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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Oh please. You people. This song SCARES you? There is no call to arms, no violence discussed, even obliquely.

Meanwhile, let's look at the #1 streamed rap song this week. And I'm a fan of rap, which is how I instantly knew to do some literary 
comparison.

Fukumean, by Gunna, is #1. Here's a brief excerpt, which I am forced to make redactions so that it isn't blocked immediately by the filters:

[Verse]
F-- you mean?
Young Gunna Wunna, they workin' my nerves
I'm about to pour up some syrup
F-- this b-- like a perv'
Smack from the back, grab her perm
Ice, the berg, uh, shi--' on all you lil' turds
Can't take that d!ck, wait your turn
In my own lane, we can't merge
Suck with no hands, you can learn
Let's see how much you can earn

This is the top one on SoundCloud right now. Now, imagine if a country singer were to produce something analogous.

I could easily go out and find a rap song glorifying violence or with an anti-government bent. I run listening to rap and can vouch that it's themes are not exactly a monument to progressive values.

When I hear all this anger about country music, I can't help but think that you really just dislike the audience, and the audience makes you afraid, and you need to try to justify it by pretending that song about working class woes is a coded call to arms. It's art. Relax. 
[/quote]

OP here. I love country music. I’m also white male and moderately conservative. Most people would think these are my people.

I’m telling you this was different.[/quote]

Please highlight the lyrics that scared you. [/quote]

You are completely missing op’s point.  [/quote]

I'm not. If you're going to say lyrics incite violence, you need to be specific, like the Fulton County DA was in her 65 count indictment against Young Thug and his criminal street gang. She specifically cited lyrics in his music to establish that he has admitted to directing his gang to kill people. You may remember Young Thug for his debut Album reaching #1 on the rap Billboard, he's a pretty visible figure in hip hop. He's also pretty influential in ATL gang culture and is currently on trial on charges including RICO, murder, armed robbery, and armed assault.

So, back to how scary this guy with beef against rich people is. Specifically, what scared you in his lyrics? Or am I right that you dislike the audience? [/quote]

I’m not the op.  You are taking the post too literally.  Op is sounding an alarm, letting us know that something is afoot.  That’s what their takeaway was from the experience.  They’re not trying to make a case and they don’t have to defend themselves.

They’re giving you a heads up.  You can listen or not.  Your choice.  [/quote]

Or we can be critical thinkers.  There's that option, too. [/quote]

Can you expand on what you mean by that?[/quote]

You said that OP sounded an alarm and I can listen or not. I'm saying that we neither have to, nor should, accept as fact everything we read. We should evaluate the information, assess it in context, make comparisons (whataboutism is a critical skill that you hone with a liberal arts education, actually) and determine if you should accept the information as valid.

I don't accept the OP's premise that a revolution is brewing because someone sang a song that says that being working class is hard and they feel misunderstood by rich people in DC. [b] I think that is silly,[/b] especially when put in the wider context of popular music lyrics.  As for the behavior of the audience, it's hard to get too worked up about an audience chanting when not too long ago, an audience actually killed 10 people.  [/quote]

This is where I think you’re making a mistake.  You’re looking at this in the narrow context of a musical performance, and missing the fact that the reaction to this song is just the tip of the iceberg.

Deaths by suicide are at record levels. As are overdoses.  Most families have to have two working parents to afford a home and get by.  People are overworked and tired.  One emergency away from losing everything.  Our social safety net is thin and breaking.

You describe this as “silly”, but these are people’s lives.   Outside of the dc bubble and the laptop classes, things are not going well.   People in power need to recognize that.  [/quote]

I believe that we are doing very poorly at unifying the nation and providing an opportunity for all to succeed. I don't believe that country music stars are the problem, though. It's common for authoritarian societies to attack artists, musicians, and academics who are critical of the regime, and it's important to treat political attacks on artists with suspicion.  [/quote]

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