Please do explain. I read all of Axl's lengthy "justifications" if you could even call them that on that Rolling Stone article and he did nothing but dig himself deeper. If by "all the lyrics", you're referring to the "radicals and racists" line, that does not negate the rest of the lyrics. In fact, it's deliberately trying to distance himself from the image of racism while clearly engaging in it.
Exactly. In the lyrics themselves he points out that he's not what you claim him to be.
I'm still not convinced you know a person based on a few lines in a song and reading some interviews.
Sorry.
/jarmo
I think the issue here is the definition of the word "racism". You are taking it (as many do) as a judgement of a person that is absolute. As in, if you are a racist, that defines you and it will never change. This is not true. Prejudice is common in almost all people to some degree. A person can be prejudiced or racist without that defining who they are. Maybe I should have worded it this way, "Axl engaged in racism or made racist statements". And obviously, as I said, Axl grew up and learned from his mistake. So I don't think that those statements define his character in any way. But it would be an injustice to the people affected by racism to claim that the statements themselves were not racist, because it lowers the bar for racism, which I hope we could all understand is a dangerous thing to do. After all, saying the n-word is such a low bar for racism that it was a scandal back in 1989. I would hope that 30 years later we have made progress.
But again, claiming that you are not racist does not make you not a racist. Even open white supremacists will deny they are racist.
First off, I don't think Axl is a racist. He WAS discriminating against gays, blacks and foreigners in One In A Million, though. There's no denying that. However, he was also a young 26 year old with NO IDEA how the world really works. He has obviously changed a lot.
I think it would be hypocritical if a shit storm would ensue over this song. It is a fact that pretty much ALL male hip hop is full of hate towards gay people. As a gay man (a major minority within the GnR landscape unfortunately) One In A Million never bothered me, since it's just a young man's barely adult reflections on first time life experiences. I actually love the song cause it's so brutally honest and has a good hook.
Knowing that Axl doesn't hate gay people (proved by his love for Elton John and Freddie Mercury and by his own statements) is enough for me. Most black rappers (and white 'hey Eminem') hate for gay people is very real, and I am more worried about their songs than a song GnR has already retracted from future releases. It would however be best if they take it off all streaming services, to prove the point it is indeed a thing of the past. Otherwise, I am pretty sure within the next few years a shit storm will start over this song.
In keeping with my above statements, I think you are misunderstanding the use of the word "racist". Also, "discrimination", but I won't get into that because I agree with what you're trying to say there.
But this use of rap as a whataboutism needs to stop. Pointing to somebody else doing something wrong is not a defense for your (genre's) behavior.
Also, it's funny you mentioned Eminem in particular because he did the exact same thing Axl did by using Elton John as a shield from criticism:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM74R9z7W4AHowever, much like rock, rap has come a long way since its early days in the '90s. To say "pretty much ALL rap is homophobic" is just simple not true. But it was absolutely a problem with the genre for some time, and still is, which is also still true for rock to some extent, if we're being honest.
