What the world needs now…is the lighten up
I have some fairly strong opinions about any number of subjects, and I’m pretty stubborn about most of them. But I’m also completely okay with people expressing opinions I don’t agree with, however wrong they may be.
Oh, I’m kidding…sort of. Not really.
What I have noticed is that there are a whole lot of people who have become so polarized in their belief systems that they become irrationally enraged about the littlest things. They become offended by the mere fact that anyone would have the audacity to think differently from them, and that’s a shame.
Katy Hudson
When former gospel singer Katy Hudson changed her name to Katy Perry and released the song “I Kissed a Girl (and I liked it)” she was well on her way to becoming a superstar and media darling. The more outrageous she became, the further away she seemed to be drifting from her Christian upbringing, the brighter her star seemed to shine.
Katy Perry
But recently she crossed the line. She committed an egregious sin. She dared to star in this video:
Girl power? Empowerment of women? A message that the affection of a man does not define who a woman is or can be? Well, yes. That’s all great. But to use actual female marines and the military as a metaphor for those messages? Katy, what were you thinking???
From the New York Daily News Music and Arts:
Activist Naomi Wolf says Katy Perry’s latest music video is “propaganda for the Marines,” and is even calling for a boycott of the bubblegum pop star’s music.
Wolf, best known for her book, “The Beauty Myth,” wasn’t buying it.
On Sunday, the famed feminist posted this on Facebook:
“I really want to find out if she was paid by them for making it . . . it is truly shameful. I would suggest a boycott of this singer whom I really liked — if you are as offended at this glorification of violence as I am.”
Um, what? Which part of that video glorified violence? How is showing marines in basic training a glorification of violence? Maybe Ms. Wolf’s problem with Perry isn’t that she featured marines in her video, but that said marines weren’t committing violence against women and children. Something tells me she’d be a-okay with that, but what do I know?
The article continues:
Public relations expert Glenn Selig, who founded The Publicity Agency, told Fox News he thinks Wolf’s call for a boycott will backfire.
“In her efforts to boycott the video, Naomi Wolf has brought more attention to it,” he said. “Without her comments, most people would clearly have seen the military simply as a metaphor and not as an attempt by Katy Perry to glamorize the military or war.
“It’s hard to believe that Naomi Wolf’s view of the video will resonate with the public at large, because most people will view her comments as completely absurd and a ridiculous attempt to make a big deal out of nothing.”
Yeah…what he said.
I, for one, will not boycott Katy Perry for appearing in a video which shows the men and women of the military in a positive light, nor did I boycott her for donning a blue hair, wearing a cupcake bra and singing about kissing girls. She’s an artist. She has the right to express herself and her work just as I have the right to like or not like her or the message.
A boycott? (rolls eyes)
Lighten up, Naomi.
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At least it’s a feminist looking like a boycott and looking like an idiot and not a Christian, right? Not that the two are exclusive by any means… I’d missionary-date Ms. Perry. I think she’s talented, beautiful and would be a lot of fun to have around, but she really shouldn’t do the short hair thing- Blue, pink, blonde, anything but short.
Now- I’m with you. I stick to my guns when it comes to my strong opinions, but that doesn’t mean that other alternatives don’t exist and there’s no point to freak out when people don’t agree. Unless it’s about Jesus and the dissenting opinion is wrong- that’s literally a matter of heaven and hell at that point.
Love reading your stuff!
Jake´s last [type] ..Picking- By Angie
You’d missionary date Katy Perry? Snort! Only you, Jake would say such a thing and get away with it.
I guess I agree with you about needing to lighten up.
Then again, I sometimes raise my blood pressure over differences of opinion. I am among the boycotters of “GCB” sponsors. Lightening up can be a challenge.
Helen´s last [type] ..A Sweet Lesson from an Awful Cookie: Reprise
GCB sponsors?
ABC is running a program called “GCB” The letters originally stood for “Good Christian B*t*h*s” but is represented in the listings as “Good Christian Belles”. It’s the usual propaganda that we use Bible quotes to stab each other with, yada yada yada. It’s one thing to mock me. I laugh. But to mock my sisters really hurts. I haven’t watched it, so I can’t accuse them of mocking God. I suspect that they might, but that’s a HUGE accusation to make at anyone, and I’d hate to “bear false witness”. If you want, the next time “OneMillionMoms”(ironic that I’m not a mom, but I joined them so I could be informed about the boycott list…) emails me about the boycott progress, I’ll forward it to you. It usually summarizes the offenses in the latest plot.
Anyway, it’s just difficult to know where the “lighten up” line gets drawn. I really agree with you that Ms. Wolf should lighten up. But then, I’m boycotting something on the other end of the spectrum, and I’m sure Ms. Wolf would feel that I should lighten up…
Helen´s last [type] ..A Sweet Lesson from an Awful Cookie: Reprise
Oh, yes. I’ve heard about that show. I won’t watch it, though. There probably are women like that, but as with most shows like that, they’re the exception and not the norm.
Exactly. There are annoying people of every ilk. That doesn’t justifying hatefully labeling a whole group.
Helen´s last [type] ..BunBun Shares
The only reason why my husband and I watched this video was because of your post. The only reason you created an entire post about her video was because of the rant of a very confused feminist. As it turns out, as a result of these two facts, we now like Katy Perry more than we had previously.
I try to refrain from being super religious, so I wasn’t a fan of her work for personal reasons, like, I don’t care for modern pop music. But, now that I’ve been forced to give her a chance, she’s better than I’d thought.
Thank you Naomi Wolf for forcing me to be more openminded.
Also, I agree about being thankful that it wasn’t some evangelical idiot who was complaining publicly. Note: By definition, I’m an evangelical and can be an idiot, but I try to avoid expressing both of those personality traits in a public forum, when possible.
Brina Harwood´s last [type] ..Heck Yes!
Let me clarify… I try to avoid expressing both of those personality traits SIMULTANEOUSLY in a public form, when possible.
Brina Harwood´s last [type] ..Heck Yes!
Oh, yeah. I totally got that.
I have chosen not to boycott anything. I was trained in the art of boycotting, especially at Bible college, but I don’t really know where this idea that any business or celebrity has a moral obligation to make all the same choices I would make. If you really wanted to be consistent, you’d have to boycott everything and everybody, grow your own food, make your own clothes, and start your own church. Otherwise, you might contribute to something you don’t believe in.
So I have plans to take Jakob to Disney world, we use Johnson & Johnson products, I will probably download that song by Katy Perry, because I liked it.
Jeff´s last [type] ..Jakob’s first time volunteering at church