(Matt Sayles / Invision / AP)
I did not watch the Grammys last night, as I was otherwise indisposed and awards shows really aren’t my thing, but I caught wind of the fact that there would be a mass wedding of some sort, including gay couples, during Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s performance of “Same Love.” Wingnut Tim Graham of the Media Research Center heard about it as well, and he’s not pleased:
The New York Times reports CBS will air a “solemn” political stunt during the Grammy Awards on Sunday night during a rap song trashing “right wing conservatives” in the lyrics:
“An on-air wedding of 34 couples — gay, straight, old, young, of many races and many colors,” they write. “The ceremony will be part of the hip-hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s performance of their Grammy-nominated song “Same Love,” which became a marriage-equality anthem last year just as that issue was drawing intense national attention.”
They can say this is not a stunt, but that’s exactly what it is, a piece of musical agitprop to mock the traditional values of conservative American Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others. Entertainers never want to have a debate, just a series of arrogant “statements” with no opportunity for a conversation as they flush the Bible on national TV.
I understand that a person like Tim Graham would be upset by this, but what’s not clear to me is why he would think things would be any different. The Grammys are an award show recognizing excellence in music, and the great majority of artistically talented people are already on our side. It’s sort of like when wingnuts complain that there are no sitcoms about “traditional Christian families.” People like Tim Graham don’t seem to understand just how isolated they really are from the population at large, due to their bigoted views. Before too long, anti-gay people will be viewed just as severe racists are viewed, and the rest of the nation will go about its business as usual. American society has made its decision on the issue of equality, and our majority support grows every day. I’m not sure what the Grammys would look like if Tim Graham was making the decisions, but they certainly wouldn’t be something that appeals to talented, intelligent people. Judging by Tim’s piece and the comments from his readers, every performance would be a cacophonous, out of tune arrhythmia of voices screaming, “GET OFF MY LAWN!”
