[via Pitchfork]
Last week, Arizona promoter and
activist Charlie Levy wrote an open letter to artists participating in the Sound Strike, asking them not to boycott the state. Our sister publication The Phoenix New Times summarized the plea thusly:
1. By not performing in Arizona, artists are harming the very people
and places that foster free speech and the open exchange of ideas that
serve to counter the closed-mindedness recently displayed by the new
law. (Get
it, Jenny Lewis?)
2. The truth is, a boycott is an easy
gesture that doesn't require much more than a statement and removing a
date from your tour schedule. However, if you truly care about the
effects of the controversial immigration law that was passed, this is an
opportunity to use your unique position as an artist with the ability
to reach thousands of people to inspire, educate, and motivate your fans
to actively be a part of the change.
Conor
Oberst, a Sound Strike supporter, replied to Levy, explaining why he supports the boycott. Read it after the jump.
]
Billboard has posted an open letter from Oberst to Levy, explaining why he supports
the boycott. He called SB 1070 ” evil, pure and simple” and its proponents “engaged in blatant class warfare.”
He adds,
“If I return to Arizona
to pay lip service to a roomful of kids at the Marquee it will do
absolutely no good for anyone. What I can do is to help organize, and
play my small part in, what I hope is the largest and most effective
boycott this country has seen in a long time.”
“I fear that if
we return to business as usual (under the guise of some civic
movement) that this will all devolve into the typical grandstanding
that is political activism in music. It might make us feel better but
won't do a damn thing to change the minds of the radical, racist
minority that seem to have controlled Arizona politics for decades. In
short, it will lose its teeth.”
Billboard has the letter's full text.
