Outcry over an upcoming concert in Eureka by Reggae artist Buju Banton has forced cancellation of the show.
Eureka is the latest in a string of cancellations for Banton whose lyrics encourage murder and torture of gay men. Charleston, SC, Detroit, Santa Clara, Richmond, VA, Orlando, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Minneapolis have also canceled.
Below is the letter from Carol Bruno of People Productions notifying Queer Humboldt of the Eureka show’s cancellation.
Greetings Todd,
This email is to confirm to you that after lengthy consideration, Gil and myself decided that we will cancel the upcoming Buju Banton concert at the Nocturnum Nightclub scheduled for the October 11th, 2009.
We have been diligently speaking with the management and various activists over the past two weeks in an effort to help establish a dialogue for discussions. We care about our local gay community.
Buju did issue a statement today that we have forwarded to you today, but it doesn’t change our decision.
We will continue towards positive, constructive solutions.
We regret any inconveniences this has caused to our community.
This… is fantastic.
Thank you People Productions and Nocturnum!
What a sweet victory!
Thanks to everyone who called and wrote to Nocturnum and People Productions. We won!
Excellent outcome! Thank you, “Heraldo” and thanks to Mitch, Eric, Todd, “Eureka POZ” and everyone else who put their shoulders to the wheel.
Yay! I’m elated by this outcome. Congrats to everyone who got the word out and worked to make this happen.
I’m grateful to everyone who spread the truth about this performer’s history.
Let’s remember that, alas, there’s a lot of hate around — a new lecturer at HSU just left as a result of being frightened by an anonymous letter with “racially slanted words.”
Fortunately, there’s a lot more love than hate out there, so bringing things to light is usually enough to resolve things.
Unfortunately, sometimes things don’t get brought to light.
For real, boycott this guy even if never wrote that song. The hell if I want to hear some truthisms about immigration, justice, police brutality, African liberty, etc. from some victim-mentality screwball who cries on stage about his “war with the faggot.”
You can’t go and preach freedom and dignity one day, talk some shameful hate speech the next, and then expect everyone else to judge you by your “whole body of work.”
People get boycotted for way, waaaayyyy less. Look at Don Imus. Nappy what? boycott.
Kayne West boycott… just for snatching the mic and saying that Beyonce’s video was way better than what’s her name’s. He is all apologetic but nobody cares. Boycott.
Boycott Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs, right? It’s the American way. As free as free speech is the freedom to boycott some shit.
Thanks to everyone who made phone calls, wrote emails, or blogged about this. We were victorious in keeping hate out of Humboldt!
Impact Humboldt
LBGT Civil Rights Org
Here’s the letter Buju wrote to try to save his show:
Buju writes:
“Throughout my travels as an artist, I have witnessed first hand the senseless atrocities being suffered by innocent people around the world and my heart goes out to them. I do not condone violence against anyone, including gays, and I have spent my career rallying against violence and injustice through music. At this point, I can only hope that my body of work speaks for itself and that anyone still offended by the lyrics of my youth will take the time to explore my catalog or come to one of my shows before reducing my character and entire musical repertoire to a single song.”
Buju Banton 10/5/09
Notice he STILL could not apologize for Boom ByeBye and he still could not explain why he still performs it and profits from it. What a sad character.
Also, Carol Bruno does not “care about our local gay community.” This is the second time she has tried to bring this hate clown to Humboldt (the first was successful). She was just out muscled on this.
Oh, what a sweet victory!
I guess free speech is a thing of the past ?
Let’s remember that, alas, there’s a lot of hate around — a new lecturer at HSU just left as a result of being frightened by an anonymous letter with “racially slanted words.”.
I forgot to mention it, back when that happened, but we need to remember there’s been at least two instances of supposed hateful messages or graffiti in the last year or two (nationwide) where it turned out the persons that posted that graffiti were the ones who complained to police and the media about it. Can’t help but wonder if this is the same sort of issue?
Yes the batty bwoy don’t wanna hear the truth , but on that day of judgment the fiyah is gonna burn.The white man thinks he is above Jah laws and can make any rules he wants .He has no respect for others cultures as seen by the exploitation of the indigenous peoples of the world.He only seeks a world of vanity , fornication and war. Go and search about racism in the gay community and see how gays see black people, gay and not. It seems you should fix your own peoples hate before you worry about others hate of you.
Good news that the concert is canceled.
Ya Fred, and all of those people that lynched and brutalized themselves to make it LOOK like there is hate, scape-goating, and intolerance in the world…
Cus being gay is a white thing, don’t you know.
Dipshit. I think you are a white thing.
Actually there is very little history of homosexuality in African culture ,esp.tribal society’s .And as you can tell by the black vote prop 8 issue ,black people dont play that.
You might guess that if you have a near total lack of understanding of the first amendment to the US constitution.
Please acquaint yourself with the amendment.
Funny, I have played that with some black people.
THERE ARE 700,000 Rastafarians in the world+ about 2 BILLION Muslims and Christians ,between 6 and 60 million gays. I guess you guys cant handle that in a democratic world , homosexuality would be illegal.
Funny that you have had sex w black people? I never said no black people are gay .I said black people have no history of it like Rome and Greece and that black people in the U.S still ,as a community,not into it.
Well, thanks for showing your true colors. You are a homophobic, racist religulus dipshit. You bore me. Good night!
I heard that they don’t have gays in Iran either. Must be there strong family values.
First learn to spell their, U RED NECK
You call me a racist then go on to bring up Iran.The gay racism “rears” it’s ugly head.
“…in a democratic world , homosexuality would be illegal.”
Sadly, that may be true, but I doubt that people like “Mick I freeman” would fare much better than gays.
We already have it worse than gays!
You gay folks know Buju and none of his fans will hurt you / shoot you with an uzi and that the song is not literal or you wouldn’t dare have wanted to protest at the club.This is just part of your agenda.You ,like most others wanna force your values on others.
Sad thing is, the guy can’t sing for a fuck and he beats up on gay people.
I’m proud of our county & will offer the the owner of Nocturnum the price of a ticket. doing the right thing should be rewarded.
how sad public venue set by an extreme minority.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
what a bunch of weenies; say no to censorship, anything goes…
Thanks Nocturnum, for doing the right thing. Gay people in Jamaica are hearing everything about this via the internet.
Democracy is not mob rule. Do you think the mob would make being Jewish illegal? Germany already tried that. How about being Han Chinese, do you think not assimilating to Han Chinese culture would be illegal… oh, right, that is still being tried.
I’ve noticed in the last few days that your spacebar key is broken. You might want to switch up keyboards.
I don’t know where you get “6 to 60 million” from. I don’t even know where you get the worldwide idea. What worldwide data asks are you gay? None that I know.
Here is some data:
The Prevalence of Homosexual Behavior and Attraction in the United States.
This study has about 6% of men activity engaging in homosexual activity and some 20% having engaged in it at some point. I don’t know what counts as gay, do you have to be a regularly practicing gay person or can it be part time? Women had slightly less, which makes some sense I guess. Maybe they were lying. Anyway, round it all out, it is like the 10% estimate, which would mean some 600 million people. 550 if you don’t accept India’s census figures.
Big on world figures and world mob rule? Well, as you say, 2 billion or 1/3 of the world believe in a single God or have deference to any deity for that matter. So, maybe you can’t handle this, but in a world of mob rule where annoying practices could arbitrarily be made illegal through a vote, monotheistic religion would be probably be illegal.
But hey, poor Buju, am I right? He just lost half of his money to his common-law wife. I’m sure the thing with his wife had something to do with all this stress from the canceled European tour dates issue. Then, his U.S. tour gets all messed up. First he has 50 booked dates, then some cancels. 30 booked dates… but then half those dates come up canceled.
I’ve been tired of Buju Banton for a while now. He is all mad at Jamaica over singling out Bob Marley. He wrote that letter in the Jamaica Observer about it. Who does he think he speaks for? I dunno.
Let me reprint the lyrics in question (thanks to the humboldt against hate website.)
Boom! goodbye, goodbye
Inna batty bwoy head
In a queer’s head
Rude bwoy no promote no nasty man
Rude boys don’t promote no queer men
Dem haffi dead
They have to die
Send fi di matic an
Send for the automatic [gun] and
Di Uzi instead
The Uzi instead
Shoot dem no come if we shot dem
Shoot them, don’t come if we shoot them
[as in don’t come to help them]
Guy come near me
If a man comes near me
Then his skin must peel
Then his skin must peel
[as in pour acid over him]
Burn him up bad like an old tyre wheel
Burn him up badly, like you would burn an old tyre wheel
It’s not really an extreme minority that opposes that! I should hope that anyone who heard the lyrics would be frightened about that man coming here!
Long Yardflex thread about the original letter in 06.
So-so comment at September 29, 2006 10:06 AM.
See if you can figure out who is Jamaican and who is not. It is tough.
(Its like) Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote no nasty man
Dem haffi dead
Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote no nasty man
Dem haffi dead
The buju banton consert still lives, its just going underground with a new venue, this time it will be word of mouth!
Peoples productions is already working to get buju back here again in a couple of months, this is not over yet, there will be some friendly venues for his good vibes to shine on humboldt once again!
Ferndale?
Then we will be ready to send his ass back to Jamaica.
6 to 60 million is 1 to 10 percent .MOST studies say 1 to 2 percent .source:wiki
Like the brother said,if the song was literal ,you guys wouldt be calling for a protest .Better wear your bullet proof vest.You gays can go AHEAD AND CARRY ON POPE PAULS TRADITION OF INCEST AND BATTYISM.YOU FIGHT AGAINST THE SAME THING YOU SUPPORT ROMAN CATHLOIC TRADITION = GAY
@ TOPHS HOUSE.THIS VENUE IS PRIVATE AT WILL KEEP THE PROTESTERS AWAY! tHE SHOW SHOULD BE ALL AGES .tEACH THE YOUTH THE TRUTH!
Hey everyone, homophobic party at Tophs, bring your kids, show them the truth.
2 spacebar man
Alright, 6 million is not 1 percent of 6 billion… I won’t try to argue math with you. Just do the math.
Even though you seem knee-deep in your value system, I encourage you to read about a more radical approach.
http://www.blackfemlens.org/
You may see this and be like oh this is where he gets crazy ideas from… but no, I just agree with Sikivu’s sentiment.
You see, I think the white man’s religion is a pacifier. God’s mysterious ways is the excuse for the white elites’ original denigration of the human value of brown people and the later denigration by the white middle class. Mysterious ways… but the white man invented the mystery and the God.
This is why I don’t need support from the Rastafari, Baptists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, the Nation of Islam, you name your pacifier. They can be a good tool, a good ally, but they are still waiting for the teachings of the oppressor to set them free from a perceived amorality of not having the pure white skin.
I don’t view those with religious conviction to have any great radical approach. They can act radical and say let’s build a new nation in Africa and then talk about some religious thing like Garvey without being purely religious in the context. In any event, the religious thing tones it down too much, like the censor button on identity. It also leads to false morality like this belief in the pureness of some dictated sexuality. Science has shown up that thousands of animals species practice homosexuality, even raise kids as lesbians like some penguins, but we are supposed to reject science for religious identity? That is giving up the dignity associated with having an identity to me. It is giving your identity over to deception, hence deceiving yourself.
I know you probably think I’m crazy.
i am completely pro gay civil rights and cannot support any artist/columnist ect… from inciting violence against any group esp. gay people, but some of the response from the gay community against the venue owner was almost just as bad as buju’s hate speech. Miracle’s life and his family were threatened and harrassed……that’s really disgusting.
People need to learn how to strongly oppose something constructively w/o resorting to these types of tactics.
YES , THE SHOW WILL GO ON Says:
October 6, 2009 at 7:48 am
@ TOPHS HOUSE.THIS VENUE IS PRIVATE AT WILL KEEP THE PROTESTERS AWAY! tHE SHOW SHOULD BE ALL AGES .tEACH THE YOUTH THE TRUTH!
You’re mistaken…..the show will be at Bonnie Neelies w/ mark lovelace MCING. They Care Ya Know
“tEACH THE YOUTH THE TRUTH!”
In return, maybe they can teach you how to type.
Anonymous 8:53,
Why do you assume that any threats and harassment of Gil Miracle and his family came from the gay community? I’m not saying it didn’t, but if you think the only people who were outraged were gay, you’re wrong.
To be clear: any threats of physical harm against ANYONE are wrong. Including the death penalty. Including war, unless in immediate self-defense.
To the math challenged.
If 10% of the world pop is gay (men and women), then there are approximately 670 million gay people in the world.
If there are really 700,000 Rastafarians, (this is the Mick I Freeman/2MrNice number, and most of his/her other numbers were wrong, so it is dubious), then there are almost 1000 times more gay people than Rastafarians – although approximately 70,000 of those Rastafarians are probably gay.
This is all pretty meaningless – what is meaningful is tolerance, respect, empathy, and a big heart. Otherwise you die a bitter, cranky, blogger and no one really cares whether you were here or not…
Does anyone who supports Buju even realize that its not about his veiws everyone has the right to their opinion and if Buju thinks that homosexuality is wrong then so be it ,, that fact of the matter is Buju says that he does not condone violence against anyone including gays, but if that is so then why will he not say he was wrong about Boom Bye Bye and stop circulating and preforming that song , and yes to all the people who say he does not just get on the internet for crying out load its right there. he seems to be using the bush tactic that if you say a lie long enough it will become the truth and to an extent thats working because people dont care to seek the truth, So again Buju does have some wonderful tunes very positive ones but if he is truly turned the page in his life , and does not condone violence then why does he continue to preform and collect money from a song that condones violence, i dont trust politians for the same reason, that is what makes buju a problem , as he says one thing and does another.
I checked wiki , it says between 60 and 600 million gays ,which is 1 to 10 percent .An average of the other first five results for world pop. are 1 to 2 percent .The same source under “religions of the world by number”, puts it 1.5 billion Muslims, 2 billion Christians.700,000 Rastafarian’s ,Most of the other religions also are against gays. The fact that if being gay was put to a world wide vote ,it would be a land slide against gays.
Anyone who loves dancehall reggae , which is more non Rasta than Rastas,loves the song! I is a classic!The riddem , the lyrics,all of it. Cant people see it is art , using exaggeration to convey the level of disgust for gays.When we listen to it we get that tingly feeling you get when a song is good.It is about self identity and feeling good cause you are against wrong.
I actually went and changed Wiki to say what I wanted it to say.
Okay, not really, but you do realize that anyone can change information on Wikipedia pages, to make “facts” lean in their direction and prove their own points, right?
Who would vote on being gay. Honestly, for the number of homophobes in the world, and the amount of shit that gay people get for loving the people they love, do you honestly think it’s a choice? Would someone do that to themselves?
Ras Mike I get that same tingly feeling from reading Buju’s show was canceled. So, we share something.
You get a tingly feeling listening to a recitation of a murder? Great.
Mitch, as to “anonomous 8:53″ buying Gil Miracle’s claim, I don’t buy it. The TS article only says Miracle claimed he got threats from the gays here, not that the reporter even confirmed any such e-mails were received. I’ve sent the reporter a request for clarification and will let you know his response. As things stand now, I think Miracle is trying to make us look like thugs so he will look good in comparison. I think he is tired of being seen as a greedy, hate-enabling bad guy, so has decided to turn the tables with this unverified assertion.
‘Course, I could be wrong. But I don’t think so.
YOU ALL LOOSE!
BUJU BANTON is coming back to humboldt, i got the word this morning, he will be playing at a currently undisclosed location and i can assure you no protest or bullshit will stop him from coming, infact buju has already decited to open the concert with BOOM Bye Bye!
I for one am super happy
GUN SHOT TO DEM WICKED MANS HEAD!
and by wicked i mean men to rape young boys who have been convicted of it in a court of law and sentenced.
PEACE AND LOVE
Isn’t PC Hate Week grand?
So many colors of hatred in the rainbow….
Poor Black Flag, he’s not feeling the love. Perhaps he should search elsewhere.
And if the cartoonishly inarticulate Ras Mike and bujuisback fairly represent Rastafarianism, then I’d guess that their cult has less appeal that Branch Davidianism.
I don’t think they’re real Anonymister. Most likely just a couple of bored middle class kids trying to be funny.
I ( Ras Mike ) am 40 and have been a Rastafari since 16 years old.all I cant tell you , I am of the most liberal person you will find in my faith. Most people would not even talk to you about this . If you and Mr.Anonymister need to stoop to degrading my spelling or space bar sticking etc.to try to lessen the truth I am speaking ,go ahead . It doesn’t take a genius to know that shoving a dick in your ass would hurt and that sex and waste organs are different . You ass is meant to poop . People who fuck ass have some kind of mental illness or sexual addiction .EVEN HETRO ! Common sense goes along way in life. I dont really give a damn what gays do!Sin on !
Excuse me that was, I”can” tell you
Eric, that’s some good fakery if it some Arcata hsuers. I doubt that.
1) Only a heterosexual male could seriously believe gay people go around “shoving” their penises into places where they are not wanted.
2) Anal sex doesn’t hurt if you’re doing it right.
“Dem haffi dead
They have to die
“Send fi di matic an
Send for the automatic [gun] and
Di Uzi instead
The Uzi instead
Shoot dem no come if we shot dem
Shoot them, don’t come if we shoot them
[as in don’t come to help them]”
Didnt Glenn Beck write this song…?
No one said people shove their penis where it is not wanted.What I said was the anus is a waste organ and not a sex organ as any doctor will tell you.Gay men have a higher rate of cancer and it even causes a condition where you cant hold your shit in. Not a good look.Depends at 25? no thanks
David Koresh is a hero, killed by Janet Reno for Clinton’s satanic alter sacrifice.
Lucifer tempted Jesus with owning all the governments on the planet- how could he offer something that wasn’t his?
Carol Bruno, Gil Miracle, you guys are probably pretty upset right now…BUT i hope you can look at the comments on this thread and see why the world’s gay people rise up against the bigbusiness/bighate that is buju.
we’ll see you all at the “secret” show
Ras Mike, I’m pretty surprised to see you on here defending Babylon.
When you attack and hate gay people, you’re not reflecting any religion…you are worshipping Babylon! The British taught Jamaica how to hate gay people like this. That’s a colonial law, the “anti-buggery” law that remains on the books in Jamaica. I’m Jewish, and we’re just about the most pro-gay religion in the world. You didn’t get your hate from our texts…but from the colonizer’s mis-interpretation of our texts.
Throw off the yoke of colonialism and Babylon! One love!
(Finally, if your son Eric turns out gay, i hope you have more compassion in your heart then than you do now.)
No need to get all personal.
Would Ras Mike be just as offensive, insensitive, backward, trashy and crude if he spoke/wrote Standard English? Probably.
Also, everyone on here should be reading http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com a local gay jamaican blog…that OF COURSE supports the boycott against buju
Is a man really more, really more of a man?
If he can tell the difference between “then” and “than?”
My doctor disagrees with the ignorant 8:00am poster above. I think I’ll follow my doctor’s medical advice and ignore yours, thank you very much.
Did you know that it used to be common knowledge that certain groups of people were dirty and no smarter than monkeys? But common knowledge is often completely wrong.
Anyway, I really have to wonder about any guy who claims to hate gay sex so much he has to think about it in such depth. Maybe he has some personal reason for his strong interest in the health of gay men’s butts? Only the Shadow knows!
2 quick points
1. buju doesnt own boom boom bye it is owned by its producer he receives no royalties or compensation for its sale….sorry fact
2. common theme here judge people by their actions….just not sure if that include people who reform….US prisons hold people on the pretext of reform so if a prisoner serves his time changes his ways and is released do you still hate him for his prior actions? or do you applaud him for his conviction to righteousness
i know when i was 15 i made a lot of mistakes!
http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/09/Oct/0701.htm
It took me a while to figure out that there is a bunch of different anonymous posters! lol I was like”this person is contradicting his self “
To the person/s trying to discredit peoples ideas by pointing out small errors in typing or writing style. You prove your adherence to the racist ,western idea that a person’s worth is measured by petty things like grammar or whatever other status symbols you use.You gays are haters and bigots just like all the rest. You got your way but at the cost of freedom and supporting censorship.
I finally find a humorous way to comment on some people’s use of “then” for “than” and go out of my way to rhyme it. Then some angry straight man finds a way to use my concern for grammar, my poetic skills (?), and my attempt to make the point in a light-hearted way against not only me but all gays?!
The English language is not petty, Sir! It permits us to communicate at a human level. No doubt even you can appreciate the importance of that!
Whatever your feelings about Buju Banton’s homophobic ragga song, here’s a song that all of the blue collar working folks in Humboldt can relate to
Buju Banton, “Driver A”
Nah take no talk!
Pidgin is fascinating, but it falls short in a forum such as this.
My point is there are illiterate people who speak different dialects like the Jamaican Rasta elders who have more soul and kindness AND knowledge and life experience than anyone on here. I respect them more than “proper” kings english!
“…there are… Jamaican Rasta elders who have more soul and kindness… than anyone on here.”
We haven’t seen much evidence of that “soul and kindness” from the Buju fans on these threads.
Carson Park Ranger, pidgin is non-language. “Yo quiero Taco Bell” is pidgin gringo-Spanish. “Presure dune pidgness wey fu” is pidgin Chinglish.
“Driver A” is close to home. Can you see why many people in Humboldt relate to this music? Many of our residents have jobs as couriers.
The people of Northern Humboldt have acted like sheep in this instance. People here should be more skeptical of press releases from Los Angeles and Chicago-based gay rights groups. The articles I read in the North Coast Journal this morning are nearly verbatim to those press releases.
I am cognizant of how people feel about the issue of gay bashing. Gay bashing is a travesty. However, has there been even one instance gay bashing following a concert in Humboldt County? I have never heard of this.
Typically, people who are gay and who have been beaten to a pulp by gay-haters are not eager to expose themselves to further injury by publicizing their names and faces to the general public.
@kushboldt- Are we supposed to just let the show happen, knowing full well what Banton’s message is, until someone is actually attacked afterward?
I don’t know about you, but rather than tempt fate, I’d rather avoid it from the get-go.
Rastafarianism breeds intolerance and repression, just like ALL other religions. It is not “cool,” it is as insane as any religion, despite the acceptance of pot.
And if you’re not smart enough to use proper grammar or to be able to spell (simple), then why do you think you’re smart enough to know what’s right or wrong or reality (hard)?
Monica, it would be different if there were documented incidents of aggression as a result of Buju Banton’s concerts. Until a causal relationship is shown between Buju Banton’s concerts and gay bashing, these protests are nothing more than the same brand of censorship that thrust “2 Live Crew” into the national spotlight.
Arkley, because you whites failed to establish proper schools for the poor people of color after slavery and until this day, doesn’t mean you know more about life’s struggles. Quite the contrary .
I for one am too lazy to spell check and worry about proper grammer on a blog.I don’t see this a dumb.It is like texting.Proper grammer doesn’t apply .
Excuse me , that’s grammar!lol
Most English people think Americans have butchered their language .What you call proper they consider very improper !
And , yes , I know I said “a dumb”.The ‘a” slipped in .I guess I’m a dumb ass!
Here is a Buju interview , i will find the one where he speaks on the song , trying now. listen to the lyrics he sings to the youth ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYGqm89ZNxY
Cup of tea sir?: It is rare to find a proficient writer outside of academia who will take the time to seriously critique another person’s writing.
For our entertainment, allow me to critique the remarks made regarding this banal subject matter.
For clarity, this should be “then” instead of “than”, “then” as opposed to “than,” or “then” when they meant to say “than.”
The above should read ‘some angry, straight man’ for better readability. A series of adjectives should be separated by commas.
Taken literally, this reads as “my attempt to make a light-hearted point against myself and all gays.”
The word “and” is a coordinate conjunction and should not be used at the beginning of a sentence.
“To be able to spell” does not flow well. Try “proper grammar and spelling” as an alternative.
I agree. Don’t expect formal writing in a blog comment section.
“…pidgin is non-language…”
Sorry Kushboldt, but you are not making any sense.
Carson Park Ranger, I didn’t think you were making sense either. What pidgin were you referring to?
Kushboldt may want to read the thread.
Peace
I skimmed this thread and the Buju Banton Controversy Heats Up thread.
I would like to say thank you to the handful of you who did not apologize for art censorship.
Black Flag
RASTAMANVIBE79
Ras Mike
Fred Mangels
I did not see any pidgin English. I would term some of what was written as informal. The confusion may be that you are using the term pidgin in reference to the posts containing Buju Banton’s lyrics. The term for the creole language used in Jamaica is Jamaican Patois.
Patois works, if a French term meaning “rough speech” is what you prefer. A “creole” is usually the offspring of a colonial language formed from the contact with a colonized people, and it starts with a pidgin.
In unskilled hands, the rules of grammar can be used to crush the soul right out of good writing.
Consider the case of e.e. cumming. What would have become of his career if Kushboldt had tangled with him before he published his first poems?
Soul. Crushed. Out.
Anonymous: I was trying to demonstrate the absurdity of the grammar war.
e.e. cummings was censored during World War I. The Enormous Room is a detail of e.e. cumming’s captivity and an exercise in his linguistic freedom. Ironically, The Enormous Room itself was partially censored by the publisher.
kushboldt, I wondered if that was what you were getting at. Thanks for tuning up my understanding of your intentions. I can’t help it, I now have a warm and fuzzy feeling coming over me. I’d better sign off before I embarrass myself. Thanks for the links! Good night!
And thanks for your gentle reminder that e. e.’s family name was Cummings, not Cumming. Even wise heads like mine need a reminder from time to time. Peace!
Everyone makes a huge huff about Buju Banton but no one flinches when other artists come to town? There are musicians coming through right now that are far more outspoken than Buju ever was.I just don’t get it. How can you stand up for this mission if there’s ZERO continuity.