Pete Wentz: Truth-Sayer
I have to admit that I am not a Pete Wentz fan, because until today I had never heard of him nor the band for which he plays bass, called "Fall Out Boy". However, I'm feeling very supportive thanks to an MTV story* about some good things Mr. Wentz said and the hysterical reaction of a religious fanatic.
It seems that the zealot, a mother, took her daughters to see a concert by Fall Out Boy, in Charlotte, NC, but was shocked when Mr. Wentz suggested from the stage that
You can leave this show and say, "I think this guy is an arrogant jerk," or think, "This band is better than this one," because these are your opinions. The only thing we consider unacceptable is for you to engage in sexist, racist or homophobic behavior. If you do, we don't want you as a fan. Return our merch and leave.'
The mother, who pointed out that Charlotte is not San Francisco [!], felt that she had fallen into a "liberal homosexual rally". Whew! But enough about her; our focus is on the good works of Mr. Wentz.
When asked for a response, Mr. Wentz refused to be cowed:
I try my best to be the best person I can be. I want to be a good role model for younger kids. I don't smoke, drink or do drugs. I censor myself the best I can, but at the same time, I am not going to change in order to simply make myself more lucrative. I encourage fans of our band to grow up to become good people and to change the world. Unfortunately, I don't believe that treating other people as inhuman is acceptable. If that is offensive to you, I apologize, but we don't want you to be part of our fanbase. [Our show] is not a liberal homosexual rally, but at the same time, it will never be a Ku Klux Klan rally. We don't need to sell tickets that badly.
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* Thanks to Shakespeare's Sister and her appropriately titled "Lunatic homobigot falls out with Fall Out Boy", 9 Mary 2006.
on Wednesday, 10 May 2006 at 03.41
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The woman so concerned about morals is ignorant and boorish. Perfect example of the cafeteria Christians who so easily ignore the Bible's admonitions about judging and casting first stones.
Wentz's message by contrast is decent, positive and inclusive. Good for him.
The one slight problem I have with this is in the realm of reasonable expectations. Let me flip the context to illustrate what I mean.
Let's say Wentz were to go along with a friend to community event named, "Peace, Love and Rock'n'Roll — A Rainbow Celebration." Sure enough, there are bands playing various genres of rock, people listening and dancing, booths featuring homemade foods, candies and drinks, etc.
But after about a half-hour, the bands quit playing and a guy gets up on the stage and starts preaching hellfire-and-brimstone fundamentalist verities. He talks about peace and love, but he also has some incindiary things to say about what he sees as society's moral decline. Suddenly, many in the audience chime in with amens.
This would probably not be music to Wentz's ears and definitely would not be what he had reasonably expected.
Now, if Wentz's band bills its performances as a mix of music and message, then audiences can reasonably expect more than music. I'm not familiar with the band and don't know. But if the band leads people to believe their shows are just music, they might be wise to make their broader agenda known ahead of time.
on Wednesday, 10 May 2006 at 12.06
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Quite so, SW, although in this case I think a more precise analogy might be this: Mr. Wentz goes to a concert, which he enjoys for an hour. At the end of one number the bass player gets through an unusually fiendish passage with verve and says "Praise the Lord, that was good!" when he's done, whereupon Mr. Wentz leaves in indignation, vowing to write letters to his Senators for having been suckered into a "damned conservative fundamentalist revival service".
Many people might consider that an hysterical overreaction.
Of course, the current resurgence of extreme fundamentalism and hateful anti-gay bigotry does provide some context for the situation in the original story.
on Wednesday, 10 May 2006 at 19.26
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OK, point well taken.
on Saturday, 20 May 2006 at 00.01
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it was okay. but of course im a big PETE WENTZ fan. when i get a little older im going to play bass and start a band. PEACE
on Wednesday, 31 May 2006 at 12.44
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wow, i really love pete wentz!!!! but it's getting to my head a little to much. ive been feeling sick with out him. and just, am not treating myself good. i really am going crazy. be bac sooon
on Monday, 5 June 2006 at 11.42
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Yeah i love Pete Wentz, and i hate it when people put him down from his likes and for wanting to be different from the crowd, I am like that too, i don't care what people think about me, i do what i feel is right for me, and most people respect me, others don't and i don't care, nor should pete wentz
on Sunday, 18 June 2006 at 21.50
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I loooooooooooooove you pete wentz you are sooooooooooooooo freaking hot
on Saturday, 24 June 2006 at 18.44
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PETER WENTZ IS A FUN LOVING GUY. BUT WHEN HE GETS MAD HE GETS MAD. ALOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SAYING THAT HE IS GAY THIS PASSED YEAR AND LAST YEAR SO I CAN SEE HOW HE FELL WHEN PEOPLE SAY THAT HE IS GAY AND I KNOW IT IS NOT A GOOD FELLING.THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT PETER WENTZ THAT MACK ME FELL GOOD WHEN I'M PLAYING MY FALL OUT BOY CD'S. IT'S LIKE HE DO NOT MACK HIS CD AND THING'S JUST 2 GET HIS 15 MIN OF FAEM. I THINK HE DO IT JUST BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING HE LIKE AND SOMETHING HE KNOW HIS FALL OUT BOY FAN'S WILL LIKE.