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<blockquote data-quote="Angela Channing" data-source="post: 444321" data-attributes="member: 33">The only problem with this argument is that Mr Sheeran is selective about when he wants to be political and when he doesn&#039;t. He was quick to wade into discussions about the war in Ukraine and show solidarity with Ukrainians but having done that, he refused to express any sympathy with the people of Palestine. He can&#039;t have it both ways.Musicians expressing their political opinions didn&#039;t begin with Macklemore and there has been a long tradition of artists using their platforms to highlight their opposition to&nbsp; war, racism, poverty, LGBT+ rights, women&#039;s rights and oppression. Woody Guthrie, Bob Marley, Joan Baez, Nina Simone, The Specials, Tracy Chapman, Billy Bragg, John Lennon and even Bobby Darrin are just a selection of musicians who have done this. If we believe in free speech, we should allow them to express their opinions, even if we don&#039;t agree with them. If you think a musician is going to make a political statement that you don&#039;t want to hear, don&#039;t buy a ticket to see them instead of banning them so their can&#039;t say their piece. Stadium owners should not have the right to censor artists&#039; performances in this way which is why it&#039;s so disappointing that multi-millionaire Mr Sheeran thought the money he was making from his concerts was more important than demonstrating loyalty to his friends and upholding the right of free speech.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Angela Channing, post: 444321, member: 33"] The only problem with this argument is that Mr Sheeran is selective about when he wants to be political and when he doesn't. He was quick to wade into discussions about the war in Ukraine and show solidarity with Ukrainians but having done that, he refused to express any sympathy with the people of Palestine. He can't have it both ways. Musicians expressing their political opinions didn't begin with Macklemore and there has been a long tradition of artists using their platforms to highlight their opposition to war, racism, poverty, LGBT+ rights, women's rights and oppression. Woody Guthrie, Bob Marley, Joan Baez, Nina Simone, The Specials, Tracy Chapman, Billy Bragg, John Lennon and even Bobby Darrin are just a selection of musicians who have done this. If we believe in free speech, we should allow them to express their opinions, even if we don't agree with them. If you think a musician is going to make a political statement that you don't want to hear, don't buy a ticket to see them instead of banning them so their can't say their piece. Stadium owners should not have the right to censor artists' performances in this way which is why it's so disappointing that multi-millionaire Mr Sheeran thought the money he was making from his concerts was more important than demonstrating loyalty to his friends and upholding the right of free speech. [/QUOTE]

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