Van Morrison Is Whining About Free Speech Because No One Likes His Anti-Lockdown Songs

[Oddish]

Robin Swann is the Northern Ireland health minister. Although from the unionist side of the community, he has garnered respect across the community for his handling of covid. For that ballbag to stand there and chant that Swann is dangerous - accompanied by the perpetually disgraced MP for north Antrim (who was suspended from parliament a few years ago) is outrageous.

Perhaps. But remember this important quote about free speech:

"You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours."
- From "The American President"

Restrictions that I considered unnecessarily excessive might have driven me to depression, obesity, and to the point of suicide, but I never opposed anyone's right to lobby for having them, intensifying them, or extending them. And Van Morrison has the right to express his views, however misguided you may think they are.

(And no, that's not a play for sympathy, but rather an indication that I am committed to respecting freedom of speech)

 

[Captaindemotion]

Perhaps. But remember this important quote about free speech:

"You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours."
- From "The American President"

Restrictions that I considered unnecessarily excessive might have driven me to depression, obesity, and to the point of suicide, but I never opposed anyone's right to lobby for having them, intensifying them, or extending them. And Van Morrison has the right to express his views, however misguided you may think they are.

(And no, that's not a play for sympathy, but rather an indication that I am committed to respecting freedom of speech)

Freedom of speech on this side of the Atlantic does not extent to slandering a minister working hard to protect the public. I hope Swann sues the arse off the pair of them.

 

[Oddish]

Freedom of speech on this side of the Atlantic does not extent to slandering a minister working hard to protect the public. I hope Swann sues the arse off the pair of them.

If those are your laws, then your leaders should by all means enforce them.

 

[Kor]

https://cincymusic.com/calendar

Yes, live music is already resuming in various places, even if occupancy is being kept at lower levels.

...
And no, I'm not speaking personally. I live about 6000 miles from Ireland, and I don't even know what Van Morrison sounds like.

You've never heard the song "Brown Eyed Girl?" It's been a radio staple in the US for decades.

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Kor

 

[yotsuya]

I won't comment on the politics, but any artist is free to make whatever they like and their fans and the public are free to react however they like. That is free speech. Complaining because what you made is not being liked and blaming it on politics and the government is just insane. If people aren't liking Van Morrison's new songs, it is because they are crap, not because his freedom of speech is being violated. Unfortunately that is a common thing these days and the people who do it are off their rocker and out of touch.

 

[cooleddie74]

"People hated the ENT finale! Why? People put hard work into that final episode."

Because it sucked. There. End of story.

 

[Oddish]

You've never heard the song "Brown Eyed Girl?" It's been a radio staple in the US for decades.

Yeah, my best memory of it is Julia Robert's cosplaying to it in "Sleeping With the Enemy". But I didn't know the artist name offhand.

 

[The Wormhole]

I'm starting to wonder if live performances ever will return. Even with my state's hugely high vaccination rate, we've created a culture of fear, which could easily become permanently self- sustaining.

We're already seeing in countries like Australia or New Zealand which have more or less beaten the pandemic life is returning to pre-pandemic normal with no limits on the size of public events and no mask mandates. Once the rest of the world defeats the pandemic and gets vaccinated, we'll quickly revert to the old ways. Maybe there will be some hesitancy early on about public events or not wearing a mask, but it won't last. Humans are social creatures and even the most antisocial people want to be surrounded by other people to some degree, even if it's just to glare at them and make a point of ignoring any attempts at conversation. The past year is not going to change over two thousand years of human nature.

 

[Oddish]

I hope you're right. Even if it means admitting to being wrong.

 

[Marc]

I won't comment on the politics, but any artist is free to make whatever they like and their fans and the public are free to react however they like. That is free speech. Complaining because what you made is not being liked and blaming it on politics and the government is just insane. If people aren't liking Van Morrison's new songs, it is because they are crap, not because his freedom of speech is being violated. Unfortunately that is a common thing these days and the people who do it are off their rocker and out of touch.

have to wonder how they cope with bad album reviews. Some of the reviews from magazines like New Music Express show that the reviewers can be quite, shall we say dickish about albums no matter how good they are if they don't like the artist.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Yeah, my best memory of it is Julia Robert's cosplaying to it in "Sleeping With the Enemy". But I didn't know the artist name offhand.

See (hear) also:

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[Oddish]

See (hear) also:

How little did I know. Thanks for sharing.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Brown Eyed Girl is one of the most frequently played songs in Bourbon St bars.

I don't know a lot about UK laws but from what I've heard through conjecture and TV, it's easy for powerful people to completely suppress any printed speech they don't like because the burden of proof is shifted from the accuser to the accused. If it's the law, the legal officials have no choice to enforce it, but those kinds of laws are extremely problematic. Especially when celebrities have the option of moving libel cases to UK courts if a single copy got sold there because they don't think they can win in US ones.

It essentially gives people with political leverage authority over truth.

 

[Oddish]

Well, regardless, I expect that if he is the defendant in a massive libel lawsuit, it is unlikely that his performance will ever occur. I hope the people who bought tickets get their money back. With this post-Covid economic slump, I doubt anyone can afford to waste money.

 

[publiusr]

I'm not even sure it works that well, but it avoids contact with the person's body, which means you don't have to clean it after every use, so it's good especially in non-medical settings.

That is the idea. I put one right against my forehead and all it said was “Lo”

 

[cardinal biggles]

That is the idea. I put one right against my forehead and all it said was “Lo”

I heard through the grapevine that when the bookstore chain I used to work for was allowed to reopen their stores after the lockdown ended, they were shipped forehead thermometers so all employees could have a reading done before their shift started. Problem was, the thermometers were imported from China, were set by default to read Celsius instead of Fahrenheit, and didn't come with instructions on how to change them.

 

[publiusr]

This is just bs so that companies can have a lawsuit shield. Look up “LLCs”
This just forces people into closer contact

 

[Oddish]

I heard through the grapevine that when the bookstore chain I used to work for was allowed to reopen their stores after the lockdown ended, they were shipped forehead thermometers so all employees could have a reading done before their shift started. Problem was, the thermometers were imported from China, were set by default to read Celsius instead of Fahrenheit, and didn't come with instructions on how to change them.

Since 100.4, or 38C, is considered feverish, just chuck someone out if they register 38.1 or higher. It's prudent to know both scales anyway.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

This is just bs so that companies can have a lawsuit shield. Look up “LLCs”

It's a bit more complicated than that.

 

[publiusr]

So help me, but at times I think the folks in legal departments could solve the Riemann Hypothesis in the margin of their filings