Why I support Charlie Gilmour

Why I support Charlie Gilmour

If you know me personally you are going to think you know the answer right away. It seems simple enough.  His Father is my all time favorite musician whose voice makes me melt and whose guitar playing can heal me every time.  His Mother is an author and lyricist who has the ability to take me to another world, inside someone else’s mind to find some truth in humanity.  Both are great story tellers, both are masters of their craft, and lets face it neither one is bad to look at.  So yes, it is no secret I am a fan of the Gilmour/ Samson clan.  That however is not the reason I support Charlie Gilmour and feel that his 16 month sentence is a grave injustice.
No rational soul can argue the fact that on the day of the protests Charlie acted foolishly.  That really is not part of the debate.  I don’t care how much money and privilege you have or who your parents are.  A 21 year old is a 21 year old period.  Give me one person that can look back at that age and have no bad decisions and no regrets to reflect on.  That being said Charlie has been jailed for what really?  They did not charge him for swinging on the Cenotaph, which is what upset people the most to begin with.  From my understanding Charlie Gilmour is in jail for kicking a window (but not breaking it), possibly being the person who threw a garbage can at the royal convoy (no one was hurt), and some general stupid behavior.  This type of behavior was displayed by hundreds that day.  None so far have received the punishment that Charlie Gilmour has.  He deserved to be arrested, he deserved to be punished.  He did not deserve 16 months behind bars.  He was sentenced based on who he was, not what he did.  All the prosecution saw was  a good looking, rich kid with a famous name. That was all they needed.  The press coverage that Gilmour receives based on his name alone will surely scare away your average young student protester from standing up for what they believe in.  Charlie Gilmour is being used as a political pawn.  This is class war fare rearing its ugly head.  The proof can be found in several newspaper article comments and a few twitter cretins who have nothing better to do than harass his mother.  
This case is a true example of the downside of celebrity.  Charlie’s parents can not be blamed for his actions, yet his sentencing in a way is a punishment of their success.  Some question why Gilmour was even protesting to begin with.  With all the family’s money why would he even bother to worry about student fees?  Could it be that Charlie was standing up for a principle that he believes in?  Whether he is directly affected by the matter or not, can’t someone, yes even someone with lots lots of money still have principles? It may be easy for people to forget that this family is in fact quite normal and human.  Their privilege simply comes from being really good at their jobs. There truly seems to be a strong resentment for success in this world these days.  Will their children have advantages?  Of course they will, and that is just the way things are.  There are tons of doors open for the Gilmour kids that are not open for your average person.  That does not mean that they still don’t have to prove themselves on their own merit.  If Charlie did not have the intelligence to be at Cambridge he would not be there.  He made a mistake.  A mistake for which he will be paying a long time. This is not the kind of payment where money is the currency.  No amount of money can heal his shame, or the tears of a mother crying for her son.
I can’t tell you if I agree with Charlie politically.  We don’t even live in the same country. I’m sure if we sat down we would agree on some things and not on others.  None of that matters anyway.  The issue is not of politics but of principle. The fact is, when you take away the ability of a people to stand up and speak their minds, you take away their freedom.  Through scare tactics they are using Charlie Gilmour to do just that.  Hopefully Charlie will learn from this and not be scared away from standing up in the future.  He knows now he’ll have to do it in a different way.  Hopefully, even with a target on his back he will turn this in to a positive experience and make a difference in this world.  

Gilmour breaks Promise to Waters Will not play Comfortably Numb

April Fools!

Can Roger Waters Save the World?

Can Roger Waters save the world? I'm thinking no, but he can certainly try as futile as it may be.  I'm sure most of you have caught Roger's Op - Ed in The Guardian, or his interview on AlJazeera by now.  I am not going to comment on whether I'm in agreement with his stance on the wall around the West Bank. To tell you the truth I don't feel as though I am educated enough on the subject to get in to that debate. I assure you I certainly do have an opinion, My gut, along with what knowledge I do have on the subject leave me confident in my beliefs. I am, however not qualified to tell you what you should think. What I would like to kick around here is the touch of hypocrisy that lies with in Roger Waters.

     It’s not that he is purposely setting out to be hypocritical.  It is more of a catch 22 for him, really.  It is just a fact that, although drowned in what I believe to be good intentions (misguided or not), for each wall Roger tries to tear down he is putting up another.  He says fear builds walls.  Most often this fear is rooted in religion and politics.  So then why would he take such a stance in a very political and religious issue? This is not simply a case of human rights.  It is far from that simple. In standing for Palestinians, he alienates Israelis. He inspires some fans, but leaves many feeling alienated, disgusted and abandoned.  There is a clear line in the sand between his fans. They stand divided, slowly building a new wall between them. Fans have posted opposing opinions on Rogers facebook page . Some have posted their feelings, some continue to post links to articles and pictures.  There is a lot of focus on the Fogel's, an Israeli family who were slaughtered at their home this past Friday in the West Bank settlement of Itamar.  It seems in the wake of this tragedy, the launch of Roger's boycott of Israel was poorly timed.   There is of course no way he could have had any idea that these terrible murders would happen the very same day his piece appeared in the Guardian. That is an unfortunate coincidence. However is it coincidental that this issue was not pushed until after the US leg of The Wall Tour was over? I don't think it is.  There is no doubt that it would have hurt his ticket sales in the United States had he widely publicized these opinions earlier.  Americans are not completely accepting or tolerant of his more extreme views.  His song "Leaving Beirut"  was met with mixed feelings by his American fans when it debuted.  I personally witnessed heavy booing as he performed it on the Dark Side of The Moon tour.
    Just like the words of Leaving Beirut, Roger's boycott of Israel is building walls between his fans. It is also putting a big wall between himself and anyone that sees things differently. Anytime an artist takes such a bold stand, it inevitably polarizes his fans. Take those that support Roger’s decision. They may share his ideals or maybe they are just being influenced by someone they admire. Either way, like Roger  they are now facing accusations of anti-semitism and hate. Anti-semitism is very much alive in this world.  But, I don’t believe it is alive in the heart of Roger Waters, or in the hearts of the majority of his fans that support the boycott. Now take the fans that are in disagreement of the boycott.  You can not expect Israelis, and their allies not to feel hurt and abandoned.  Someone they look up to and admire is turning his back on them, or at least that is how it feels. These people are being accused of being violent isolationists.  Most of these people want nothing but to feel safe. This wall is something only those that live with it can truly understand. Agree with Roger or not, it is not his place.  He should put his energies in to more charity shows, like the gig for the Hoping Foundation, and awareness events. They would be better received and ultimately make more progress than the boycott.  How about funding a program that brings young Israelis and Palestinians together, teaching them to live and work side by side?   That would really be progress. Maybe just leaving it alone would be the best idea.  He should take a page out of David Gilmour's book. Gilmour and his wife, author Polly Samson quietly support several causes yet they manage to not offend their fans in the process. That is where Waters becomes a hypocrite. He talks about tearing down walls, but breeds the contempt that builds them. Fear may build walls, and so does ignorance and arrogance. Roger Waters has tons of my respect as an artist.  He has my respect as a human being as well because I do believe he does what he really feels is right.  But, for such an open mind, his eyes are closed to the views of any but those who share his own. The intensity and the frustration make for great music. Music is a powerful tool, and he has that gift.  He should concentrate on using that.  So is there anybody out there?  Tell me what you think!



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