You’re surely familiar with the “cultural appropriation” outrage running around liberal social media sites these days, right? It’s when one particular demographic group (and their inevitable supporters who take up every progressive cause on the planet) lays claim to an entire genre of performing arts and then chooses to scold anyone who isn’t “authentic” enough and dares to be creative in that field. And as I’m sure you already know, by “authentic” they refer to the color of your skin.
Another episode of this annoying kvetching broke out this week. It wouldn’t have been worth a mention were it not for the target. Rather than going after yet another white artist, this time the forces of progressive fury fixed their sights on none other than Bruno Mars. Now, to be honest here, I wouldn’t even know the man’s name had he not played at the Super Bowl a while back, but I did hear him perform there and he’s got an impressive set of pipes. But, as it turns out, he’s singing the wrong kind of music.
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…video of the racially charged attack… and excerpts…
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Normally this would be the end of the story. After being appropriately shamed by his progressive betters, the artist would shuffle up to a microphone to deliver some sort of apology and then slink off stage, promising to try to do better. (Or at least that’s how it works if they are marketing their work to a largely liberal audience.)
But this time it played out differently. In short order, some of the people who you might have expected to be “offended” started defending Mars. This included R&B singer Charlie Wilson.
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…incredibly HotAir even posted a Shaun King Tweet…
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He’s absolutely right. And when we reach the point where you see me agreeing with Shaun King you need to go outside and look for four horsemen riding in the sky.
For his part, Bruno Mars stayed out of it. But the WaPo notes that he previously proclaimed his appreciation for the black roots of much of the music being performed today.
“When you say ‘black music,’ understand that you are talking about rock, jazz, R&B, reggae, funk, doo-wop, hip-hop, and Motown. Black people created it all. Being Puerto Rican, even salsa music stems back to the Motherland,” meaning Africa, Mars told Latina magazine last February. “So, in my world, black music means everything. It’s what gives America its swag.”
Here comes the long division part of the analysis, so buckle up, campers. Bruno Mars, racially, “was born in Honolulu to a half-Puerto Rican and half-Ashkenazi Jewish and a Filipino mother.” So what do these easily aggrieved geniuses think he should be performing? Only Puerto Rican tunes played on Filipino instruments at luaus and bar mitzvahs? And as for Mars himself, he’s previously staked out rock, jazz, R&B, reggae, funk, doo-wop, hip-hop, and Motown as all being “black music.” (At least until the mob came for him, anyway.) So I take it this panel thinks that white people should only perform country music and Asians should be restricted to… what? K-pop?
(read it all)