Elton John Stands His Ground
Elton John has been sticking his neck out for (in my opinion) some unlikely causes for the master musician. First, he surprisingly refused to boycott Israel for the flotilla incident. The Jerusalem Post gives his performance an outstanding review.
With the sinister pomp-and-circumstance opening of “Funeral For A Friend” filling the stadium, Elton John stepped out behind the wings like a sequined-clad queen arriving to greet his loyal subjects at Ramat Gan Stadium Thursday night.
As routine as a mega-superstar pulling into town should have been – and we’ve been blessed with quite a few, from Paul McCartney and Madonna to Metallica and Leonard Cohen – everyone was aware that something more was hanging on this performance.
Simply put, Elton hadn’t cancelled. Immediately after a revved up second song, “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” he spoke for the first time – making reference to his musical brethren who have feared what they don’t understand, and wittingly or not, joined the cultural boycott of Israel.
“Shalom, we are so happy to be back here! Ain’t nothing gonna stop us from coming, baby,” spouted John with a pumped fist in the air. “Musicians spread love and peace, and bring people together. That’s what we do. We don’t cherry-pick our conscience.”
He then breaks stride again with his entertainment industry brethren by refusing to boycott Arizona venues. Fox News reports:
Never one to back out of a performance to make a statement, music icon Elton John offered some choice words for his fellow musicians who choose to boycott Arizona over the SB 1070 immigration law.
According to the Arizona Daily Star, while performing at his sold-out concert at the Tucson Arena, he said:
“We are all very pleased to be playing in Arizona. I have read that some of the artists won’t come here. They are f***wits! Let’s face it: I still play in California, and as a gay man I have no legal rights whatsoever. So what’s the (expletive) with these people?”
Surprising as the pop master’s statements are, they are not particularly controversial. Elton John never endorses any one side in the case of either Israel or Arizona. He is simply making a statement that he will not be swayed by populist mob mentality. There are many who claim tolerance, but in fact react viscerally to differing opinions. As Alexis de Tocqueville once said:
I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America.
It’s nice to see someone showing some real independence of mind.
4 comments
Very interesting. I guess there aren’t many people like Elton John in the United States.
Here is my two cents:
Most master musicians are also masters of capitalism (even those who despise capitalism or argue against it in favor of more left leaning governments). Look at major liberal Hollywood figures in music and film and you will find that most of them are also smart investors by nature or by learning.
Maybe Elton isn’t making so much of a political statement as a business statement “Why waste the opportunity to make a profit?” Is he going to lose money by playing middle man in these controversies? Doubtful. But he’s going to continue to profit from citizens of Arizona and Israel while artists who boycott those nations will not (and boycotters may even see a loss of their own profits in those regions as Arizonans or Israelis boycott them in response).
@John:
Ah, the unifying power of capitalism…
[...] a week it’s been for some of my favorite musicians. First, Sir Elton John stands up for common sense, then former Pink Floyd (the greatest band in the world) frontman Roger [...]
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