Bruce Springsteen and his legendary E Street Band have canceled their upcoming concert in North Carolina, in a public stand against the state’s newly-passed anti-LGBT law, HB2. Springsteen, who is now 66, said refusing to play the Greensboro show “is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.”
I believe there’s a time and a place to stand up for human rights, even (perhaps especially for the rights of those who may not think, believe, live, and/or love as you do. It’s about taking a cue from Martin Niemöller, (paraphrased) “First they came for the Packers fans, and I did not speak out- because I was not a Packers fan.” When they take the rights of someone else, how long before they come for yours?
In this case, it’s the “T” in “LGBT community.” I can’t pretend understand much about the struggle of transgender individuals, but I do know they have, and have every right to expect, the same human rights I or any other American takes as their due. North Carolina (and subsequently Mississippi) has decided that taking rights from transgender individuals is both acceptable and appropriate- because, as any good, God-fearing, Conservative Christian knows, granting the LGBT community equal rights is to condone sin and pedophilia.
Except that none of that is true, and the fear that transgender individuals will molest and rape good Christian children is as unfounded as it is absurd. If Republicans in North Carolina were worried about their precious snowflakes being molested and raped, then why have they not taken action against the Catholic Church?
The Tarheel State’s HB2 is the product of hatred, bigotry, prejudice, and religious zealotry with no grounding in Scripture. Simply put, if your religion allows you to discriminate against and oppress those whose lifestyle and/or sexual orientation you abhor, you HAVE no religion. What you do have is an epic degree of hypocrisy and a truly distressing lack of decency and kindness. Gov. Pat McCrory has argued that HB2 isn’t about discrimination or homophobia; it’s about protecting the sanctity of North Carolina’s public restroom. This from the same state whose Voter ID laws have effectively disenfranchised thousands of voters from traditional Democratic-leaning constituencies.
Because it’s ALL about protecting the sanctity of the electoral process, don’tchaknow?
A growing number of businesses have registered their displeasure, with PayPal even putting the brakes on a planned expansion in North Carolina. Numerous states and municipalities- including Portland- have banned nonessential travel to North Carolina. The entertainment industry is also weighing in, with Bruce Springsteen being the latest artist to cancel performances in the state.
Those who work to see their hatred and bigotry given the force of law need to be forced to confront the truth that their calumny is not without cost. North Carolina (and Mississippi) will continue to lose business and economic opportunities until they admit their error and correct it. When Indiana passed a similar law last year, Gov. Mike Pence- a veteran culture warrior- had to step up and admit that Indiana could not continue to sustain an atmosphere steeped in hatred and bigotry. They cost over the long-term would simply have been more than the Hoosier State could handle. The same will undoubtedly happen in North Carolina- though it likely will take a fair bit longer for change to happen. Once a broad spectrum of North Carolinians begin to feel the impact of the growing economic boycott, they’ll begin to demand that their elected representatives do the right thing.
I feel Springsteen’s fans in Greensboro, but sometimes one feels compelled to draw a line in the sand. As the Boss said, canceling his Greensboro concert is “the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.” Until Conservative religious zealots begin focusing on moving North Carolina forward, more performers will pass on performing in the Tarheel State as a means of making clear their support for equality and their unalloyed opposition to hatred, bigotry, and hypocrisy.
North Carolinians made it possible for HB2 to become law by electing ideologues and hypocrites. They elected those who passed the bill and Gov. Pat McCrory, who signed it into law. Ultimately, it’s the people of North Carolina who are responsible for HB2…and the consequences that will inevitably flow from it. Until they do the right thing and demand that Gov. McCrory and the legislature repeal HB2 and re-affirm North Carolina’s commitment to equality, their home will continue to be ostracized and rejected for the hatred and bigotry that the Tarheel State demonstrated itself to stand for.
