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| What will replace Griffin's lost CNN gig? |
Remember
that outcry? When one member of the country music trio let it be known she was
opposed to the U.S. military efforts in the Middle East?
HOW
DARE THAT woman think to speak out against then-President George W. Bush! How
dare she say anything that wasn’t complete deference to their own ideals (even
though many people back then were equally critical of Bush)?
When
I remember the degree to which certain people were determined to sabotage the
Dixie Chicks, I see the similarities to the way some are bound to react to
Griffin – the so-called star of the D-List celebrities who managed to offend
everybody with a gag image depicting her with a bloodied, severed head that –
with its funky hairdo was clearly meant to be reminiscent of President Donald
J. Trump.
Yes,
I thought her gag was lame, tacky and somewhat gross. It pushed the boundaries
of good taste.
But
let’s be honest. The very behavior of Donald Trump as both a presidential
candidate and as a government official has been equally tacky and offensive.
Some might argue if there’s anybody who deserves to be treated in such a
callous manner, it is Trump. Just as how Trump-themed piñatas are at hit on so
many levels at Mexican celebrations.
THE
IDEOLOGUES AMONGST us, however, are determined to express such outrage that, in
their minds, Griffin fades away into insignificance. She’s finished for having
the unmitigated gall speak out in this Age of Trump we’re now in.
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| Griffin's critics the same people bashing Wonder Woman? |
The
comparison to the Dixie Chicks is relevant because within country music
circles, the ladies remain irrelevant. To the point where a recent New York
Times report indicates they don’t consider themselves part of the country scene
– their attempts at making records are now regarded as pop music.
Which
makes me wonder what kind of career change Griffin will have to make to allow
her to remain relevant as an entertainer? While some amongst us will want to
forever lambast her, there are others who will be willing to give her sense of
humor a second chance.
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| Star-spangled shorts make her American? |
If
anything, she may get a boost by gaining the perception of being politically relevant
– the comedian for those people who don’t mind offending the sensibilities of Donald
J. Trump and his ilk!
AND
AS FOR those people who will want to look down on Griffin, they’re probably the
same people who these days are upset with the new Wonder Woman movie – which they
say depicts the Amazon princess with incredible strength in ways that aren’t
quite “American-enough” for their sensibilities.
I
haven’t seen the film (and don’t exactly feel compelled to rush out to the
theater to do so), so I don’t know what their objections really are? Maybe they
just don’t like the idea of Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress, wearing the red, white
and blue outfit that Lynda Carter made so popular on 1970s-era television.
Or
maybe they’re the people who, back when Carter’s Wonder Woman was fighting off
Nazis, they were secretly rooting for the men in the swastika armbands? Perhaps
they find the arrogance of Trump to be reminiscent?
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| Please Kathy, don't give us a similar image to silence your critics |
WHEN
IT COMES to the whole affair involving the alumnus of Oak Park/River Forest
High School who made being on the “D List” not quite so low a place to be,
there is one aspect that I must admit terrifies me.
It
is that I still remember the Entertainment Weekly magazine cover the Dixie
Chicks did in the weeks following their own controversy – the one of the three
of them nude, with their bodies covered with tattoos depicting the many slurs (“Dixie
Sluts,” “Saddam’s Angels” and “Traitors,” to name a few) being thrown their
way.
Please
Kathy, keep your clothes on. We don’t need the sight of you trying to give us a
similar image to illustrate the harassment you’re undergoing these days.
Even
though, on a certain level, forcing your critics to endure the sight might very
well be the perfect way to shut them up big time!
-30-
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