Former Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins has written a column for LA Weekly since 2010. This week he devotes his disdain for North Carolina governor Pat McCrory for–what else–that anti-LGBT law that everybody is opting out of the state for.
Rollins’ title for this “open letter” to North Carolina is “North Carolina, I Love You, But Your Governor Is An Assh*le.” In this letter, he muses on the effect that Bruce Springsteen canceling his North Carolina tour stop has had on actually getting this law repealed. One of the letter’s best expletive-filled passages is this one:
Springsteen made Gov. McCrory all kinds of famous. I was being charitable using the governor’s name. The truth is that no one cares what his name is. He will be dimly remembered as the assh*le who signed that f*cked-up bill that embarrassed the majority of North Carolinians.
He also says that at this point, even with Springsteen, PayPal and other businesses leaving the state, McCrory can’t back down from a political standpoint, because repealing the law will show “he values money over his homophobia, which he has poorly disguised as moral rectitude and common sense.” But allowing the law to stand will mean that North Carolina’s economy continues to lose.
Rollins then makes the case for North Carolina being a great state, reminiscing about attending summer camp there where he did farm chores and enjoyed the scenery, and then touring there when he was older, sleeping on many a floor in the state’s many friendly college towns. As a result he doesn’t believe that Governor McCrory truly represents the state by signing this law.
So what about his prediction over whether anything will change due to the boycotts?
While I have nothing but respect for Bruce Springsteen, I wish he had not canceled the show. I wish he had spoken to the thousands of people who were there about what had just happened to the greatness of their state, then told them where he was donating all that money. The cancellation, in a way, allows McCrory to end the conversation, which I think should be just beginning.
It’s true, a North Carolina congressman has already tried to pin the fallout on Springsteen, rather than homophobia in the state. His point that celebrities of Springsteen’s stature should engage more with North Carolina in this issue, rather than leaving, is an interesting one that hasn’t been publicly considered as much as the boycotts have been.
(via LA Weekly)
