Posted on 10/04/2007 3:36:26 PM PDT by bolobaby
BRUCE UNDER FIRE? ROCKER SPRINGSTEEN CLAIMS UNNAMED CRITICS CALLING HIM 'UNPATRIOTIC'; SAYS U.S. COURSE OVER LAST 6 YEARS 'ANTI-AMERICAN' Thu Sept 20 2007 16:11:22 ET
Rocker Bruce Springsteen answers critics who call his anti-war sentiments unpatriotic by saying the real sin against patriotism is saying nothing while your country is being harmed. Springsteen discusses this and other topics, including why he's still writing songs and performing, in an interview with Scott Pelley to be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday, Oct. 7 (7:30-9:00 PM, ET, 7:00-9:00 PM, PT) on the CBS Television Network.
When reminded that his anti-war views, prominent on his new album, "Magic," will cause people to say he is unpatriotic -- as his critic have charged before -- Springsteen says "That's just the language of the day... the modus operandi for anybody who doesn't like somebody... criticizing where we've been or where we're going," he tells Pelley. "I believe every citizen has a stake in the course, direction of their country. That's why we vote... It's unpatriotic at any given moment to sit back and let things pass that are damaging to some place that you love so dearly and that has given me so much," says the 58-year-old musician.
In the interview, Springsteen points out the direction in which the U.S. is going, by his estimation. "I think we've seen things happen over the past six years that I don't think anybody ever thought they'd ever see in the United States," says Springsteen. "When people think of the Unites States' identity, they don't think of torture. They don't think of illegal wiretapping. They don't think of voter suppression," he tells Pelley. "They don't think of no habeas corpus," he says, referring to the people being held by the U.S. government in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"Those are things that are anti-American," Springsteen says. "There's been a whole series of things that... I never thought I'd ever see in America," he tells Pelley.
Developing...
My name is SSG Gardner Andersen (retired). I served a homeland security deployment at Fort Monmouth, right after 9/11... the same place you rehearsed for your comeback "The Rising" tour. Yes - you remember - the Pruden Auditorium.
I'm personally calling you unpatriotic.
You and your entourage treated the soldiers posted at Ft Monmouth like crap. You all felt like the rules didn't apply to you. Newsflash, Mr. Springsteen - everyone had to show ID coming in the gate, even the soldiers. So, despite the fact that I worked with the guys, I flashed my ID coming in the gate just to prove I hadn't lost it.
You and your friends attitude of entitlement sickened me and several of my fellow soldiers. You treated us like we were an annoyance. Well I'm sorry if we annoyed you. It was pretty annoying being on a year long deployment away from our normal lives, too, "Boss."
Now I'll let you in on a little secret - when the soldiers heard you were going to be rehearsing at Pruden, we all thought you might be man enough to entertain a few soldiers with a couple of songs. If you had done that instead of looking down your nose at us, we might have applauded you as a hero. Instead of a minor charity, you and your entourage decided to hassle us.
Nice.
Only a real unpatriotic ass would treat soldiers like that. This was RIGHT AFTER 9/11. We weren't even in Iraq then. The dust had hardly settled at the WTC.
You are no patriot. You're a typical selfish star.
Excellent, Mr. Andersen (to borrow a phrase).
walks like a duck.....
Go get ‘em, Sarge.
Wow! Awesome!!!
I wish we could take out a full page ad in the NYT with your letter, bolobaby!
Can you get this to Oreilly? I am not a fan of his, but he would LOVE to have you on the show and nail Brucie!!!
Send THAT to Rolling Stone................
I think all that shoe polish is starting to soak through his skull.....
"FORLORN IN THE USA"
crap singer, too.
You ever notice that guy sings like hes trying really hard to pass a kidney stone?
Baby, we’re were born to run........ off our mouths like barking mooooonbats.
Stringbean is no star. His “music” is godawful catterwauling and he has no class as a person. I’ll bet Frank Sinatra never acted this way and he WAS a star!
I wouldn’t call it singing and it’s painful for anyone who hears it.
Bruce - you are an unpatriotic swine.
“Contrived” — Keith Richards’ opinion of the Bruce’s music.
Agree except you insulted bricklayers, (mostly) men who work hard, have skill, and earn an honest living. Stringbean has the intellect of a brick and no class whatsoever.
If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, then you are unpatriotic. We could call Bruce Springsteen worse, and one of the words sounds like duck.
So if I read this right, Bruce wants us to attack him so he’ll get free publicity and the nuts on the Left will buy his album whether or not they personally ever listen to it again.
Yeah, I’m going to pass.
Don’t really care what he has to say.
> Bruce Springsteen has the intellect of a bricklayer
Please don’t insult bricklayers.
Bruce Springsteen has the intellect of a brick.
There, I fixed it.
Very good sir. The “boss” is a hackneyed, has been, one trick pony. I am loathe to admit I spent money to see way back when. The clod did not even know which city he was in and called us Memphis. We were not.
Brucie’s still upset that “Born In The USA” was misinterpreted as patriotic. He didn’t intend it that way. He’s just another geriatric ex-rocker with more mouth than brains - he isn’t even unique.
I am so absolutely weary of these asinine idiots who hind behind the skirt of "unnamed critics". I'll just assume that this aging has-been is referring to the voices in his head.
When my husband and I heard that he was planning this tour, we considered getting tickets. But then we both said there is no way we’re laying out some serious cash and end up part of a “captive audience” for his political views. I don’t have an issue with free speech, but a concert is entertainment, not a lecture series. We made the right decision.
We’ve gone to his shows together for decades and it was fun. But that is now part of our past and it’s fine with us.
Your personal recollection of the band’s behaviour at Ft. Monmouth further reinforces our decision.
Shut up and sing!
Now what did Rush Limbaugh do?...
Now there you go, insulting bricks! :)
Speaking of voter suppression, what is he doing to get the troops’ absentee ballots counted for a change?
Springsong, I don't believe there were any American citizens being held without charges in Cuba.
In fact, the ONLY two Presidents that suspended Habeas Corpus was President Lincoln during the Civil War and President Grant when he was trying to crush the KKK... Back to school for you "superstar"
Springsteen is a phony rock star and a phony American.
God bless our troops ... and Rush Limbaugh!
This guy would have died of spontaneous combustion if he had been around during World War II, or even worse, the Civil War. I guess he was too busy strumming his guitar in the afternoons when he should have been doing his U.S. History homework.
BTTT, way to go ! I'm sure this is already on its way to the but hole. Have never liked him are his so called music.
How did you manage to escape the draft?
“I got a 4-F. I had a brain concussion from a motorcycle accident when I was seventeen. Plus, I did the basic Sixties rag, you know: fillin’ out the forms all crazy, not takin’ the tests.” -Bruce Springsteen interview 1984 Rolling Stone
Fine post. One of the finest I’ve seen here.
Only thing I'd add is something my grandparents used to say, "If the shoe fits, wear it." Bruce is an un-patriotic piece of cra*... (in my opinion, of course)!
I’d like to hear more about this incident, if you please.
Only thing I'd add is something my grandparents used to say, "If the shoe fits, wear it." Bruce is an un-patriotic piece of cra*... (in my opinion, of course)!
Please send that to a newspaper. Very good.
Like a river that was overflowin'
Bruce took a wrong turn and he just kept goin'
BTW brucey... Ted Nugent could kick your arse... on the stage and off... infact he could whip your entire code pinko band!
LLS
Is he still alive nevermind singing
Way to say!
I would call him much worse names than that.
If a double negative makes a positive, then the Dope is telling us they are thinking about habeas corpus, but since he can't even be bothered to use proper grammar, I can't be bothered to do more than yawn.
Career in the crapper? Haven’t had a hit in years? Starving for relevance? Just trot out some anti-war and anti-american garbage and the all-too-willing liberal media will bend over backwards to air your platform, free of any critical analysis.
Born in the USA was an unpatriotic whining sack of turds as an album as well. Unceasingly negative.
Heck, yeah! Send that note to Rolling Stone so that the “Boss” can squeal some more! I luv it!
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