Saw this last night, and I was surprised that it hadn't been posted yet.

[www.reuters.com]


At first I was going to call this thread, "Bob Dylan: Racist??" but even posing the topic as a question just seemed wrong.

The quote is taken out of it's context...I wonder what his point of that comment actually was?

Bob is stating a fact , that does not make him a racist.what a bunch of baloney !

Bob is not stating facts. That people can sense racism, bigotry, in another persons blood?!?! Bob seems to be saying that there is something genetic too it. Are most Germans of today somehow tainted with Nazi DNA in their bodies? Should the sins of a father be automatically inherited by a son?

I do think Bob is a racist on purpose or by default but he is wrong.

France needs Freedom of Speech like many other places.

of course his comment is his opinion.. he believes what he says and there may be some truth in it but the point he's making is not quantifiable..

Reuters had a link to the Rolling Stone article the quote was taken from and I went in and actually found the question and complete answer on the Rolling Stone Magazine site. L to actual Article where quote was taken from. It's the last question on the page as it appears on my screen.

The quote really isn't made any more "pc" within the context though it was part of a larger answer. Dylan probably could have saved himself some hassle if he'd simply stopped his thought before this particular quote. I don't know that the offending statement was really needed to illustrate the point he was making.

Peace,
Mr DJA

Why must the rest of us have to live under the tyranny of the terminally offended?

When I read the interview last year my impression was that Bob Dylan had smoked too much dope. I enjoyed his wonderful european tour this fall and I hope to hear him again, but these statements are not too important to me. I do not mind him mentioning the war and making strange remarks.

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R
Why must the rest of us have to live under the tyranny of the terminally offended?

Agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Freedom of Speech -- Period!

English is not my language, but what is offensive about what he said?

The point he is making is extremely clear: "People at each other's throats just because they are of a different color. It's the height of insanity ..."

As a matter of fact, it IS the "height of insanity" and, unfortunately, a disease that is nowadays still to diffuse.


C

@liddas: so true. He's making a very clear point, maybe phrased a bit clumsy. And when taken out of context it generates lots of emotions, from publuc complaints to comments on a forum with twenty exclamation marks.

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R
Why must the rest of us have to live under the tyranny of the terminally offended?

I like!

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deadegad

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R
Why must the rest of us have to live under the tyranny of the terminally offended?

Agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Freedom of Speech -- Period!

I agree. I'm sick and tired of people saying dont say this dont say that - why not,why cant people say what they think. We should have more lively debates and less silence.

@liddas: Your english seems to be fine regarding the part of the quote you mentioned. However, the focus of the controversy is not on the part that you mentioned but the part where he talks about the abilities of certain groups to "sense" other groups which they were victims of in the past. As I'm not a part of any of the groups mantioned, I don't really have the ability to judge if I'd find it offensive enough to make me complain about it. I will say that although I don't agree with the questionable statement,

R -> Answer: Because they want you to. The terminally offended are BIG BUSINESS these days and until the profit margin is significantly decreased, they'll continue to be the most vocal, fastest growing demographic around.

Peace,
Mr DJA

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R
Why must the rest of us have to live under the tyranny of the terminally offended?

i am with you on this one .jeez maybe some have forgotten that Bob Dylan birth name was Zimmerman . does that ring a bell ?

It's just an opinion expressed in lieu of the interview questions. In the process of doing so, the person interviewed may get worked up enough to say something that might be misconstrued or never meant to come out like it did (or something very stupid.).

This is how arguments start...

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TheGreek

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R
Why must the rest of us have to live under the tyranny of the terminally offended?

i am with you on this one .jeez maybe some have forgotten that Bob Dylan birth name was Zimmerman . does that ring a bell ?

Ring a bell? His name is Zimmerman, not Ringerman! ><

Is there a reason people cant just post what was said in the top post?, versus making people click the link and search a page?

If soemthing is worth posting, then isnt it worth posting what was said without making people click links, unless the objective is getting people to click links.

I dont even know what he said, and I dont care enough to click the link,
but I care enough to ask people in the future, please just give us the damned story, dont make us click some link.

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deadegad
Bob is not stating facts. That people can sense racism, bigotry, in another persons blood?!?! Bob seems to be saying that there is something genetic too it. Are most Germans of today somehow tainted with Nazi DNA in their bodies? Should the sins of a father be automatically inherited by a son?

That you could read what he said and interprest it like that is pretty amazing. What did he say about Germans, anything?

From the Reuter page comments :
"If you forget, Croatia was ally with Germany and Italy in Second World War. They had concentration camps for Jews and Serbs. They avoided war prosecution thanks to joining Yugoslavia. Serbia was on side of France, GB and USA and heavily damaged during the war"
Which is true... but in 91-95 the main offenders/killers were the Serbs!!!

RE Bob and his "the Serbs can sense Croatian blood"
Goes to show that (imo) Bob is a true American boy : he is profoundly ignorant of the affairs of foreign contries! ><
Blame it on CNN and Fox News which really suck?

"If you got a slave master or (Ku Klux) Klan in your blood, blacks can sense that," he was quoted as saying. "That stuff lingers to this day. Just like Jews can sense Nazi blood and the Serbs can sense Croatian blood."

That's what he said. People can disagree on the Serbia/Croatia issue, that is what the controversy is about.

People who think the reference to "blood" was literal really shouldn't be writing posts. He meant that blacks can sense racists, Jews can sense anti-semites, etc. , when they deal with them. Hardly controversial. It's the Croatian comment that has caused the stir.

Thanks for the quote.....

Looks like he is just stirring the pot...

I just hope BV deletes this thread as soon as he sees it. As for Bob, he missed an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.

Oh jeez... people are here hearing and seeing odd things... the whole thing had not anything to do with blood, DNA or whatever... Dylan just made an analogy to illustrate his point (which, by the way, is totally irrelevant whatever it is) between The Judes/Nazis and The Serbian/Croatians, and certain people among Croatian community in France were offended. That's all. The whole thing had nothing to do with Dylan's thoughts about the nature of racism, or whatever, but just comparing Croatians to Nazis. And that's enough to make a law suit (against him and ROLLING STONE magazine).

A bit absurd, if my my opinion is allowed.

- Doxa

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Rokyfan
"If you got a slave master or (Ku Klux) Klan in your blood, blacks can sense that," he was quoted as saying. "That stuff lingers to this day. Just like Jews can sense Nazi blood and the Serbs can sense Croatian blood."

That's what he said. People can disagree on the Serbia/Croatia issue, that is what the controversy is about.

People who think the reference to "blood" was literal really shouldn't be writing posts. He meant that blacks can sense racists, Jews can sense anti-semites, etc. , when they deal with them. Hardly controversial. It's the Croatian comment that has caused the stir.

I guess because it could be seen as likening Croatians to the KKK or the Nazis? I'd also read some very bad things that the Serbs were accused of. Not sure why Bob felt it necessary to 'go there' as my limited understanding has everyone having some blood on their hands in that situation.

Max -> Apologies for not just copying & pasting the text - I much prefer it that way myself - I only did it the way I did as bv has requested that we not post excerpts of copywritten material. Hence my linking to the specific page of the article and describing where the specific question was on my screen... I was hoping to make it as easy for everyone to find as I'd like them to make it for me when I actually have to click a link to find something. Believe me, as I said above, I much prefer to have the images & text here at IORR as opposed to having to chase them down through the internet.

Maybe if bv sees this post he could let us know if we would keep him out of trouble if, in addition to posting images & text, we also included links to the original sources. Although I do like to have things be convenient for me, the last thing I want to do is cause bv trouble in an effort to make my life more convenient.

Peace,
Mr DJA

Funny though, just two weeks ago Dylan was awarded in France the Legion of Honor, France’s highest prize....

- Doxa

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Doxa
Funny though, just two weeks ago Dylan was awarded in France the Legion of Honor, France’s highest prize....

- Doxa

That is funny! Or Ironic... Or... something some linguist will explain to us later...

Peace,
Mr DJA

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Torres
As for Bob, he missed an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.

And taken how rarely he accepts to talk...

- Doxa