OT: Hank Williams Song Out for Season on MNF

[OttoMets]

Well, I'm not sure I can really agree with you on whether entertainers shouldn't have the right to talk about politics. Why should we be able to do so, but not them? The only difference is that they have access to people who actually listen to what they say.

Of course they have the right...but as Marge Simpson wisely said, "I didn't say you couldn't; I said you shouldn't."

Most actors and musicians have virtually no education, a wide audience, and a penchant for saying rude things for the purpose of shocking people. Not a great combination.

 

[jekelish]

I'm not sure where you're getting any statistics to back up that huge, sweeping generalization about actors and musicians. I'd wager that the vast majority of actors have a college education, and typically from good schools, too. Hell, even Adam Sandler went to freaking NYU. Look at the freaking list of colleges here and tell me these people have virtually no education. That is an incredibly impressive list of schools.

 

[TOL22]

I agree with everything you said.

HOWEVER, it is simply ridiculous for ESPN to "fire" him (I know he's not an employee) just because he said something they disagree with.

Well, every action has a reaction, and though Hank Williams Jr thinks this is a freedom of speech issue, it's really just a matter of consequences.

We don't know that ESPN doesn't agree with Williams. We can assume this is so since they said they were "disappointed", but if they don't want to lose advertisers or viewers, they had to make the decision to disassociate themselves from such a controversial statement and personality. He's the face of Monday Night Football.

Plus, he's a dullard.

 

[OttoMets]

I can understand Disneys point and it's within their rights I suppose but to me I think we all are starting to lose the things we thought we had certain rights and it's kind of sad that we really don't. Even the misguided should get a chance to voice their opinions and through communication we get a chance to express our thoughts and debate the issues.

We do have rights.

Hank Williams has the right to say virtually anything he pleases.

ESPN has the right to hire anyone it pleases. It also has the right to fire a contractor who says hateful and inflammatory things that might humiliate ESPN and its advertisers in front of hundreds of millions of people.

Comparing the president to Hitler (yeah, he did - "Hitler" sure wasn't in reference to Boehner) and calling him the enemy is far beyond any sort of debating the issues. As you note, Hank Williams does get the chance to voice his opinion. Trouble is, it's an idiotic opinion that does nothing to further any kind of rational or productive debate.

 

[OttoMets]

I'm not sure where you're getting any statistics to back up that huge, sweeping generalization about actors and musicians. I'd wager that the vast majority of actors have a college education, and typically from good schools, too. Hell, even Adam Sandler went to freaking NYU. Look at the freaking list of colleges here and tell me these people have virtually no education. That is an incredibly impressive list of schools.

Yeah, it's a wild generalization, and there're a number of Adam Sandlers/Jon Stewarts/Julia Stileses who are well-educated, bright, and reasonably thoughtful.

A lot of actors and musicians are Grade-A, "look-at-me" dummies, though.

(Yeah, this is something of an irrational bias of mine, and probably is counterproductive to my argument in that it smacks of the kind of extremism that I'm denouncing.)

 

[SmilinBob]

We do have rights.

Hank Williams has the right to say virtually anything he pleases.

ESPN has the right to hire anyone it pleases. It also has the right to fire a contractor who says hateful and inflammatory things that might humiliate ESPN and its advertisers in front of hundreds of millions of people.

Comparing the president to Hitler (yeah, he did - "Hitler" sure wasn't in reference to Boehner) and calling him the enemy is far beyond any sort of debating the issues. As you note, Hank Williams does get the chance to voice his opinion. Trouble is, it's an idiotic opinion that does nothing to further any kind of rational or productive debate.

I understand and I also realize that once you say the name hitler people still go off the deep end without listening to the context of what has been said. People have been saying bad things about every president since I've been alive and I'm sure since George Washington.

 

[DoctorBombay]

The real travesty is the media giving a rat's azz what that drugged-out hillbilly has to say... about anything.

So ole' Hank doesn't like Obama...& thinks the POTUS & Biden are "the enemy"....& throws in a Hitler/Israel reference...on Fox News no less...
Yes, color me SHOCKED, SHOCKED I tell ya', at this startling turn of events!
Disney had a right to fire him, & he had a right to express his opinion...no matter how stupid it was.

This is a real man-bites-dog story, & putting this kinda spotlight on it is pathetic- JMHO.

 

[Cadillac]

 

[OttoMets]

I understand and I also realize that once you say the name hitler people still go off the deep end without listening to the context of what has been said. People have been saying bad things about every president since I've been alive and I'm sure since George Washington.

That part is true.

Still, if I'm ESPN, Williams is fired. And if I'm producing a Barbra Streisand show and she says a similar thing about President Bush, she's fired too. After all, we don't want to employ idiots.

 

[SmilinBob]

I'm just sick of the us vs them type of thinking and it divides the country, not strengthens it. I don't agree with what he said but the more and more we slide down the slippery slop of watching what we say because we could get fired or the like, the deeper we go towards sensor-ship and fear.

 

[jekelish]

I hate Cowherd, but he made a good point this morning, too. No one actually stomped on Hank's freedom of speech. He was able to say anything he wanted. However, he does NOT have freedom from consequences for his statements. He's an employee, and his employer has every right to punish him for what he says if they think it'll reflect poorly on their public image.

 

[NKR1978]

Streisand did. Not much reaction. Only the left goes bananas over these things.

Was I dreaming when the Dixie Chicks were subject to being pulled off the radio and had their CDs burned en mass for simply saying they were embarrassed that President Bush was from Texas.

 

[All4SU]

No, you weren't dreaming. But those are isolated incidents. And the Dixie Chicks are playing to a mostly right-of-center audience. Of course they weren't going to react well to it. Most of the country didn't care.

 

[SmilinBob]

I hate Cowherd, but he made a good point this morning, too. No one actually stomped on Hank's freedom of speech. He was able to say anything he wanted. However, he does NOT have freedom from consequences for his statements. He's an employee, and his employer has every right to punish him for what he says if they think it'll reflect poorly on their public image.

So corporations/employers can control what you can or can not say while you are not on the clock? They can simply say this is not how Disney feels or whatever they need too and to me we are not all one big kumbiya and have to agree with what is politically correct. I'm sure Disney is worried about a backlash in this and to me the issue should be with Williams, not Disney regarding that backlash.

 

[jekelish]

He's a representative of the company, so yes, they are allowed to punish him for public statements. I work at a college, and if I went public with inflammatory statements I would fully expect to at least be reprimanded.

 

[SmilinBob]

He's a representative of the company, so yes, they are allowed to punish him for public statements. I work at a college, and if I went public with inflammatory statements I would fully expect to at least be reprimanded.

So you're on Barbra Walters because you saved her dog from a fire and it has nothing to do with the college you work at. You say something bad about the President and expect repercussions? You're not representing the college, you're representing you.

 

[jekelish]

I'm just trying to work out how I'd go from talking about saving a dog to badmouthing the president...

"Barack Obama does not care about Cocker Spaniels."

 

[SmilinBob]

I'm just trying to work out how I'd go from talking about saving a dog to badmouthing the president...

"Barack Obama does not care about Cocker Spaniels."

The flow of a conversation can go in many directions for example:

Topic dogs>spca>gment>president

 

[JoeSU]

I realize that this is getting off topic for the football board, but it seems abundantly clear that folks in this country are fed-up with the divisive political climate in Washington that has prevented anything meaningful from being accomplished. Regardless of his political views, Williams should be applauding the fact that Boehner and Obama were at least able shoot a round of golf together and have a gentleman's discussion away from the glare of the beltway. It's ignorant, hard-line attitudes like Williams' that has brought political discourse in this country to where it is today.

 

[jekelish]

I realize that this is getting off topic for the football board, but it seems abundantly clear that folks in this country are fed-up with the divisive political climate in Washington that has prevented anything meaningful from being accomplished. Regardless of his political views, Williams should be applauding the fact that Boehner and Obama were at least able shoot a round of golf together and have a gentleman's discussion away from the glare of the beltway. It's ignorant, hard-line attitudes like Williams' that has brought political discourse in this country to where it is today.

+1

Who said that liberals and conservatives can't actually spend time together from time to time?

 

[orangenirvana]

I wouldn't say they did the wrong thing.

If you have a very public company and a very public contractor of yours says a rude and idiotic thing like that, do you want to employ him any longer? I sure wouldn't.

Idiotic, maybe. But rude? Given the context of what he was saying (which is something that people conveniently ignore), why was it rude?

 

[orangenirvana]

We don't know that ESPN doesn't agree with Williams. We can assume this is so since they said they were "disappointed", but if they don't want to lose advertisers or viewers, they had to make the decision to disassociate themselves from such a controversial statement and personality. He's the face of Monday Night Football.

I think you hit the nail on the head here. It's not so much ESPN I blame, but this current society in general. ESPN's fear of taking financial hits because of companies pulling their advertising because they ignore context and/or don't like what the man said. People in this society are so sensitive and close-minded that they would rather have tantrums than allow a man to say what he wants to say.

 

[orangenirvana]

That part is true.

Still, if I'm ESPN, Williams is fired. And if I'm producing a Barbra Streisand show and she says a similar thing about President Bush, she's fired too. After all, we don't want to employ idiots.

Yep - fire everyone! Then everyone will keep their mouths shut! Or, better yet, we can all think the same. Groupthink rules!

 

[NKR1978]

No, you weren't dreaming. But those are isolated incidents. And the Dixie Chicks are playing to a mostly right-of-center audience. Of course they weren't going to react well to it. Most of the country didn't care.

They also had death threats.

Bill Maher lost his show for saying something stupid after 9/11.

Regardless, it isn't just the left that goes crazy over these things.

 

[All4SU]

Okay, the left goes more nuts.