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North Carolina Statement
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 12:54 am
by TMBJon
Al released the following statement regarding touring in North Carolina:
Like many other entertainers on the road this summer, I wrestled with the decision about whether or not to cancel my North Carolina concert dates in protest of the controversial HB2 bill. It was definitely not an easy choice, but I have decided to honor the dates, as I don’t want to punish my fans (most of whom, I’d like to believe, also have a big problem with unfair, discriminatory legislation). I will be donating my personal fee from the June 18 Greensboro show to the Human Rights Campaign (
http://www.hrc.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality.
I think this is really awesome of him, and I congratulate that he took this step. Not sure that HRC is the perfect organization here; they have a bit of a reputation for not being all that great on transgender issues. However, the sentiment is greatly appreciated!
People responding negatively on FB and Instagram: Get a life!
Re: North Carolina Statement
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 2:40 am
by rhall46
I think he approached this the right way! Living in NC and going to the Greensboro show, I was very afraid he was going to cancel as everyone has been. What he said is exactly right, it isn't the fan's fault this is happening and most of us (if not all) disagree with the HB2. I am going to personally thank him after the show for not cancelling and punishing the fans. Class act Al is!
Re: North Carolina Statement
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 2:57 am
by Big Spoon
I was wondering how Al would handle this - and he really did it the perfect way. It would be a shame for him to cancel his shows there, as I doubt many Weird Al fans support the bill, but issuing a statement like this addresses and tackles the issue head on. Like Jon, I'm a little surprised Al chose HRC, but maybe he didn't know about how they aren't great on the transgender issue? I certainly didn't know at first, either.
Re: North Carolina Statement
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 3:29 am
by yankochick38
I agree about HRC. If Al reads/takes suggestions from WOWAY, I hope he takes these into consideration:
NCTE,
GATE,
The Trevor Project, or here's
some lists to choose his own.
The action he's taking on this is amazing.
Re: North Carolina Statement
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 10:16 am
by mellow weasel
rhall46 wrote:I was very afraid he was going to cancel as everyone has been.
I think that would have been completely out of character. Although he says it was a difficult decision, he's very consistent in his approach to difficult situations and based on his previous behaviour I can't imagine him choosing a different approach.
Re: North Carolina Statement
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 4:48 pm
by Heds
Definitely comes to show that Al is a little darling
Re: North Carolina Statement
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 4:55 pm
by weird_el
He's got an Asheville show in September too. I hope he keeps his policy.