LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMP Talk: The Candy Man Casts Stones |
by Bill Sievert |
Sticks and stones may break your bones but names can also be dangerous weapons. Particularly when the name-calling is accompanied by threats of violence. And especially when the threats are part of an album recorded by a popular hip hop star whose music targets adolescent males, the people statistically most likely to commit hate crimes. Eminem is the 26-year-old rapper's name. During the past year or so, I had read several articles about rap's latest "great white hope." I assumed he was a reconstituted version of last decade's fun flavor, Vanilla Ice. If only Eminem's lyrics were as cleverly innocent as his moniker, a play on the brand of candy that melts not in your hand but in your mouth. Judge this candy man by his words: "You faggots keep egging me on/Til I have you at knifepoint/Then you beg me to stop," he raps on his album, which is leaping up the pop charts. "My words are like a dagger/With a jagged edge/That'll stab you in the head/Whether you're a fag or les?/Or the homosex, hermaph or a trans-a-ves/Pants or dress./Hate fags? The answer's yes." When GLAAD (the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) sent an e-mail advisory reporting these lyrics, I just about fell off my computer stool. I became so upset I decided to show the printout to some guys coming into my Rehoboth Beach clothing shop on a busy Saturday afternoon. When I heard their reactions, I was even more disheartened. "I just like his music," a 19-year-old gay customer who had purchased the recording told me with a shrug of his shoulders. "I don't pay attention to the words." "He's so cute," said a 20-something guy with hair bleached the same shades of white and gold favored by the singer. "I'd be begging him not to stop!" A 36-year-old friend of mine, who says he plays Eminem's albums a lot because his boyfriend "adores him," said I was overreacting. "If you listen to all his songs, he says he wants to kill everyone. It's just his attitude. He disses everybody." "You mean it's meant to be satirical? Humorous?" "Well, it's not meant to be taken seriously," my friend said. "He even killed his girlfriend, the mother of his child, in a song on his last album." "And that doesn't bother you?" "Well, at first she was ticked off by the song. But then she married him." She did indeed. And it is true that Eminem doses out threats pretty much indiscriminately, including (by name) to fellow pop stars Britney Spears and 'N Sync, even to his own mom. In a ditty about his desire to rape his mother (among other women), he sings: "You ain't nothin' but a slut to me/Bitch I'm'a kill you." (His mom is suing him over the song.) So, should gay people feel better that Eminem's foul mouth and attitude is not reserved solely for us? Or, should we be all the more indignant that he is using his public platform to spew contempt against women (straight and gay), as well? It doesn't take three lifelines to figure out the answer to that question. Clearly, Eminem is smart enough to have realized that the turbulence of adolescence makes his messages of violence attractive to many young people. All the media attention his lyrics are garnering from the mainstream press simply adds to the temptation of teenagers to imbibe in his spittle. As Entertainment Weekly put it in grading his new album, he gets "A+ for Media savvy; D+ for Moral responsibility." Eminem's producer, Dr. Dre, is one of hip hop's biggest stars. But Dre is hardly a fan of gay people, having told MTV recently that his protg's attacks on us don't bother him in the least because he has no use for homosexuals. "I can't relate to them at all." Clearly, Dre and Eminem have at least one use for gay folks: namely, to make money off those of us foolish enough to purchase the albums they release. Although Eminem has the right to say and sing anything he wishes, he and his record company need to understand that they will be responsible if some impressionable, insecure fan(s) of his bash a fag to death while humming his tunes and mumbling his words. Similarly, Eminem's off-hand advocacy of rape and violence against women sends to troubled teenagers a message that could lead to some terrible consequences. Those in the gay community who buy his CDs, dismissing his rage as cleverly constructed commentary on youthful rage, are culpable in any hate crimes that result. For his part, Eminem says that his label advisory about "explicit lyrics" is enough warning, and that, if we don't like his rap, we shouldn't listen. He also told MTV that he doesn't hate gays in real lifea statement that immediately calls to mind the line, "I'm not a real doctor; I just play one on TV." He says he dislikes weak people of any orientation; they're all "faggy." He also says he's not a violent person because he can "release his aggressions" through his music. Thanks for the clarification, dude. But what about all the young people who hang on your every word and don't have a recording contract that allows them to release their aggressions? Have you heard about a man from Texas named James Byrd, Jr., who was dragged to his death behind a pickup truck occupied by people with an attitude of disdain remarkably similar to that of your lyrics? Have you heard of a college student from Wyoming named Matthew Shepard? Eminem, it's time to grow up and hear your own distorted feedback. Listen to the message you're sending to all the young people who choosedespite, or even because of, your label warningsto listen to your lyrics. You have said you don't want to be a role model. But doesn't it bother you that some of those who look up to you may heed your words? It's all fine and good to strike the pose of a tough guy, but you need to add a little heart and soul to become a real man. (If you would like to try to persuade Eminem and those responsible for his stewardship that words can be weapons, contact: Christina Meloche, marketing, Interscope Records, 10900 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1230, Los Angeles, CA 90024. Or, Paul Rosenberg, Eminem manager, Shady Goliath Records, 270 Lafayette, Suite 805, New York, NY 10012.) Bill Sievert's CAMPtalk is a regular feature of LETTERS. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 10, No. 7, June 16, 2000. |