5/26/20
njuw2020
In an article titled “Country Music is Also Mexican Music” by Ludwig Hurtado, Hurtado referred to a speech in which Trump stated that he “loved country music” while also ranting about Mexican immigration. Hurtado wrote, “What Trump failed to note was that without Mexican culture, the beloved American genre (country) might never have existed.” Additionally, Trump has called Mexicans “rapists and murderers,” making his racial bias against people of Mexican origin or descent clear. However, there is some irony in the fact that while he does not like people of Mexican origin or ancestry, he loves country music, which is strongly influenced by Mexican culture. Unfortunately, most people do not know about this influence due to the whitening of the country genre, as can be observed for many other genres.
In an interview with Rozz Therrien and Leah Michaels published by Laina Dawes, Michaels commented on the self-defense group “Home Alive,” stating, “There was no real information out there so when we had these interviews, both women were incredibly amazing and honest in their personal histories and about Home Alive. I think that both of us were both shocked and inspired and also a bit confused as to how we both didn’t know about it. We were like, “How is this not a huge thing? How did people not really know about this at all?”” After the lead singer of the band “The Gits” was raped and murdered, some of her friends came together to create “Home Alive,” a non-profit that provided self-defense to women. Similar to the whitening of country music, abuse and mistreatment of women is often an issue that is tossed to the side and forgotten. Both Hurtado and the “Home Alive” members hoped that they could bring public attention to these issues.
Music can be a mechanism for bringing attention to issues. For example, “What did you learn in school today,” by Pete Seeger is a song about how children are taught things the same principles that were taught to the adults before them as children, and how many of the things taught to children are entirely false or outdated. However, children are very impressionable, and they often carry the principles they learn in adolescence throughout their lives and repeat the cycle by teaching their children the same fallacies. The song is a protest to the manipulation of children through teaching them outdated and corrupt information. Nirvana released “Rape Me” as an anti-rape song and hoped it would bring attention to the sexism prevalent in cultures from around the world. Through “Rape Me,” Nirvana blatantly brought the subject of Rape and abuse into the mainstream, similar to how “Home Alive” attempted to do with its DIY self-defense classes.
Pete Seeger, “What did you learn in school today”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VucczIg98Gw
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