Jazz Singer Rene Marie Eschews National Anthem in Protest

I see n o problem with what she did.

I do find it interesting tha tthe foxnews reporter misrepresented the event, by stating that there was silence after she sang.

There wasnt a standing ovation at the end, but people were clappiing.

I think civil disobedience, is just that. Telling people in advance that you are going to civilly disobey, more or less defeats the purpose of the whole exercise.

So much love and respect,

Damm that Sista can sing!!! & is socially conscious!! that is one potent combination & i hope and pray she keeps it up.

I've always loved the melody of the US national anthem. Rene Marie's rendition with the [i]Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing[/i] is beautiful.

I agree with Afro Healer. That was an amazing act on her part.

I also think that her protest was made all the more poignant when juxtaposed with the ticker tape news bulletin that read:

[i][b]Black Soldier Raped, Brutalized N Murdered Covered Up[/i][/b]

The right-wing media and blogosphere are of course going apeshit over this story.

To nobody's surprise, Barack O-bomb-a was [url=http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jul/03/she-deceived-us-mayor-... to condemn[/url] Rene Marie's courageous act of civil disobedience.

I wonder, would he have condemned Rosa Parks in 1955, if he had thought it would gain him votes?

Actually, the Star Spangled Banner isn't about U.S. troops attacking somebody else. It's about the British kicking the crap out of the Yanks at Fort McHenry, Maryland. The main point of the song was that, after the ass-whupping the Brits administered in that battle, the flag flying over the fort somehow hadn't been destroyed.

I've always found it an interesting paradox that, considering how the U.S. is a country so obsessed with victory, our anthem actually commemorates a brutal defeat.

I think that what Rene Marie did was courageous.

Here's another one I'd like to see:

At major league baseball games in the U.S. since 9/11, it's become customary to have someone sing "God Bless America" during the "seventh-inning stretch"(the time between the top and the bottom of the seventh inning in which "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" was once traditionally sung by the crowd.)

I'd like to see people show up for that and sing Phil Ochs' "Power And The Glory" or Buffy Sainte-Marie's "My Country Tis of Thy People You're Dying", or perhaps Tracy Chapman's "Talking 'Bout A Revolution" or Public Enemy's "Fight The Power".

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At major league baseball games in the U.S. since 9/11, it's become customary to have someone sing "God Bless America" during the "seventh-inning stretch"

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Creepy. I got a song they can sing. It's right up their alley:

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Die Fahne hoch! Die Reihen fest geschlossen!
S. A. marschiert mit ruhig festem Schritt.
Kameraden, die Rotfront und Reaktion erschossen,
Marschieren im Geist in unseren Reihen mit.

Die StraЯe frei den braunen Batallionen.
Die StraЯe frei dem Sturmabteilungsmann!
Es schaun aufs Hakenkreuz voll Hoffnung schon Millionen.
Der Tag fьr Freiheit und fūr Brot bricht an!

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They ain't too far off.

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Originally posted by kropotkin1951:
[b]Yes Ken except you forgot the point that America invaded Canada first and that is why the British gave them a ass whooping. It is ironic since it was the British warships bombing from out of range much like America uses its airpower today to strike at targets.[/b]

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I agree that the U.S. did invade Canada first. My point was simply the paradox that the specific incident the song commemorates was a U.S. defeat.
There's also the interesting point that some have made that the word "free" is tied to the highest and most unsingable note in the melody.

deleted. I see this is the anti-racism forum. My post is off topic for this forum and I don't want to be attacked.

[ 08 July 2008: Message edited by: RosaL ]