Pearl Jam cancels Raleigh NC 4/20 show in protest of state law

Cafe Society
1

Just emailed to me:
PEARL JAM STATEMENT

It is with deep consideration and much regret that we must cancel the Raleigh show in North Carolina on April 20th.

This will be upsetting to those who have tickets and you can be assured that we are equally frustrated by the situation.

The HB2 law that was recently passed is a despicable piece of legislation that encourages discrimination against an entire group of American citizens. The practical implications are expansive and its negative impact upon basic human rights is profound. We want America to be a place where no one can be turned away from a business because of who they love or fired from their job for who they are.

It is for this reason that we must take a stand against prejudice, along with other artists and businesses, and join those in North Carolina who are working to oppose HB2 and repair what is currently unacceptable.

We have communicated with local groups and will be providing them with funds to help facilitate progress on this issue.

In the meantime we will be watching with hope and waiting in line for a time when we can return.

Perhaps even celebrate.

With immense gratitude for your understanding,

Pearl Jam
…I’m seeing them on 5/1 and 5/2 in NYC so my shows should be safe, but are all these cancellations really helping anything? What if the Panthers or Tarheels cancelled all their future games?

2

Yeah, if the sports bigwigs start pulling games and events then the thing might get repealed. So far, with Bruce, Ringo and Cirque canceling, you know, the acts that only appeal to pot smoking, sex crazed hippies, the old, conservative, white powers that be don’t care. But if you try to take away their funball games…

3

So, Sherman Alexie canceled a visit to a local bookstore, as well as his visit to my own elementary school. While I support his right to boycott in the way he sees fit, it’s hard for me to think of a boycott that’s less targeted at its intended audience. “Oh noes!” I imagine them not saying in Raleigh. “A hard-left minority poet isn’t coming to our state! WE REPENT WE REPENT!”

But Bruce Springsteen? Ringo Starr? Old Republicans want to pretend they’re cool, too. I guarantee some of them had tickets to these shows. I totally support their actions.

Louis CK gets it most right, IMO: he did an extra show locally and donated all the proceeds to Equality NC. That’s how this shit gets done.

4

So let’s see… Eddie Vedder, Michael Moore and Bruce Springsteen think THEY have a right NOT to perform for people who don’t share their values… but bakers and florists don’t.

That about the size of it?

Oh, I trust they have all cancelled all future performances in countries like, say, Japan, where gay marriage is illegal.

Right?

5

Oh, say Eddie? Boss? I notice you haven’t cancelled any upcoming Texas gigs. why not? Didn’t you read about this?

Even in liberal Houston, a city with a lesbian mayor, women don’t want drag queens in their rest rooms. You CAN’T let evil Texans get away with this. You have a moral obligation to punish Texas by cancelling all gigs here.

But wait, even that’s not enough. Have you forgotten that DESPITE all the money and media support for gay marriage in California, the ordinary citizens of California voted AGAINST gay marriage… until a gay judge ruled that the people are stupid bigots whose votes don’t count, because whaddya think this is, a DEMOCRACY or something?

That noble judge saved the day, but Bruce… how can you live in a state that voted against gay marriage?
Boss, you MUST drag your rich spoiled brats out of dressage lessons, sell your ostentatious Cali mansion and move to Fire Island or the Village. And you must NEVER perform in California again until the voters admit they were wrong.
And I know you guys WILL do just that, because you’re TRUE idealists, and not just smug rich liberals who like bullying people.

6

Don’t worry , we will still have plenty of Jim Billy Bob country concerts . Dixie Chicks will probably cancel too but I think most country fans still hate them over the Bush comment.

7

I know, right? How dare he follow his own conscience instead of traipsing along to your semicoherent rants about what he ought to do? Of all the noive!

8

If this is really about conscience, why is he singling out North Carolina?

He’s grandstanding about a move that costs him almost nothing. If he wants to use his clout, let’s see him do some boycotts that might really cost him something.

9

Because often symbolic acts can sway public opinion? Because it’s the one that people are contacting him about? Because it’s the one he’s heard about? Because he flipped a goddamned coin? How should I know?

Are you his priest or something, that you’re advising him on matters of conscience? Unless you’re out there really engaging in political disobedience with real costs to you, why is your criticism of him remotely interesting?

10

I can’t speak for Vedder, Moore, and Springsteen, but it’s fine with me if rock bands who oppose North Carolina’s laws refuse to perform there, and it’s also fine with me if bakers and florists who oppose same-sex marriage refuse to do business in states that recognize such marriages.

11

Well, for one thing, you seem to be confused about the difference between actively mandating discrimination and simply refusing to mandate non-discrimination. Arguably, both are deplorable but the former is way worse.

The Houston city ordinance that the voters rejected last year would have banned discrimination against LGBTQ people. It’s a pity it didn’t pass, but not forbidding discrimination is not the same thing as requiring discrimination.

The North Carolina bill, on the other hand, makes it actually illegal for transgendered people to conform to the gender they identify with when it comes to public restroom use. Anti-trans discrimination is literally the law of the land in North Carolina now.

Sounds like a win-win to me. I’m happy when it costs celebrities almost nothing to draw attention to injustice, because then they’re more likely to do it.

Do remember to buckle your seatbelt while riding in that waaaaaahmbulance. Nobody cares how much you think a celebrity’s boycotts ought to “cost” them.

Oops, you need some help with your logic again! Right here for you, buddy. No, your analogy is flawed because you’re comparing engaging in a commercial venture with denying service to specific customers in your commercial venture.

Here’s how it works: Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Vedder have no obligation to play gigs in North Carolina. Similarly, anti-gay bakers and florists have no obligation to open a business in communities where some of their customers might be gay. (ETA: as Lamia also noted.)

But if they do decide to open a business serving the public, it’s discriminatory for them to refuse service to certain members of the public just because they’re gay.

Likewise, if Pearl Jam or Springsteen did decide to stage a concert in North Carolina, it would be discriminatory for them to refuse to sell tickets, say, to people who support the anti-transgender bathroom bill.

But that’s not what they’re doing. They’re simply refusing to operate their concert business in North Carolina at all. Which they have a perfect right to do, just as anti-gay bakers and florists have a perfect right not to operate bakeries and flower shops in places where some of their customers might be gay.

12

I think refusing to do business in North Carolina makes total sense from a pragmatic standpoint-- the Republicans who are largely responsible for despicable bills such as these will take the economic hit to the state and loss of support from the business community far more seriously than any number of liberals protesting.

13

Eddie Vedder is still an asshole.

14

Well, Ok… but isn’t the intent the same? Aren’t they trying to “punish” those folks that they disagree with?

15

So? Punishment is fine, we have tons of legal punishments, like fines and jail time. It’s when you apply punishment in an uneven, unfair, and discriminatory manner that there is a problem.

16

I may have to go to Chapel Hill to find a bakery, but I can still get a wedding cake for my gay wedding. To enjoy an evening with Pearl Jam, I’ve much fewer options.

17

I dunno, watching a bigot being butthurt is really interesting.

18

Screw the bakers and the florists really. Could there be two more insignificant group of people to use as the tip of your bigot spear? The world would actually be better off without someone selling Type 2 diabetes and I don’t think a soul will die if no one sells them dead plants.

Your point sounds logical but really, the goal is either no states oppose gay marriages or the status quo and if it’s the former, theres no place to go and if it’s the latter, then there is no reason to worry about the laws. That makes no sense.

19

Of all the people to accuse of only making stands when it doesn’t cost them money, Eddie Vedder is an odd choice. Pearl Jam have made more than one very costly boycott decision, the fight with Ticketmaster at the height of the bands popularity the most obvious.

20

I do think it’s funny to hear people complain about this since what goes around comes around…BUT:

If I had planned on a Bruce or PJ concert and was in NC, I would probably never go to the bands concerts or buy their records again. If I disagreed with their stance then the reasoning should be obvious, but since we agree on the principle, they would be punishing me, who disagrees with the law, for the actions of people I voted against.