Today, we’re going to discuss homophobia.
By now, most of you are aware of the controversy with Lithuanian producer Ten Walls, but for those unfamiliar with the incident, we’ll provide a brief summary. Ten Walls posted some… well, absolutely fucking horrific comments on Facebook.
“I remember producing music for one Lithuanian musician, who tried to wash my brain that I don’t need to be so conservative and intolerant about them, when I asked him ‘what would you do if you realized that your 16-year-old son’s browny (anus) is ripped by his boyfriend?’ Well he was silent.”
He proceeded to refer to the LGBT community as “people of a different breed.” The backlash he received was about as intense as one would expect, despite his attempts at damage control. Social media had a heyday, ripping the producer apart without mercy. His upcoming gigs were cancelled, and the world essentially turned him into a complete pariah; death threats and all. His career is over.
Congratulations to society are in order—for it has completely and utterly dehumanized and destroyed a man in response to his own dehumanizing comments.
There’s an irony in that, to be sure. Look, outrage to this sort of issue is understandable, and possibly necessary. It draws attention to a controversial topic, and homophobia is pretty clearly a terrible thing. But there’s a difference between righteous anger and branding someone with a Scarlet Letter for the rest of their lives.
Hooray! We’re just like the Puritans now. How progressive.
Outrage promotes conversation that creates real change, but vilification allows the world to feel as though it’s righted a wrong by putting all of the blame upon one person without addressing the real issue. Condemnation of a single person does nothing but provide a moment of satisfaction for keyboard activists that want to feel like they’re actually doing something.
Are we, the dance music scene, really going to be those people? Are we, a culture that prides itself on acceptance, love, and progressive thinking, okay with expressing our anger by utterly destroying another person? Are we proud of this behavior? Because judging by our reaction, we apparently are.
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