The Consequence of "Consensual Rape" (Action Bronson)

[Employee]

http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/theforum/201 ... headliner/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tuesday, March 29, 2016 1:46 p.m.
Student leaders should not stay quiet about the Spring Fling headliner

by The GW Hatchet

Every year, students complain about Program Board’s choice for Spring Fling headliner. Usually, people are upset because the performer isn’t famous enough, good enough or mainstream enough. I’ve complained about Spring Fling in the past, too – for not including enough women as headliners.

But this year, students have an even bigger reason to criticize Program Board’s choice: Action Bronson, the headliner, is a blatant misogynist.

Bronson has a history of public transphobia, and has mocked transgender people on Instagram. He’s also been widely criticized for his song “Consensual Rape,” in which he describes drugging and raping a woman. One of his music videos, for a song called “Brunch,” depicts Bronson cooking a meal next to a woman’s dead body, putting her body in the trunk of his car, then stabbing her repeatedly while shouting gendered insults. Due to this controversy, he was pulled from the lineup of last year’s NXNE music festival in Toronto.

Rather than apologize or show any empathy for survivors of sexual violence, Bronson lashed out. In response to the criticism, he tweeted, “It’s so funny the song that is causing these Torontonians to have their panties in a bunch literally has never been performed, ever.” Then, he tweeted, “5 years ago a lost track. That’s what u base UR argument on? HOW ABOUT THE 9 PROJECTS THAT HAVE COME OUT SINCE? Don’t single me out.” He later deleted those tweets.

Now, this coming weekend, the University is paying this man to perform in University Yard – and a group of students chose him. I’m incredibly disappointed that more student leaders haven’t protested harder against the pick, and I think choosing him was a serious lapse in judgment on Program Board’s part.

“GW’s student organizations hold campus events in accordance with University policies and procedures,” University spokesman Kurtis Hiatt said in an email Tuesday. “The Program Board’s decision to host this artist does not imply a University endorsement of his views.”

But even if GW doesn’t publicly endorse Bronson’s views, officials still signed off on him – and they’ll still sign his paycheck.

I have a hard time understanding any possible justification for bringing Bronson to GW, especially given the importance students here place on progressive advocacy. Sexual assault prevention and LGBT inclusivity are two of the most prominent issues on campus, yet Bronson is the antithesis of those two causes. Choosing Bronson blatantly ignores survivors on our campus – as well as all the prevention advocacy students have spent so much time on over the last several years.

In a statement Monday, Program Board said it is “aware of the criticisms” and doesn’t condone the lyrics in Bronson’s song “Consensual Rape” – which won’t be performed at Spring Fling, according to the statement. But the statement comes off as the equivalent of Program Board shrugging its shoulders about Bronson’s reputation – and that’s a problem.

“We hope students will continue to discuss Mr. Bronson and the entirety of his work and decide for themselves whether it has merit,” the statement reads. “The Program Board strives to put on inclusive events for the entire student body and will continue to do so.”

In its own Facebook post, Students Against Sexual Assault said Monday it is “proud” of Program Board “for acknowledging this situation and for moving forward proactively, in order to hold events that are inclusive for all GW students’ experiences.”

I’m not proud, and I fail to see how allowing Bronson to perform is inclusive in any way. Regardless of whether his work “has merit,” some of it harbors harmful beliefs and normalizes violence against women and LGBT individuals. There are people on our campus who are likely afraid to even attend Spring Fling because of Bronson’s hateful rhetoric, music videos and social media presence.

It doesn’t matter that Bronson won’t perform his song about sexual assault. What matters is that the University is paying him to perform at our school, on our campus, for our student body – the same student body that forced GW to rescind Bill Cosby’s honorary degree just a few months ago.

Even though Program Board announced Bronson’s performance last week, students have only just started talking about it online. Some have argued that if you look, you can find something wrong with almost any artist – and that’s true. However, they’ve also argued that critics are “too sensitive.” But Bronson glorifies, embraces and glamorizes the rape and murder of women, and that’s something we should be sensitive about.

Yes, Program Board has a limited budget, has to work around scheduling conflicts and is tasked with the extremely difficult project of finding a suitable artist that appeals to as much of the student body as possible. But Bronson certainly is far from suitable – which is obvious from a quick Google search.

And allowing Bronson to come to campus highlights the University’s double standard when it comes to Spring Fling performers: In 2014, when Program Board tried to book rapper Angel Haze, GW requested that she avoid cursing during her set. But Bronson has a much more problematic history with vulgarity and violence than Haze.

I’m disappointed in Program Board’s choice. I’m disappointed in the University for signing off on that choice. Most of all, I’m disappointed in our student leaders who haven’t stepped up to protest this choice. GW’s most progressive student leaders are known for speaking up about things that make them angry – and I’m wondering why everyone is so quiet now.

[Employee]

https://www.facebook.com/ActionBronsonM ... 3239167125" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Action Bronson
17 hrs ·
To the Students at George Washington University and the public at large:
I’m writing this letter to hopefully bring clarity to some misconceptions about who I am as an artist and as a person. It has become clear to me that things have reached a point which makes me feel the need to address the issues raised so that we can bring some understanding and healing to the table, so to speak. I can’t continue to walk around with the thought that people are thinking these things about me that are far from who I really am.

Five years ago in 2011, I wrote a song called “Consensual Rape” that admittedly contains lyrics and a general sentiment of violence towards woman which I never meant to represent who I am but rather to depict a story. I approach my music as other types of artists approach their work, and I don’t always intend the stories that I tell, the characters that I play in them or the lyrics I lay down to be taken literally. The songs I make aren’t any different than a director creating a movie, or an author writing a book meaning they contain scenes or things happen in them that aren’t meant to be anything but an artistic expression- just a song, a book or a film. I’ve never performed “Consensual Rape” at a concert, and I don’t plan to.

Regardless, I understand that when it comes to musicians, and more specifically rappers, the lyrics I say are taken to heart many times as a representation of my beliefs or true feelings. SO please let me make this very clear: I think rape and acts of violence toward woman are DISGUSTING. I would never condone anything remotely close to that type of behavior, and it’s certainly not what I’m about at all. But, the song in question has caused people discomfort and pain and I’m sincerely sorry about it. It was not my intention to hurt people when I made it years ago, and I certainly will be much more sensitive on this matter moving ahead.

Similarly, there has been some attention placed on a insensitive Instagram post I made years ago regarding me inappropriately labelling someone as transexual and being disrespectful to them in a way that is not ok. I have sat with members of the LGBT community recently in an effort to understand how to avoid being hurtful and insensitive towards these issues moving forward. I have never had any issues with anyone’s sexual orientation or gender transitioning. I’m far, far from perfect and I recognize my flaws and I’m making an effort to grow and be a better human.

Thanks for reading this.

-Action Bronson

9.2K Likes755 Comments719 Shares

[Employee]

https://www.change.org/p/gw-students-re ... -headliner" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Petitioning GW Program Board
Reinstate Action Bronson as 2016 Spring Fling Headliner
GW Students for Common Sense

Don't allow a vocal minority to ruin Spring Fling for the majority of students. By removing Action Bronson we are limiting free speech and free artistic expression. People who are offended by his lyrics can simply not come; they already planned a separate event on the Vern. Cancelling the headliner two days before Spring Fling accomplishes nothing. Show GW Program Board that this course of action is not productive or wanted.

[Philaflava]

Any group of ppl can find fault in just about any rapper. This is crazy.

[Versive]

Vice got they boy on damage control quickfast though, huh?

[Philaflava]

That's Paul Rosenberg's doing. Shit he wrote that presser too.

[Rhyme 4 Rhyme]

They're fags for complaining and he's a fag for saying sorry about it.

[GUCCI CONDOMS]

Inb4mindbendertirade

[sleazy_j]

dude should just stop playing college shows.

kids is easily offended.

take a note from stand up comics that don't do college tours.

ain't nobody boycotting Bun B for doing "Pregnant Pussy", so it's lame that people are boycotting Bronson for a song even his biggest fans don't even know about.

Eminem fans don't care about the "racist" track Benzino paid some dude to unearth, either.

the apology is lame. imagine lenny bruce penning an apology.

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

Vice got they boy on damage control slimfast though, huh?

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

wait til these twitter bitches hear "kim"

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

last summer osheaga dropped wacktion cockson cause of rape lyrics. replaced him with mos def, so i'm actually happy about this.

[Kace]

Fucking fagtivists

[seagrams hotsauce]

^Shut the fuck up, you 9/11 was an inside job motherfucker

Why bother apologizing for how currently 'problematic' some shit you said years ago if you're gonna play the 'it was a long time ago' card?

[Kace]

^Shut the fuck up, you 9/11 was an inside job motherfucker

Why bother apologizing for how currently 'problematic' some shit you said years ago if you're gonna play the 'it was a long time ago' card?

You must confuse me with someone else. When did I claim 911 was an inside job?

[CRASH DDZ]

I like how he handled this. Still not a big fan but that response was classy.

[thatkidnero]

last summer osheaga dropped wacktion cockson cause of rape lyrics. replaced him with mos def, so i'm actually happy about this.

You're from montreal?

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

last summer osheaga dropped wacktion cockson cause of rape lyrics. replaced him with mos def, so i'm actually happy about this.

You're from montreal?

nah vancouver but i used to go to mtl a lot. probly gonna do "way home" instead of osheaga this summer cause it's cheaper & similar lineup.

[Piff Tannen]

did they say who they got in his place?

i think gmu, my alma mater like 20 minutes away might be getting juicy j for their version of this college party day

no one complainin about mr. shutdafuckuppp

[sleazy_j]

Bol takes a stab at it.
https://medium.com/life-in-a-shanty-tow ... .gnll8t7kx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Internets,

Literally no one watches the new Vice cable channel, and I can’t imagine he makes much money from album sales. How is Action Bronson supposed to keep himself in expensive shorts and groceries if he can’t perform at colleges?

This week, it was announced that Action Bronson was dropped from the lineup of something called the Spring Fling at George Washington University, which I’m pretty sure is Noz’s alma mater. This was after a petition was circulated demanding he be removed. In one article I read, it said that the petition had 349 signatures. In another article, it said it had 350. GWU has an enrollment of 25,613 students.

An op-ed in the GWU student newspaper read in part:

“Bronson has a history of public transphobia, and has mocked transgender people on Instagram. He’s also been widely criticized for his song “Consensual Rape,” in which he describes drugging and raping a woman. One of his music videos, for a song called “Brunch,” depicts Bronson cooking a meal next to a woman’s dead body, putting her body in the trunk of his car, then stabbing her repeatedly while shouting gendered insults.”

To think, the broad who wrote it was probably like 12 when Dr. Lecter dropped. She probably never heard of any of this shit until she went and researched it for the article, for which she probably drew from articles about the time Bronson was dropped from NXNE, the nicer, Canadian version of South by Southwest a/k/a the Capitalist Gangbang, last year.

The bit about mocking transgender people, as I recall, stems from an incident in which he may or may not have peed on a homeless transgender person sleeping outdoors. As I recall, he claimed to have just poured water onto, erm, the person, but he may have still mislabeled them, which is a huge no-no. In his defense, there’s no way to ask a transgender person what they prefer to be called, if they’re asleep.

That was back before both Action Bronson and transgender people hit the big time. Combat Jack had yet to begin claiming to have discovered Action Bronson. Caitlyn Jenner wouldn’t invent randomly becoming a woman for another three years. Things have changed so much in just that brief span. Imagine if Action Bronson claimed to have micturated upon a transgender person (as the real Lebowski might put it) in 2016. There would have been calls for him to be sent back to Albania, which may or may not be overrun with ISIS. This could be a legit existential concern for him.

I was in college back when the Marshall Mathers LP dropped, which just plain couldn’t have happened in 2016. There was controversy surrounding the album back in 2000, but if it had been released today, with all of its teh gheyslurs and what have you, SJWs would have found a way to prevent it from being released altogether. They would have somehow proven it was illegal, using the interpretation of the First Amendment you sometimes see proffered in Internets comments sections. Namely, that the first amendment doesn’t actually guarantee you freedom of speech.

Action Bronson issued an official apology via Facebook, lest any other colleges try to pull this shit. He reiterated a lot of the things he said back when he was dropped from NXNE, including the fact that he plays a character in his songs, he’s officially against rape and he’s never performed “Consensual Rape” live, and he says that he met with some teh ghey people to discuss ways that he could be less of a homophobe. I doubt it will do him any good, if he said all of that last time and it didn’t prevent him from being dropped by GWU.

That’s why I don’t recommend apologizing to SJWs, or anyone really. Not only will it result in you being on the record as having admitted to doing something wrong, but people who demand apologies don’t really care if you apologize anyway. They just enjoy forcing people to do things against their will. Social justice warriors are the real rapists.

Take it easy on yourself,

Bol

[Employee]

The hilariously sad irony is that Crawford would do the same thing if his speaking engagements and livelihood as a writer were on the line. These idiots all load up their Social Media Idea Transmitter Guns with Stupid Ideas To Transmit On Social Media and then act incredulous or like they're flabbergasted by their own idiotic circular fire.

[sleazy_j]

[chapter thrive]

to me, its completely ridiculous that this continues to harangue him. other contemporary rappers have dropped comparable slurs in even more recent releases and continue to enjoy widespread success.

people are idiots when theyre younger, then they grow up, and realize the world around them. they either continue being petulant, idiotic assholes, or they grow up, admit their mistakes and try to be better people.

glad to see bronson taking the higher road, admitting his mistakes and trying to move forward. i hope he releases more great music.

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

i hope he stops recording music and becomes a full time celebrity chef.

imo he's suffered worse because the festivals he plays at are bastions of political correctness. eg the same year he was dropped from osheaga, the organizers issued an unrelated ban on indian headdresses -- explicitly citing prevention of cultural appropriation as the motive. (a tribe called red was playing). on the other hand i don't know his tour schedule as well as say ghostface does, so maybe he's just guilty of being white.

[Employee]

https://www.facebook.com/TrinCollbarnya ... 0502173015" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Trinity College Barnyard Entertainment
April 20 at 3:20pm ·
To the Trinity College Community,

We want to inform you that the rapper Action Bronson has been removed as the headliner for Spring Weekend 2016. Kehlani will still be performing.

We took the petition, “Remove Action Bronson from Trinity College’s Spring Weekend Concert,” which was published on Change.org, and the views expressed in the comment section very seriously. They were some of the most important factors in our decision to remove Action Bronson from our campus.

Action Bronson was originally voted to come to our campus as our headlining artist for Spring Weekend back in November. A legally binding contract went out to his team in January. He was suggested by our booking company, and then voted on only by EAC Barnyard’s executive board. No general members were involved in this process. Despite having done research on all of the musical artists we were looking into, we clearly did not do a thorough enough check into the content of Action Bronson’s lyrics and music videos. As a committee, we take responsibility for that mistake. We’ve taken the steps to improve EAC Barnyard’s process in choosing artists for future events.

In the beginning of March we were made aware of the severity and depth of some of Action Bronson’s lyrics. We began to create a strategy to keep members of our community safe and began drafting our response to the backlash that we anticipated. Following news that Action Bronson was being removed as the headlining artist for Spring Weekend at The George Washington University, our executive-board committee voted on March 31st to remove Action Bronson from our Spring Weekend concert because of his lyrics, music, videos, and the misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia that they promote. As a result, there was an overpowering majority to support the removal of Action Bronson. We would also like to state that we do not think that his lyrics are representative of all of Hip-Hop music and Hip-Hop culture. The result of this vote was taken to our administrative advisor from the S.A.I.L. office. Our concerns about bringing Action Bronson to campus were brought to other administrators and our contract was looked over by the College’s legal counsel who could not find a way out of our binding contract without losing the full amount of money that was promised in the contract. Through communication with the administration, it was decided that bringing Action Bronson to campus was the best option at the time, with the addition of a legal addendum, which would forbid Action Bronson from performing any songs that went against the College’s mission.

However, following the overwhelming concerns that were voiced through the petition and on campus, the executive board of EAC Barnyard voted again to remove Action Bronson from our Spring Weekend. 90% of our Executive Board expressed strong opposition to Action Bronson coming to campus. Neither the votes of EAC Barnyard’s general members nor the votes of our members abroad officially counted, though their views reflected the majority consensus of the executive board.

As both students and student leaders, we fully agree that it is not only certain songs by Action Bronson that go against the school’s mission. The very act of bringing him to this campus runs counter to the College’s obligation to protect the emotional and physical safety of its students. As the Executive Board of EAC Barnyard, we believe that protecting the safety of our students is our top priority. The Executive Board of EAC Barnyard would like to apologize for considering bringing Action Bronson, an explicitly unconscious rapper, to campus. We would like to apologize for any emotional harm that the decision has caused our community.

In addition, we are incredibly proud of the petition prompting the decision to remove Action Bronson from Spring Weekend. Members of our own executive and general committees have signed it and have encouraged others to sign as well. Not in recent memory have we seen such a diverse range of students, faculty, administration, alumni, friends of the college, and members of our larger Hartford community unite to promote positive change on this campus. We want to thank those who signed the petition for being brave enough to not only change the culture and climate at Trinity College, but to also construct a model that aims to affect positive social change.

We are extremely proud of the Trinity College students and community for taking a stance, and it is our hope that this model which you have laid forth can be followed by other institutions across the country.

With peace, love, and our full support,

Rose Carroll, President
Benjamin Chait, Vice President
The EAC Barnyard Executive Board
103 Likes50 Comments20 Shares

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

first they came for the wack emcees, and i didn't speak up because i wasn't a wack emcee...