Bob Collins
(Photo: Luke Taylor/MPR)
I’ve gone 37 years in this business without uttering the words “I’m a big fan” to guests who’ve come through radio stations at which I’ve toiled. It’s not that I’ve never wanted to, it’s just that I have a personal “no gawking” policy in newsrooms.
It’s not insignificant, then, that I said it today. Twice.
The Friday Roundtable on Daily Circuit featured Dessa Wander, and writer Britt Robson.
Dessa wrote an op-ed in today’s Star Tribune about the conflict between free speech and the danger of hip hop’s misogyny.
When it’s working, the right to free speech shelters our dissenters (a group, incidentally, that includes a bunch of talented rappers).
The question isn’t whether or not to censor artists who espouse misogynistic views. The question is whether or not we support them as listeners and consumers.
At first blush, you wouldn’t think that music and politics and the nature of organic movements and economics and our relationships are all related, but the two clearly pointed out how they are. There’s an exchange at 27:43 that could bring tears to the eyes of someone who loves listening to incredibly smart people who make you reconsider everything you think about everything.
That’s why I’m a big fan.
