Anti-Indie Pop Fascism Marches On
So basically, the other day U.S. Customs seized a hard drive that a courier was attempting to carry across the border with some new songs by Death Cab for Cutie on it. Now, naturally, the paranoid elements of the left are suggesting that it was a case of fascist censorship, or whatever.
It's probably worth noting that, apparently, for whatever reason the employee who was carrying the hard drive was refused entry into the United States - for reasons which aren't made at all clear in the article. Having crossed the U.S. border many, many times at the same crossing (the Peach Arch) I feel confident in saying that, in general, the US border guards don't turn people away without a reason and insofar as there was some reason why the person carrying the hard drive was refused entry the seizure of said hard drive is probably somehow related.
But, anyways, this really stood out in the article itself:
Walla said he believed the confiscation was random, but Barsuk and some music publications hinted it may have been more than a coincidence that such a political album -- it includes songs criticizing the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq war and the firings of U.S. attorneys by former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales -- was seized.
Political protest music is one thing - but, really - a protest song about the firing of a few US Attorneys? WTF? Never mind that, if you've ever heard anything by Death Cab, this is all the more bizarre.
In general, this is yet another sign of the global left's descent into insane paranoia. Is it reasonable for any sane person to believe that American border guards sit around listening to audio files on computer hard drives for anti-George Bush lyrics? Really? Never mind - are there no editors at the Associated Press? No one to ask if there's a newsworthy angle in offering an outlet for the narcissistic delusions of some emo musician?
There’s no story here, other than the non-story that these people are obviously, clinically speaking, crazy. It’s pretty hard to have a reasonable argument about anything with people who seriously believe (and report!) that the government is working overtime to attempt to suppress the revolution which might otherwise be incited by indie pop protest songs about Alberto Gonzales.
The article is worth reading, insofar as it provides an archetypical example of the "false balance" technique which the leftist media loves to adopt. Namely - print a bizarre and entirely unverifiable allegation, then seek balance by quoting someone denying said allegation halfway through the article. Typical.
It's probably worth noting that, apparently, for whatever reason the employee who was carrying the hard drive was refused entry into the United States - for reasons which aren't made at all clear in the article. Having crossed the U.S. border many, many times at the same crossing (the Peach Arch) I feel confident in saying that, in general, the US border guards don't turn people away without a reason and insofar as there was some reason why the person carrying the hard drive was refused entry the seizure of said hard drive is probably somehow related.
But, anyways, this really stood out in the article itself:
Walla said he believed the confiscation was random, but Barsuk and some music publications hinted it may have been more than a coincidence that such a political album -- it includes songs criticizing the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq war and the firings of U.S. attorneys by former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales -- was seized.
Political protest music is one thing - but, really - a protest song about the firing of a few US Attorneys? WTF? Never mind that, if you've ever heard anything by Death Cab, this is all the more bizarre.
In general, this is yet another sign of the global left's descent into insane paranoia. Is it reasonable for any sane person to believe that American border guards sit around listening to audio files on computer hard drives for anti-George Bush lyrics? Really? Never mind - are there no editors at the Associated Press? No one to ask if there's a newsworthy angle in offering an outlet for the narcissistic delusions of some emo musician?
There’s no story here, other than the non-story that these people are obviously, clinically speaking, crazy. It’s pretty hard to have a reasonable argument about anything with people who seriously believe (and report!) that the government is working overtime to attempt to suppress the revolution which might otherwise be incited by indie pop protest songs about Alberto Gonzales.
The article is worth reading, insofar as it provides an archetypical example of the "false balance" technique which the leftist media loves to adopt. Namely - print a bizarre and entirely unverifiable allegation, then seek balance by quoting someone denying said allegation halfway through the article. Typical.
posted by Adam Yoshida at
11:24 PM
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