did I really LOOK like I needed your help?!"
And isn't it odd to see someone who was so woman-identified turn a 360 degree like this? Then again, "Hell hath no fury..."
Janis Ian
I know this post is already very long, but I have to add a comment that just came in from British recording artist Pete Lawrence:
For better or worse, I'm the guy who brought Shocked to wider attention through a recording I made at Kerrville Folk Festival in 86 - the meeting came about around the dying embers of a campfire shortly after encountering her for the first time, after walking up and asking if I could make a recording as part of my travelogue tape as I wended my way open-eyed around the States for the first time. A very intimate performance followed for an audience of one, a magical moment in my life.

That session subsequently became known as the infamous 'Texas Campfire Tapes' which was then released on the small indie label I had just started, Cooking Vinyl.

I knew from the first moment that there was a dark side to her, but still made the decision to move forward and contact her again as the recording was very special. She gave her unqualified support to the project (though later re-writing history by claiming it was a bootleg!) She soon moved to the UK, determined to give the singer / songwriter thing her best shot, touring it here, there and everywhere around Europe.

I quickly learned that Michelle was very calculating and also did things her own way, to the extent that she fell out with pretty much everyone she ever worked with, including her first manager, with whom she was locked in a five year legal battle with after deciding not to pay him any commission for the work he did in securing her deals with Polygram and Polygram Music and much more. Then she sued her record company by citing the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery.

There are many things I could say, especially about her re-writing the history around her Cooking Vinyl years, the supposed 'bootleg' we were meant to have released "without her knowledge" that she endorsed at the time, and years later, her 'bootlegging' a third generation copy of my campfire cassette recording I sent her for reference purposes, only to find she then released it on her label with not even a mention of my involvement, let alone an attempt to negotiate any sort of deal with me for the release, although she was happy enough to use my photo on the cover.

Enough for now. This really hurts to even think about all this stuff once more alongside the grief that she's causing so many people once again. This latest twist does not surprise me at all, much as I feel pity for this lost soul too. All very sad.
Pete Lawrence
[image]

71 comments:

  1. http://www.evanstonspace.com
    @evanstonspace

    After looking into last night's incident in SF, we have cancelled our May 5 show with Michelle Shocked. Refunds given at point of purchase.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz just cancelled their gig (March 28th( as well. http://www.moesalley.com/artist.php?id=1633&artist=The_Michelle_Shocked_Show_Has_Been_CANCELLED

    ReplyDelete
  3. Here's a petition asking the remaining venues to cancel:

    http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/equality-minded-performance-spaces-cancel-upcoming-michelle-shocked-concerts-after-vile-anti-gay-tirade

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My pleasure, LT. Thank you for raising awareness as well, and for tracking all this! Madison venue doesn't have a phone number, only email. If they haven't cancelled by tomorrow, I plan on calling them to let them know how many people have signed the petition and informing them that almost every other venue has dropped out. ;)

      Delete
    2. Thank you. I've emailed them.

      Delete
    3. Wait, you *have* found an email address for the Madison venue?!? When I called they said they didn't have one. If you have one, would you mind sharing so I can add it to the petition and start flooding them with cancellation requests? :)

      Delete
    4. Oh hold on - sorry! Made too many emails and messages, got mixed up...

      Delete
    5. Here's a MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/theharmonybar

      Note: You got the "phone number" and "email" backwards in your previous comment!

      Delete
  4. Well, that's too bad. As a performer with 45 years of shows behind me, I've had walk-outs when I sang about interracial couples, and when I sang about AIDS, and walkouts more recently when I sang about gay marriage. I am the first to argue that I have a right to sing and speak about those things on stage, just as the audience has the right to walk out, object to the management, and ask for their money back if they feel deceived.
    Our country is in large part founded on the concept of free speech - the right to speak your mind politically and socially. But there is a huge difference between "Free speech" and "Hate speech." It is sad when a talented person chooses to use that talent in the service of their own misplaced rage, and their disappointment in their own life. I often wonder if people like this die and meet God, who will smack them upside the head and say "Did I really LOOK like I needed your help?!"
    And isn't it odd to see someone who was so woman-identified turn a 360 degree like this?
    Then again, "Hell hath no fury..."
    Janis Ian

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well hell fire, Janis Ian. Honored and humbled.

      Yes, yes, and yes several more times. She has all the right to say it, just as you and the rest of us do, thank our lucky stars for that. And yes to someone who was such a spokesWOMAN for so long.

      Just so hard to comprehend. I'm actually torn from anger, sadness, and worry for her. Blech

      Delete
    2. Well hate speech is free speech but like you said we have the right walk out and demand venues to not host her.

      Delete
    3. It looks like some people get stuck "At Seventeen" and don't mature, like Ms. Shocked. It's good to hear that you've made it through it all and kept yourself whole, Janis! And Thank You for making teenage angst more bearable back in 77 when I was just 16 - Peace!

      Delete
    4. Janis, while I'm not someone who supports hateful views, there really is no distinction between free speech and hate speech. We are all legally allowed to express hatred for any group of people for whatever cockamamie reason, barring literal incitement to violence against them. I for one am definitely not in favor of banning any kind of opinions, however detestable they may be. Michelle has every right to say what she said, and we have every right to ignore her/deride her/cancel her shows.

      Delete
    5. Hate speech is the militant homosexual agenda trying to use their power in media to bring harm to people that simply read the Bible. Scripture makes it clear tat it is sin before Almighty God. Michelle is simply stating her faith.Eternity is a long time.God's opinion is far more important. Be not deceived,God is not mocked for whatsoever a man soweth,that shall he reap.For he that sows to the flesh,shall reap destruction but he that sows to the Spirit shall reap everlasting life-Galatians 6 v 7,8

      Delete
    6. Janis Ian: you rock (in the most awesome and peaceful way!) Michelle Shocked may indeed be "simply stating her faith", as a previous post mentions. But doing the wrong thing in God's name doesn't magically make it right. It's not an act of faith, it's an act of cowardice.

      Delete
    7. Hey, person-claiming-to-be-Janis-Ian-on-the-internet-with-no-verification,

      I agree with you. There is a difference between those two types of speech

      "Free Speech" is the right to say whatever you want to say, as long as it is I personally agree with it, or feel emotionally comfortable with it. It should be encouraged.

      "Hate Speech" is anyone saying anything with which I disagree, or feel emotionally uncomfortable with. It should be legally prosecuted.

      And, since the entire universe magically revolves around me, I should be entitled to dictate what speech falls into what category. Including legally prosecuting people for daring to say anything with which I personally disagree, or feel emotionally uncomfortable.

      Go ahead and boycott a business-person all you want. That is your right as a consumer. However, designating some speech as exempt from "Free Speech" would mean designating it as illegal and subject to prosecution. And whose self-centred, universe-about-me fantasy should prevail in real-life courtrooms?

      Delete
    8. Hey, LT,

      You just accused me of "being an asshole". Now I feel offended, because that was such a hateful thing for you to say.

      I am confident that we can all agree that, since I felt offended by your comment, and view it as hateful, you should be exempted from "free speech" protection. And subject to legal prosecution.

      Delete
  5. McCabe's website lists Saturday's show as canceled: http://www.mccabes.com/condata.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. Any update on the Madison, WI show at Harmony Bar?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No. It's late there. Probably nothing until tomorrow.

      Delete
    2. Apologies, I just saw the earlier thread about waiting until tomorrow.

      Delete
  7. Apparently the type of show she was planning to bring to the Telluride was religious in nature, performing as "Sister Shocked", so they were expecting something hyper-religious from her in the first place.

    HOWEVER, it seems some of their other acts are threatening to cancel if she stays (according to comments on the festival's Facebook), so you may be right.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It gets better...the opening leg of the Euro portion of her tour is basically a European "Woodstock" - peace and love and all that. I predict the Herzberg Fest won't be keeping her either.

      Delete
  8. I'll stop by the Harmony today and find out. Love from Madison!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. suziemom, please send all our concerns with you, and that I will make a point to stop out at Harmony from NE Wisconsin and spend $$$ IF they cancel. Thank you! :)

      Delete
  9. The Errigle Inn on Facebook has confirmed that " this gig was never confirmed and will not be taking place. Thanks"

    ReplyDelete
  10. I just threw all her crap out as well as her. We will not ever mention that name again.
    Hillbilly my ass. I love seeing all the cancellations. Right on folks!!! Discrimination will not ever be accepted in our world. Too bad you all just don't want to get along. Never look back. Done with this saga.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Listen, Michele was always a bit cracked... She told the world about her rough childhood, a rape, and general abuse for years... Unfortunately, it appears that she lacked the strength to pull her self out of that tail spin, and became vulnerable to the cognitive virus that religion is...

    BUT

    That's no reason to abandon Michelle from 1988! She is there frozen in time on those tracks, no matter what moanings we hear today from her ghost...



    A sad fact widely known
    The most impassionate song
    To a lonely soul
    Is so easily outgrown
    But don't forget the songs
    That made you smile
    And the songs that made you cry
    When you lay in awe
    On the bedroom floor
    And said: "Oh, smother me, Mother..."
    The passing of time
    And of all its crimes
    Is making me sad again
    The passing of time
    And all of its sickening crimes
    Is making me sad again
    But don't forget the songs
    That made you cry
    And the songs that saved your life
    Yes, you're older now
    And you're a clever swine
    But they were the only ones who ever stood by you
    The passing of time leaves empty lives
    Waiting to be filled
    The passing of time
    Leaves empty lives
    Waiting to be filled
    I'm here with the cause
    I'm holding the torch
    In the corner of your room
    Can you hear me?
    And when you're dancing and laughing
    And finally living
    Hear my voice in your head
    And think of me kindly
    Do you
    Love me like you used to ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hate to break it to you, but this whole escapade is all about her not being what she once was. You don't gotta burn her old records, but are you really gonna buy her new ones?

      Delete
    2. I don't agree with you, Samantha. I think there's a lot more going on. This was calculated. I dont' know Pete Lawrence, but his comment below is worth a read.

      And I think getting rid of her records is silly, just to note.

      Delete
    3. I'm not going to throw away my old records, because it meant something to me at that time of my life.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbeFSYP2qsg

      Delete
  12. She's been removed from the Telluride lineup. They just announced in on FB.

    ReplyDelete
  13. what I wish is that the venues cancel Michelle, and refund the tix of those who wanted to see her, but honor those who would opt for a GAY-IN concert for that scheduled time at venue with bands/musicians and audience who celebrate diversity. wouldn't it be cool if people showed up in mass numbers to support this?

    ReplyDelete
  14. I will add to my above idea, the point being, to support the venues that were loving enough to cancel her shows, and not allow her hatred to be repeated.

    ReplyDelete
  15. The radio interview referenced above will be at 8AM PDT (11AM EDT) on Thursday on the Internet. I recommend getting your login ID ahead of time as it took me about 15 min to get the confirmation email to click on. It's at http://radioornot.com/ .

    ReplyDelete
  16. Los Angeles cancelled.
    For those that bought tickets to Michelle Shocked cancelled show, please know your tickets are being refunded. Those that bought on line will be automatically credited. Those who purchased tickets over the phone will be contacted shortly. Those that have tickets in their possession can get refunded when they bring their tickets to McCabe's. This process is underway now.
    Your patience in this matter is appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  17. FYI, not only did the Alberta Theatre in Portland cancel their gig, but they're turning a negative into a positive and planning a benefit concert for Basic Rights Oregon (http://www.basicrights.org). Those in the Pacific NW might want to attend to lend their support.

    Here's their blurb from their FB page yesterday:

    We are deeply saddened by today's news regarding Michelle Shocked, but our decision to cancel her show was an easy one to make. We are in the planning stages of turning this unfortunate situation into something useful and positive for our community. Please stay tuned for a special benefit concert for Basic Rights Oregon on April 25th at The Alberta Rose Theatre.

    ReplyDelete
  18. For better or worse, I'm the guy who brought Shocked to wider attention through a recording I made at Kerrville Folk Festival in 86 - the meeting came about around the dying embers of a campfire shortly after encountering her for the first time, after walking up and asking if I could make a recording as part of my travelogue tape as I wended my way open-eyed around the States for the first time. A very intimate performance followed for an audience of one, a magical moment in my life.

    That session subsequently became known as the infamous 'Texas Campfire Tapes' which was then released on the small indie label I had just started, Cooking Vinyl.

    I knew from the first moment that there was a dark side to her, but still made the decision to move forward and contact her again as the recording was very special. She gave her unqualified support to the project (though later re-writing history by claiming it was a bootleg!) She soon moved to the UK, determined to give the singer / songwriter thing her best shot, touring it here, there and everywhere around Europe.

    I quickly learned that Michelle was very calculating and also did things her own way, to the extent that she fell out with pretty much everyone she ever worked with, including her first manager, with whom she was locked in a five year legal battle with after deciding not to pay him any commission for the work he did in securing her deals with Polygram and Polygram Music and much more. Then she sued her record company by citing the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery.

    There are many things I could say, especially about her re-writing the history around her Cooking Vinyl years, the supposed 'bootleg' we were meant to have released "without her knowledge" that she endorsed at the time, and years later, her 'bootlegging' a third generation copy of my campfire cassette recording I sent her for reference purposes, only to find she then released it on her label with not even a mention of my involvement, let alone an attempt to negotiate any sort of deal with me for the release, although she was happy enough to use my photo on the cover.

    Enough for now. This really hurts to even think about all this stuff once more alongside the grief that she's causing so many people once again. This latest twist does not surprise me at all, much as I feel pity for this lost soul too. All very sad.

    Pete Lawrence

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good God, Pete, what a story. Thank you so much for bringing it here.

      The Kerrville Folk Festival is one of my personal dieties, if an event can be such a thing, and the legend of the 'Texas Campfire Tapes" is well known. Glad to have a name to add to it.

      The best to you - and I will be adding this to the post.

      Delete
    2. Dude! this experience is an experience! What else do you have to write an inspiring tune about? Don't let any wash of bastard quench your flame to create!

      Delete
  19. Yes! People should only be free to speak things which we approve of!

    ReplyDelete
  20. OK so venues started cancelling before the public had a chance to react. Very knee-jerk.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm guessing you mean her statement? Her statement is horrible.

      Delete
  21. Hypocrites. You know when the Dixie Chicks made that gaff on stage about the USA and then Pres, venues didn't run out the next day and cancel shows. They actually waited until the public made their own minds up of who they would pay to see. I don't support what she said or where she said it, but not everyone is as pro-GLTQ as SF is.

    ReplyDelete
  22. What the hell happened to this very talented but very disturbed artist? What a shame-will be trashing all her music I own as I have loved her for years. This is truly a shock and a career killer. Wake up Michelle-this is 2013! Move to Topeka and join the Westborough Baptist Church-you are as low as the Phelps clan now! I cannot believe it! Good luck getting anymore work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. God will bless her life.What about you?

      Delete
  23. Michelle come on down to Texas, we would love to hear your music.

    ReplyDelete
  24. You speak for the state of Texas the way Michelle Shocked speaks for gay people.

    ReplyDelete
  25. THey got the quotes wrong, but I support them.

    Thanks for the tip.

    ReplyDelete
  26. @anonymous........ RE: Dixie Chicks so called "gaff" there's a pretty huge difference between that statement and MS rant. Numero uno----they were actually right. And yes, DC shows were cancelled and albums burned etc. They suffered considerably and worked hard to move out from under the scourge of their beliefs. The media plays a huge role in stuff and unfortunately MS has cooked her goose. MS shows have become dull, lifeless ego trips where she comes off as a confused, non-artistic conduit for uber right wing, conspiracy based christians. Folks have been veering from her for quite some time. It's not a simple gaff------it's really an ------ ok you crossed the line for the last time. There's nothing revolutionary or artistic about being an asshole and venues have the right, obligation and responsibility to take the mike away from crappy, hate-based, non art......perdiod

    ReplyDelete
  27. It does not explain everything about what happened (as it does not explain earlier comments dating back to 2011), but I trust this is what Shocked is trying to say she was doing:

    http://ezinearticles.com/?Truth-Vs-Reality---The-Power-of-Knowing-the-Difference-and-Four-Keys-to-Help-You-Make-the-Change&id=3636270

    Basically, with her "Truth vs. Reality" "performance art", as she's saying it was now, she purported to change our "Reality" of her for this moment of time, and that the "Truth" of her would eventually win out again.

    I'm not buying it, and IMHO it's based on a false premise to begin with. Whether that night was meant as "performance art" or not, she still screwed up.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Pete Lawrence probably doesn't remember me but I sold him some of the first photos of Michelle used by Cooking Vinyl that I took at the 1987 Glastonbury concert.
    It really was a remarkable performance mid-afternoon on the main stage and she had the 40,000 (or so it seemed) festival goers in the palm of her hand.
    There were an absurd amount of encores, probably about half a dozen, as the audience just did not want her to leave. The easy intimacy she was able to project was uncanny in one so young and at such a venue.

    She really was very, very cool and now she is just so very, very NOT cool and I would have to guess those early years are probably the highlight of her career and, unfortunately, her actual life.

    It seems Michelle has leaked wisdom rather than gained it as the years have rolled on...

    ReplyDelete
  29. "Free Speech" means people saying things with which I agree, and feel emotionally comfortable. It should be respected.

    "Hate Speech" means people saying things with which I disagree, and feel emotionally uncomfortable. It should be prosecuted.

    "Freedom Speech" is legal concept, meaning saying what you want, without being prosecuted. "Hate Speech" is also often a legal concept, meaning being legally prosecuted, in court, for words, statements, and opinions with which someone else disagreed, or felt emotionally uncomfortable.

    Boycott and refuse to be a customer all you want. But perhaps be a little more cautious about any legal exemptions to "Free Speech". Consider that the person on the downside of that might include yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  30. i have study full of your post related to Messages On Hold Australia.it is very knowledgeable content.Thanks friend

    ReplyDelete