When the Du
Quoin State Fair dropped country music group Confederate Railroad, from its
grandstand entertainment card last week, it exposed state government as hypocritical.
Fair Manger John Gross said the decision “was in the best interest of the
people of the state.”
The word
“Confederate” apparently is racially insensitive. I can’t find anything in the
group’s lyrics that glorifies slavery or demeans any race. You know, this
wouldn’t happen to the Dixie Chicks….despite their name…because they hated
George W. Bush.
But if there
is a new standard as we book acts for the state fairs in Illinois…..what about rapper
Snoop Dog’s scheduled appearance at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield on
August 16th?
Snoop’s
lyrics are so profane, I can’t repeat them on this radio station. He once
showed up to a televised award show with two women in dog collars on leashes.
His form of misogyny is truly shameful.
Recently he
posted a picture of himself standing over the lifeless body of our current
president wearing a baseball cap with the words “Make America Crip Again.” The corpses’ toe tag read simply “TRUMP.”
So---Confederate
Railroad, which played Fairfield in the mid-1990s for the Mulebackers, is too
racially insensitive to play country music in Du Quoin, but Snoop Dogg can
treat women like dogs and post a proposed assassination of the President of the
United States….and Illinois is cool about it.
Joe Bonsall
of the Oak Ridge Boys called it all a crock. Then he uttered the same exact
words that fell out of my mouth.
“God please
help us all.”
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ReplyDeleteShame u Duquin State Fair for being so political. Takes all the fun out of the fair
ReplyDeleteI think the decision is an absolute disgrace to our state. We should not be ashamed of our heritage and those that are should move out of the country. Our state has become one of the most pathetic states in America. Our governor is a joke and his chances of being re-elected are about as good as me attending the fair this year. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!!! Our officials need to grow a pair and start making decisions for the people of our state not decisions to make us want to move out of state.
ReplyDeleteHow stupid. This band is wonderful and has the name for years now all of a sudden people are sensitive? Will never attend this fair again.
ReplyDeleteLet’s all boycott the DuQuoin State Fair and use our hard earned money someplace where they appreciate who we are and where we came from. 😊
ReplyDeleteI live in Du Quoin - I dont agree with the decision, BUT boycotting the DQ fair is EXACTLY what they want so they can say it doesnt make money and close it forever .. so instead of boycotting the DQ fair you all should be calling to boycott the Springfield fair .. just my opinion
DeleteVote them out!
ReplyDeletecancelling the band Confederate RailRoad from the fair line up - is sad. They are respected, I can understand the lyrics,good rhythm , tell a good story, good songs. If there are those who don't want to listen - go elsewhere. dont' ruin it for the rest of us. Personally, I think SnoopDog is trashy and not worth my time. I think many agree.
ReplyDeleteA message from Representative Terri Bryant regarding the State fair:
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to sort truth from fiction in the issue of entertainment decisions at our two State Fairs. I know people are polarized on the issue, but it is always important to get facts. While in Chicago today to attend a hearing I was able to secure a meeting with two high-ranking members of Gov. Pritzker’s Exec. Staff.
I also asked Rep. Tim Butler to join us as he represents the State fairgrounds in Springfield.
The meeting was multi-fold. I wanted to identify for my constituents who made the call to cancel the contract with Confederate Railroad and the official reason for why it was done. I also wanted to express my absolute disagreement with the cancelation. In addition, I wanted an explanation for the booking of Snoop Dogg in Springfield considering his album cover has a picture of what appears to be a dead President Trump on a slab covered with a flag while Snoop Dogg stands over him in a defiant manner.
I wanted the Administration to know I expected Confederate Railroad’s contract to be reinstated. I argued that if Confederate Railroad is canceled, then Snoop Dogg should be canceled too.
I was informed in no uncertain terms, that the decision to cancel CR was made by the Pritzker administration, including the two people sitting with me at the table. They affirmed that the decision was not made by DuQuoin Fair officials or by Director Sullivan.
They refused my insistence that Confederate Railroad be permitted to perform. Their reasoning was that they have a hard fast rule not to permit any use of the Confederate flag in any way. When I asked what their policy was pertaining to a sitting President being depicted in the way President Trump is depicted on Snoop Dogg’s album cover, they said, they had no such policy.
In fact, I was told by one of the Governor’s staffers that I should use this case as a “teachable moment” for the people of Southern Illinois. I am serious…that is what the staffer said.
In short, the Pritzker administration canceled Confederate Railroad because the Confederate flag offends many people.
They refused to cancel Snoop Dogg even though it offends many people. I believe in very limited government censorship. I believe even less in double standards.
In light of all of this, it is understandable that many want to boycott the DuQuoin Fair. I fear that any such boycott will be a harsh blow to Southern Illinois’ economy and unfairly punish small businesses that count on the fair to keep people employed. These small businesses did nothing to cause any kind of boycott.
I told the Pritzker people to believe the boycott is real and that they will ultimately own the resulting economic damage that results from this hypocritical decision.
Perhaps KARMA will show her face
ReplyDeleteHey you fair managers, don't cry about losing revenue!! You did it to yourselves!! I hope the public boycotts these fairs!! Maybe you all will get the message then!!
ReplyDeleteWhat if Southern Illinois separated from northern Illinois? I think that might work.
ReplyDelete