UPDATE: The Toronto Star has posted a small item on the Elephant Man controversy: “Jamaican artist Elephant Man’s show cancelled at Downsview.” Apparently “Queers must be killed!” is nothing more than an expression of “dislike for gay men.” I’ll say! They also quote EGALE CANADA, who sent out a press release minutes after the decision taking full credit for the decision without mentioning the role played by social media or the many people that contributed to this campaign.
Parc Downsview Park have made the Elephant Man decision official in a press release that belittles those who feel a federal park is no place for a performer that calls for the murder of queer people.
Elephant Man’s lyrics are not merely “controversial” and by suggesting that lyrics like “Queers must be killed!” are open to debate diminishes not only LGBT concerns but also PDP’s own “morality clause” (if the lyrics are only “controversial” why have him sign a clause that prevents him from using them and why the need to state that “Parc Downsview Park Inc. does not condone in any way, shape or form, the use of any speech/lyrics or actions that promote violence or hatred of any kind”). Apparently they’re merely “controversial in nature” when they result in orders from Ottawa to pull a performer that even a private downtown club had the tact to remove.
Saying that these lyrics come from “much earlier works” makes it seem the PDP has launched their own PR campaign for a performer that hasn’t himself addressed the “controversy” of calling for queers to be shot in the head with a Tec-9. Based exclusively on the reassurances of the promoter, Tony Genco seems all too ready to absolve Elephant Man and make some coin – “full value” – for the Park.
Finally, the release blames “public pressure” – code for “gay rights groups” , though, in fact, it was Minister John Baird (tipped off by a tweet from Olivia Chow) that recognized that the severity of Elephant Man’s lyrics deemed him unsuitable for a federal park — he too could have made excuses. The original “morality clause” release was dated September 24, meaning, if Genco had ordered the promoter to pull Elephant Man at that point, he would have had over 2 weeks to find a replacement. The cancellation of the entire concert isn’t a result of the order from Ottawa to pull Elephant Man, and was never the intended goal of the protest, it is a direct consequence of wasting 2 weeks excusing hate instead of addressing the concerns of the LGBT community.
Tags: Champions In Action, Downsview Park, EGALE, EGALE CANADA, Elephant Man, Rabble, Tony Genco, Toronto Star
