6 min

2014 Northwest Ohio Rib-off Concert Crisis

(My Apr 23, 2014 comment at a ToledoTalk.com thread about Ted Nugent performing at the Northwest Ohio Rib-off, scheduled for August 2014.)

I did not realize that people were being forced to buy tickets to attend a concert in Maumee, Ohio.

I guess it's too much to expect that humans would decide on their own whether to attend an event.

In the future, will entertainers who are scheduled to perform in northwest Ohio need to be vetted by special interest groups?

Should we look into the backgrounds of past entertainers that local businesses have sponsored at Toledo area events, and if anything "bad" is found with the entertainer, then a nasty label gets slapped on those local businesses?

A lot of assholes play in the NFL, but I'll keep watching because selfishly, I don't give a damn about those people as individuals. I simply want to be entertained for a bit. Same for actors, musicians, authors, etc.

I separate the end products from the people. I don't like or dislike something more or less because of the personal opinions or actions of the person who made it.

I will not avoid art museums because some of the art may have been created by scumbags. Who gets to define "scumbag?"

Stating the obvious now, but it's not unusual for art and artists to be controversial. Who gets to define "controversial?"

I'm sure that the people in D.C. view us as hayseed rubes. The best way to reject those turdsticks is to allow the Maumee rib-off concert to remain as scheduled. And then people with a functioning brain can decide for themselves whether to attend the concert.

Back in 2008, the Toledo Blade editorial board opposed an effort to recall mayor Carty because the initiative was partly supported and funded by people who lived in Toledo's surrounding communities. The Blade editorial board called these political outsiders a "suburban cabal."

It's hilarious that now a group of outsiders or a D.C. cabal is trying to influence the Blade.

But to the Blade's credit, the Blade, thus far, has remained consistent with rejecting the influence of outside cabals.

Joseph H. Zerbey IV, the president and general manager of The Blade.

[Zerbey] noted,

“If The Blade allows fringe groups of any ilk to dictate what rights citizens have or don’t have and to use their scare tactics to intimidate Blade management, then all The Blade is doing is building a bridge to nowhere.”

Blade ombudsman Jack Lessenberry added:

Free speech has no meaning unless it applies to all speech, including speech and opinions we find horrible. Because if we are successful in censoring Ted Nugent today, someday someone may shut us up too.

It's possible that tolerance means reluctantly accepting the disagreeable.

It seems that the word "bullying" is a popular activist term these days. If the Motor City Madman is considered a bully, then people and groups who try to force their will onto others may also be bullies.

"I want to force others to accept my brand of tolerance."

Special interest groups are bullying the hicks in northwest Ohio to change the concert lineup for a rib-off. Music at a food festival. Wow. Such important matters. These are the problems of our times.


(My Apr 19, 2014 comment in that same thread.)

Whatever, I still like the song "Fred Bear."


And it continues in late July 2014, about a week before Nugent is scheduled to appear that Lucas County Fair or a rib-off or some kind of outdoor event in Maumee, Ohio and not Toledo, Ohio.

http://www.toledoblade.com/Letters-to-the-Editor/2014/07/28/Letters-to-the-editor-Nugent-won-t-make-city-better.html

Mr. Nugent’s remarks about President Obama are racist and repulsive. The Blade’s decision to provide a platform for Mr. Nugent and what he has come to represent is a step backward for people who want to create a better Toledo.

Okay, it's the Northwest Ohio Rib-Off held at the Lucas County Fairgrounds, which is located in Maumee. I'm unsure what this has to do with Toledo. I guess people think that a "controversial" figure performing in a suburb can negatively impact Toledo.

More from the above letter to the editor:

To claim that this is a matter of free speech is absurd.

ABLE encourages others to join the efforts of the Toledo Community Coalition, the NAACP, and other groups that work toward a better Toledo.

Actions will speak louder than words.

JOSEPH TAFELSKI

Executive Director Advocates for BasicLegal Equality Inc. Jefferson Avenue

Indeed. Actions speak louder than words.

It's hilarious that someone who supports diversity wants to stifle a music performance by someone who has a different political viewpoint.

The writer is an example of anti-diversity. Nugent is not leading a political campaign rally. He's playing songs from the 1970s and 1980s.

Will the so-called diversity supporter being opposing all future entertainers that visit the Toledo region who have expressed viewpoints that someone finds offensive.

The writer is another one of those people who likes to define what's acceptable. He welcomes diversity as long as the viewpoints by others meet his approval. Diversity thuggery. The Diversity Mafia. Open and tolerant to some.

"I want to force others to accept my brand of tolerance." - Mob Rule

Maybe this diversity person is more of a negative to Toledo than Nugent because Nugent will here and gone in probably a 24-hour period while the selective diversity chap remains.

Here's a more common sense response to Nugent by Cedar Creek pastor Lee Powell.

http://www.toledoblade.com/Letters-to-the-Editor/2014/07/20/Event-s-not-about-Nugent-it-s-about-region.html

CedarCreek Church is thrilled to be a part of the Northwest Ohio Rib-Off. This is CedarCreek’s fourth year as a sponsor of the Free Family Fun Day.

Tafelski only spoke about Toledo while Powell spoke about the region or the Toledo area.

More from Powell:

While we don’t agree with [Nugent's] language and deplorable disrespect, we must also respect his freedom of speech.

CedarCreek’s participation in this year’s Rib-Off isn’t about being for or against Mr. Nugent, racism, or human rights. It is about being for the Toledo area.

Free Family Fun Day on Aug. 10 will allow thousands of people to enjoy the Rib-Off, a 31-year Toledo tradition, for free. There will be great food and live music by the CedarCreek band. It’s an opportunity for us to show the love of God in our community, which we are so proud to be a part of.

Mr. Nugent and his repugnant words will leave town, but local residents will continue to improve our communities the only way we know how: together.

Powell's views seem more open, inclusive, caring, tolerant, and diverse than Tafelski's.

#music - #media - #politics - #activism - #moronism - #humor - #blog_jr

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