From: trussell@cwis.unomaha.edu (Tim Russell)
Subject: Re: Liberals DO oppose First Amendment rights
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 21:00:46 GMT

   As a (VERY) direct counterexample to the assertion in the subject line,
I offer this repost from Clarinet from late last month.


Copyright 1992 by UPI
Reposted with permission from the ClariNet Electronic Newspaper newsgroup
clari.group.gays.  For more info on ClariNet, write to info@clarinet.com or
phone 1-800-USE-NETS.
 
 
     NEW YORK (UPI) -- A popular reggae song played by two major city radio
stations denounces gays and urges, ``Shoot them now, let us shoot them,''
the New York Post reported Saturday.
     The single ``Boom Bye Bye'' by 19-year-old Buju Banton is being
condemned by gay organizations as promoting anti-gay violence, which
statistics show has been increasing nationally.
     ``Faggots have to run or get a bullet in the head,'' the song's
lyrics say.
     ``Get an automatic or an Uzi instead. Shoot them now, let us shoot
them,'' says a translation of the song, sung in Jamaican patois English.
     The rhythmic song, punctuated by sounds of gunshots, has been
featured on reggae music programs on FM stations WBLS and WRKS
     Asked if they planned to continue airing the song, employees at both
stations refused comment and recommended calling back during the week.
     Station officials also refused to talk to the Post Friday.
     Gay groups told the Post they did not advocate censorship but
suggested that the stations run public-service anouncements denouncing
anti-gay violence and prejudice.
     ``Without such announcements, these stations are promoting the
message that young people should attack lesians and gay men,'' said
Donald Suggs, a spokesman for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation.
     ``The black community understands all to well what it's like to
suffer discrimination and violence, so a black-owned station should be
more sensitive,'' said Suggs, who is black.
     Both WBLS and WRKS, known as KISS-FM, have large black audiences.
WBLS is owned by black businessman Percy Sutton.
     As for Banton, a Jamaican singer, Suggs said, ``It's heinous for any
black person to encourage youngsters in our community to be involved in
violence of any sort.''
     Banton could not immediately be reached for comment. A spokeswoman at
Mercury Records, which recently signed a contract with Banton, defended
the singer, saying his song ``was a product of his environment, not a
reflection of his personal convictions.''
     GLAAD's sentiments were echoed by statements from the group Gay Men
of African Descent, the newspaper said.
     VP Records recorded the song earlier this year, selling 6,000 copies
with plans to distribute more, the Post said.
     VP Record executive David Sanguinetti disclaimed responsibility for
the record's contents, saying: ``We just manufacture and distribute it
here.''
     However, he said the company would ``absolutely not'' manufacture
records with lyrics calling for the murder of blacks, the Post said.
     This past summer, rapper Ice-T agreed to withdraw his song ``Cop
Killer'' from his Warner Records album ``Body Count,'' after protests by
police officers who claimed the song was a call to murder cops.
 
 
     NEW YORK (UPI) -- Mayor David Dinkins Sunday called the reggae song 
``Boom Bye Bye,'' which advocates shooting to death gay men, 
``absolutely, unequivocably reprehensible.''
     The popular reggae song played by two major city radio stations
denounces gays and proclaims, ``Shoot them now, let us shoot them,'' the
New York Post reported Saturday.
     The rhythmic song, punctuated by sounds of gunshots, has been
featured on reggae music programs on FM stations WBLS and WRKS
     The single by 19-year-old Jamaican Buju Banton is being condemned by
gay organizations as promoting anti-gay violence.
     ``Faggots have to run or get a bullet in the head,'' the song's
lyrics say. ``Get an automatic or an Uzi instead. Shoot them now, let us
shoot them,'' says a translation of the song, sung in Jamaican patois
English.
     ``The song's lyrics as translated are absolutely, unequivocally
reprehensible,'' said the mayor in a statement. ``Like music which
encourages the killing of police officers, music encouraging violence
gainst gays and lesbians is ugly, very ugly to my ears.''
     He called the lyrics ``homophobic and insulting to gay men and
lesbian women. They also encourage violence -- deadly violence -- against
gay men.''
     Gay groups told the Post they did not advocate censorship but
suggested at least the stations run public-service anouncements
denouncing anti-gay violence and prejudice.
     Dinkins also said he was against censorship.
     ``Governments committed to protecting the lives and advancing the
interests of all the constituents they are elected to serve ought not
stand silent when an attack, artistic or otherwise, is leveled against
one of those constituent groups.''
     ``Music which hurts others, hurts all of us,'' the mayor said. ``Let
us never censor artistic expression, but also let us never condone
artistic expression which might lead to the death or injury of our
brothers and sisters in the gay and lesbian community.''
     At Mercury Records, which recently signed a contract with Banton, a
spokeswoman defended the singer, saying his song ``was a product of his
environment, not a reflection of his personal convictions.''
     The Post said it was written when he was 17.


--
   Tim Russell                 Omaha, NE              trussell@unomaha.edu
      "Who can doubt that pleasure is the only goal of a reasoned life?"
                                                   -- Epicurus