Macklemore statement

::: spoiler Text from image With everything that has happened over the last 48 hours, I want to bring the conversation back to where it belongs: to the Palestinian people who are still being killed, still living under military occupation, and still fighting for their freedom.

That is what this has always been about. Not me. Not a tour. Not the headlines or the controversy. It is about Palestinians' right to freedom, dignity, and safety in their own homeland.

I will be donating the entire $1 million of my net earnings from Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour to six organizations working directly to support the Palestinian people. And I invite Robert Kraft to match my donation. Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting. A Palestinian life is no less valuable than any other life on this earth.

I want to center the parents carrying their children into hospitals without the basic resources to treat them, and the physicians, paramedics, journalists, and aid workers who keep going back in. I want to center the organizers and activists who have paid real costs for standing with Palestine. Their risk is of a far different order than mine.

But aid alone cannot address the conditions that make it necessary. This is a manmade injustice, and I believe it requires immediate political change. Palestinians have lived for decades without basic rights and should not have to wait another day to be free.

That is where my focus will remain. I will continue to stand with the Palestinian people and their fight for liberation.

When the news cycle moves on, which it will, don't move with it.

Free Palestine. :::

Source: His insta

337 points · 23 comments · view on lemmy.world

23 Comments

scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech · 80 pts · 2d (3 replies)

Damn that's how you make a statement right there. Fucking Ed, completely bitched out.

Ed had the opportunity to drop the mic like this right here, saying essentially the same thing. "If being against genocide means that rich men won't let me play at some stadiums, then so be it, I will not label myself as pro-genocide/pro-child-murder to appease those men. I'm sorry if that means that they cancel the rest of the tour on us, I was looking forward to playing for all of you".

If he would have come out initially saying that? Hoo damn, more than likely with all the press and the heat the stadium owners would have just shut up about it. All he had to do was direct all of the blame and anger at the potential cancellation at Kraft alone and it would have probably just ended right there.

I've seen Ed 3 times live I think, unfortunately that may be the final amount. I love pop music, (hell I run the swiftie community here !taylorswift@poptalk.scrubbles.tech if your curious), and I know that there is no completely moral celebrity... but holy shit Ed, this was just such an obvious fuck up. Went probably the worst possible route and just pissed off everyone. Congrats, maybe, maybe you keep Kraft happy, but you alienated a huge chunk of your fanbase.

bdonvr@thelemmy.club · 24 pts · 2d (2 replies)

Yeah honestly it's such a massive self-own I can only come to two possible conclusions:

  1. He's incompetent
  2. He's sympathetic to Israel

I kinda doubt 2. though as he invited Macklemore in the first place and Macklemore has been super outspoken about it

RumorsOfLove@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 12 pts · 2d

He is an alcoholic. Really rots the brain after a couple thousand drinks

rumimevlevi@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1d

He told Mac that his free palestine statement hurt genocide supporters feeling and he talked about both side BS , he is sympathetic to Israel

dethedrus@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 36 pts · 2d (3 replies)

What a fucking mensch.

No corporate double speak. No mealy mouthed crap. Just laid it all on the table.

7355608@piefed.social · 6 pts · 2d (2 replies)

Thanks for the new word.

Mensch : A person of integrity and honor

HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1d

Now I'm really confused by that one time someone told me "don't be such a mensch" I'm going to assume they knew what it meant less than me

dethedrus@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 1d

It’s a solid word.

And using a Yiddish word (originally from German) to refer to a guy being slandered as anti-semitic feels all the better.

Godric@lemmy.world · 24 pts · 2d (1 reply)

Incredible man, glad he's got more than $20 in his pocket!

psycotica0@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 2d

Well, he did have $1.000020 million dollars, but he gave most of that to Palestine and now only has $20 in his pocket.

DeadPixel@lemmy.zip · 22 pts · 2d

❤️🇵🇸

This brought a tear to my eyes. I thought this sort of thing would be said by most years ago, at least some people are willing to stand up & say it publicly. Massive respect for doing so.

crowcore_explorer@piefed.blahaj.zone · 20 pts · 2d

i heard him on the landback podcast and he seems to really care about justice for indigenous people.

Malica@lemmy.zip · 18 pts · 2d

Stand up guy

i_need_your_bones@piefed.social · 13 pts · 2d

Legitimity though macklemores music is good family reunion music. Top tier fire pit with dad, and your siblings music.

BurntWits@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 1d (4 replies)

My wife listens to Macklemore, I’ve never been a fan but after this I might start listening to him. I don’t usually like hip hop or rap but I’ve made exceptions before. Does anyone have any suggestions for songs to listen to first? I know maybe 5 songs already (no idea what they’re called), just whatever my wife puts on in the car if she’s the one driving, but I think they’re his more poppy stuff. I heard someone elsewhere mention he has some political stuff too (or at least stuff that hints at what’s going on, I can’t remember exactly now), I’d love to hear that stuff. Protest music is my favourite music, regardless of genre.

Massive respect for him now, along with Ms Rachel who is matching his donation:

Just thought I’d share this too in case anyone hasn’t seen it yet. My wife sent me this screenshot a few minutes before I saw this post.

bdonvr@thelemmy.club · 3 pts · 1d (1 reply)

Nah he's got some pretty not-subtle political stuff

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hind%27s_Hall

BurntWits@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1d

Awesome, that’s what I like. I’ll check out that song, any other recommendations?

Edit: listened to the song. Not my style but fuck it, it’s on my playlist anyway. Those lyrics are great. I can make myself like a song if there’s something I love about it. Thanks for the recommendation.

Notyou@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 1d (1 reply)

As far as songs, I only know his older ones but I'm checking out his newer ones now. Some good older ones:

Can't hold us, American, Irish Celebration, Same Love.

And for his alcoholic songs.... Neon Cathedral, Starting Over, Fallin

BurntWits@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 1d

Thanks, I’ll definitely check them out. I told my wife I’m gonna start listening to him more and now she’s all excited for me.

MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2d

Robert Kraft is a Zionist POS.

Even if he "matched" the million dollar donation, it'll end up on the wrong side of freedom.

hanrahan@slrpnk.net · 4 pts · 1d

will the US then extradite him for funding terrorism ?

GalacticGrapefruit@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1d

My opinions about Macklemore and the dear, late Dolly Parton are the same.

I think their music is okay, but I really like who they are as people. The world needs more musicians like both of them.

minorkeys@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1d

Change will not happen alone. Even millionaire celebrities have very little power relative to the Putins, Netanyahus, Xis, Bezos' and Musks of the world. Until something unites large numbers of us in common cause, with the means to convince us to become and remain active participants in the solutions, individual actions like this are waves on the beach and we don't have time to wait a thousand years for those small waves to make a difference. We need that energy of change condensed into a smaller timeframe and focused on specific purpose.

As long as you, reading this, remain absent from the effort, you are more subject to whims of the Putins, Netanyahus, Xi's, Bezos' and Musks of the world. Find a way to get and remain involved in some kind of positive change in the world around you. Your dreams of a better world require you to chase them, they will never chase you.