It's an interesting (and fraught) question. One of the issues seems to be: do cultural boycotts achieve anything on a practical level?
Not having the knowledge myself, does anyone on the list know if the cultural boycott of South Africa had an effect on the fall of apartheid? My other question (to keep it just about OT) is, based on Matthew Herbert's (?) reasoning, should there be a cultural boycott of America, including the Movement festival? Personally I'd still go to America, were it not for my dislike of flying. You wrote: > Saw this on Little Detroit. This was my response: > > I think Danny Wang is talking out of his arse - the tone of his post make= > s me suspect he hadn't really thought much about these issues until he ha= > d to justify himself to his friend when he was confronted with the realit= > ies of the outside world - he seems p!ssed about being made aware that th= > ere is a world outside talced New York disco dancefloors.=20 > What he says about the boycott of South Africa is ignorant bullsh!t:=20 > 'If, in the 1980's, I were a black American musician, or of any color=20 > really, I'd at least like to have gone there and seen the truth of=20 > apartheid with my own eyes. Moreover, I think I'd like to have found=20 > a chance to play for black audiences, and to look around for more=20 > than just apartheid -- it would have been a chance to learn something=20 > about African traditions in general, and build a bridge, no matter=20 > how ephemeral, with people who very much needed music and and contact=20 > from the outside world.'=20 > I don't think Queen and the other bands who toured SA in the 80s ever got= > a chance to learn anything about African culture - they were playing at = > posh resorts for whites. Wang never mentions meeting any Palestinians in = > Israel and is naive enough to suggest that he would play for Palestinians= > too (overlooking the fact that most Palestinians wouldn't have the money= > to pay for jetsetting international DJs).=20
