I shared this post on my facebook page. One response I got called the comparison “absurd.” I went to reply and realized it was getting long so instead of replying there…I replied here…
My “peaceful protest” worked! It made you, and others hopefully, think about a particular event. It may be “absurd,” but aren’t most peaceful protests? A dancing frog in front of a federal building. A naked bike ride through the streets of Portland. A march across a bridge while facing firehoses and police dogs. Holding up a sign.
This was me holding up a sign.
I believe the Turning Point halftime show is a protest too. When I look at the genesis of the event, I see it as a protest against a decision to take the biggest American sporting event and share it with people who are “different.” It’s different music from what I grew up with, in a different language. I won’t understand what’s being said or what’s happening in the performance (sort of like how I felt watching the Opening Ceremony last night).
Because I don’t understand it and know nothing about the performers, I’ll discount it and decide, rather than sharing the pie, making the pie bigger, and trying to understand it, that I’ll say, “You can have that pie. I don’t want it anyway. I’ll make my own.”
Now, it may be that you don’t like Bad Bunny. I don’t know if I like him. I enjoyed him in Happy Gilmore 2 and his stints on SNL, but I have no real idea about his music. I do know folks who love him, and my kids listen to him, they can’t understand the lyrics, but they like the beat (and you can dance to it).
You have the right not to watch what you don’t want to watch and to watch whatever you do want to watch. As I’m sure you’ve said in the past, and I know I have, “folks just need to change the channel.” But I also want people to think about why things are the way they are. What causes things to happen?
Sometimes, things carry more meaning than they seem to on the surface. I think the alternate halftime show is one of those things, and because of that, I protest with my sign.
MattMunnell.com 