“The Metropolitan Police is hypocritical on hate crimes. It allows homophobic singers to perform in London, but not racist ones. Racist artists are banned on the grounds that they are a threat to public order and good community relations. This is a case of double standards,” argues Peter Tatchell over at Comment Is Free, ahead of a concert tour by Jamaican dancehall singer, Bounty Killer. The dancehall performer is one of several who glorify the killings of lesbian and gay people on record and from the stage.
I made a similar argument on Friday in a piece I wrote for arts and culture zine, The Quietus – which is currently being discussed in the Arts section – about American hiphop artists, Trick-Trick and his recent violently homophobic outbursts.
So why can celebrities get away with saying “faggot” but not “nigger”? Why can you buy CDs from Hight Street shops with songs exhorting people to lynch gays but not gas Jews?
I’ll keep the comments closed here so there aren’t two threads going along similar lines, but comments are open here.
