Ever since an up and coming young musician named Prince Rogers Nelson filmed his debut feature length movie “Purple Reign” on the premises of a grungy little concert hall on the corner of First Avenue and Seventh Street in downtown Minneapolis the location has been one of the most notable icons of the city.
Today it is noted not just for being an excellent music and entertainment venue, but also for its tolerance.
This tolerance is demonstrated largely by it’s refusal to host the most prominent African-American entertainer of our age, Dave Chappelle. There was a time in American history when hosting African-American entertainers would be seen as progressive action in and of itself, but we have progressed well beyond that point. Granted, African-Americans who receive a small modicum of success can be welcomed into polite society, but not those who are earth-shatteringly successful. x
Chappelle is problematic because he has refused to limit himself to simply being a successful black person. He is arguably the most successful entertainer in his field of any race, gender or ethnicity. By bucking the confines of success as a black person, Chappelle has inadvertently made himself subservient to the white concept of success. This subservience means that from the standpoint of racial hierarchical theory Chappelle is no longer black. Since he has chosen (consciously or not) to define success in terms of white metrics Chappelle is by definition white.
The real black people are the white people who recognize the inherent oppression in white hierarchical metrics, and fight back against it. It was not traditionally black individuals who fought against platforming Chappelle in Minneapolis, it was the real black people who did it; the white people.
We should all fight against hateful bigotry and never allow anyone we disagree with to say anything. Only then can we begin to defend such values as freedom of speech.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Dumbest Blog Ever 
Wow! Cancel culture at its finest.
Brings a tear to the eye.
Yes…
More than one.
It seems a bit of a grey area to me!
Does it though?
Not really. I was being inappropriately flippant!
I thought as much!
Diagnosis:
“A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and he ends up losing respect for himself and for others. When he has no respect for anyone, he can no longer love, and, in order to divert himself, having no love in him, he yields to his impulses, indulges in the lowest forms of pleasure, and behaves in the end like an animal. And it all comes from lying – lying to others and to yourself.”
~Fyodor Dostoevsky
That’s an excellent quote.
Nailed it.
Dave is racist. No venue should host him if they care about diversity and inclusion.
Right on!