I am honestly so frustrated.
This isn't the post I wanted to be posting. I WANT to be posting about the end of the I Like It When You Sleep era and what it's meant to me. I WANT to be posting about how incredible the Madison Square Garden show was. But alas... here we are.
Let me recap.
So four days ago now, The 1975 were in Glasgow about to play the TRNSMT Festival. Hann was doing and Instagram livestream of Matty rapping along to "Caroline" by Aminé. The lyrics feature the line "Killer. West side Ni**a"... we'll needless to say, Matthew mouthed the entire line and the entire fanbase seemingly went up in flames.
*deep, loud sigh*
I'm not even sure where to start. Am I extremely disappointed? Oh absolutely. Am I surprised? At this point, not really. Matty is messy and I'm past pretending that he's not. But truthfully this post isn't even about his usage of the word. What is it about? Well first, it's about the fact that it's been four days and Matthew has not shown his face... so to speak. On top of that, Jamie (their manager) hasn't addressed the issue but instead he's liked tweets defending Matty and has been blocking people wanting an apology or trying to explain why his actions are hurtful and problematic. How is that okay? How is that even REMOTELY professional??
Do I think Matty is racist? No. I truly don't. That's not what I'm getting at,at all. He is however very ignorant about certain things and doesn't think before he speaks/acts. He thinks that he can spout whatever nonsense pops into his mind and people just have to deal with it. He's 28. That's not cute . I don't think that he was intentionally offensive and I would be comfortable leaving it there if this were the first offensive thing he's done THIS YEAR (let's not forget him defending an Islamophobe). IT'S JULY . I could leave it there if he ever honestly owned up to his mistakes and didn't just say what he needs to to placate his fans.
The absolutely SICKENING part is that the longer they stay silent the more his fans will think that this is okay behavior. When people were accusing Matty of being mysoginistic regarding his comments about dating Taylor Swift, he was quick to type up an incredibly long winded post explaining his intentions and defending himself. But here we have something truly offensive and.... nada.
It's really not that difficult. "I'm really sorry. I f***ed up, I know. I got caught up in the song. I will do better." That's literally all he had to say. Once again, he is TWENTY EIGHT!
There are so many fans defending his actions. "He was enjoying himself." "The video was cute" "He didn't know he was being filmed" Yeah. The rest of the video was cute. I love seeing Matty happy as much as the next fan. As far as him not knowing he was on the livestream... that doesn't matter at all. If he is comfortable to say it in private, then that in and of itself is a problem. "In what context did he use the word?" Once again, doesn't matter. He shouldn't use it in ANY context.
There are fans harassing other fans that are rightfully hurt and feel ostracized. They are freely throwing around slurs and thinking it's okay. It's NOT. This word is NOT JUST A WORD. Whether or not black people use it. Reclaiming that word is not for YOU to be able to use. It's taking back a word meant to dehumanize us. A word rooted in pain and hatred a word that will always feel like an attack when uttered by ANYONE that isn't black. Period. Point blank. End of discussion.
I really need people to understand that they cannot tell a community that they are NOT a part of, what is and isn't offensive to said community. Nor can they tell them how to react to offensive actions. I bet my last dollar that if M had used the F word, everyone would have grabbed their pitchforks and flown to wherever he was... rightfully so. So why is that word not acceptable but the N word is "just a word?" Instead of belittling Minorities' experiences, LISTEN TO US!
Matty and Jamie's silence is VIOLENT! Matty's dismissal of responsibility and seeming indifference is dangerous. This man has a platform that he's not using. A voice that he's NOT USING. The 1975 can't claim to be this all inclusive, compassionate, liberal, "fan's band" and not actually fight for the minorities that support them,love them, and look up to them. That's an abuse of trust and power. I can't respect someone that is not willing to hear, and then hopefully grow . Do you know how much that hurts? Especially when I have this band, That has meant so much to me for he past 4 years' symbol etched into my skin for the rest of my life. But honestly, if you don't care about us, why should we care about you?
Being "woke" when it's beneficial is played out.
I'm tired.
xoxo
