From: ljhuntleyNO@SPAMcomcast.net   
      
   Knowleman stepped up to the podium, tapped the forlorn-looking SM57, asked   
   "Is this thing on?" and, in alt.music.bluegrass, message   
   news:c04ca9e8.0502161624.75afe9b1@posting.google.com, prounounced:   
      
   > I was driving home about a month ago, late at night down an empty   
   > motorway (freeway), in my home country, England. I was surfing the   
   > channels on the radio and completely unexpectedly, heard this great   
   > music. Turns out it was Alison Krauss, as the radio announcer informed   
   > me.   
   >   
   > Next day, we ordered Alison's latest album. My wife and I loved it,   
   > and we ordered another. Our interest prompted us to do a little   
   > research on the internet and we discovered the term "bluegrass" for   
   > the first time. This then led us to a bunch of additional artists that   
   > we thought might be interesting but we have now put our new found   
   > musical interest on hold.   
      
   That's a pity.   
      
   > The reason for this is because we regard ourselves as relatively well   
   > informed Europeans and as such, have some serious concerns about the   
   > culture within the american states with which bluegrass is naturally   
   > associated. We dislike George Bush and his politics   
      
   If you're going to let politics stop you from enjoying any sort of   
   artistic expression, you're going to miss a lot.   
      
   > we dislike racism   
   > and we dislike religious fundamentalism in any form, whether it be   
   > islamic from the middle east or evangelical christian from the   
   > central/southern states of the USA. We believe all of these things are   
   > bad news for the planet and for the future of our kids.   
      
   Not unreasonable viewpoints, but what does it have to do with enjoying   
   a particular genre of music?   
      
   > My wife is so concerned about the association of bluegrass with these   
   > things that despite the fact that we love the music, she is unhappy   
   > for us to pursue the interest further.   
      
   Better keep songs like "Banks Of The Ohio" away from her; she's not   
   going to like that one at ALL.   
      
   > Finding this forum and seeing a thread of discussion started by a   
   > racist bigot has only served to fuel our fears.   
   >   
   > We would be interested your opinions of our views and concerns. From   
   > the responses, we hope to determine whether bluegrass is really   
   > hard-wired to a culture of bigotry, racism and fundamentalist   
   > christianity or whether there are bluegrass fans out there that we can   
   > relate to.   
      
   The roots of Bluegrass are buried deeply in American folk music, much   
   of which was freely borrowed from English, Irish, and Scottish folk   
   music that came over with immigrants from those countries.  Folk music   
   tends to represent the views and experience of those who write and   
   perform it.  That said, the musical content does not (in most cases)   
   advocate any sort of posture, just relates a tale.   
      
   Bluegrass seems to be even less agenda-bound than some of the more   
   traditional folk music.  There was a large body of music that was   
   called "Protest" because of the obvious messages being transmitted   
   against rascism, war, labor disputes and the like. Bluegrass artists   
   didn't record much of it (that I'm aware of.)  But if they do play   
   or record it, it represents the antithesis of what you seem to fear.   
      
   The fact that you purchase a CD does not mean that part of the proceeds   
   go into the coffers of an extremist organization or fundametalist   
   church.  While there may be artists or groups who have extreme views,   
   my experience with musicians (Bluegrass and otherwise) from all over   
   the country indicates that it must be exceedingly rare; I've never   
   met a good musician who refused to play with another good musician   
   because of who they were, what church they did or didn't belong to   
   or where their family may have come from.   
      
   Usenet newgroups are representative of the world as a whole; if you   
   search around in them, you can find every possible viewpoint being   
   expressed.  Freedom of expression is a lovely thing, but you don't   
   have to listen to everything.  Go to sci.skeptic and watch the kooks   
   over there deny the Apollo moon landings, the Holocaust, and the 9/11   
   attacks.   
      
   There is no "hard-wiring"; I'd say you can freely buy any CD in the   
   genre without fear that you're supporting a rascist agenda or extreme   
   viewpoint.  It wouldn't hurt to investigate particular artists if   
   you're truly concerned, but how likely is it that you'll find one   
   that states "The proceeds of this recording go to support the aims   
   of the Islamic Jihad"?  Or the KKK?  Not very; the proceeds of the   
   recordings are likely earmarked for the artist's kids college edu-   
   cation.   
      
   - L   
   --   
   Larry Huntley                                          Beaverton, Oregon   
   Skep-Ti-Cult® Member #130-978649-969          http://www.skepticult.org/   
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