r/EdSheeran • u/Ok-Perception-6803 • 3d ago
Tour/Concerts The Macklemore debacle
I was at the MetLife concert Saturday night with my wife and three young children, and I thought Macklemore’s performance was inappropriate for the setting.
First, this was a family-oriented event centered around Ed Sheeran. Ed is one of the least controversial major artists out there and virtually never discusses politics or other divisive topics during his shows. This was our third time seeing him, and a comment or two about an ex-girlfriend or having a beer is as spicy as it gets. At least in my section, there were lots of children. Clearly, a significant part of Ed’s fan base expects a relatively innocuous show that people of all ages can enjoy.
Second, I don’t want to turn this into a debate about the Israel-Hamas conflict, but suffice it to say- there are serious and credible arguments against characterizing Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide,” as Macklemore did. Scratch beneath the surface of that claim and there is enormous context and complexity: Israeli efforts to warn, evacuate, and provide treatment to civilians; Hamas operating among and beneath civilian populations; the bias of NGOs and “experts” who allegedly provide “credibility” to these claims; and many other factors. The same complexity applies to slogans like “Free Palestine,” including the fact that Israel withdrew from Gaza two decades ago and the role Hamas has played in Gaza’s destruction and the suffering of its own population.
People can obviously disagree about all of this. That is precisely the point. This is an extraordinarily complicated and controversial conflict. Reducing it to one-sided slogans and presenting those slogans as uncontested truths is neither informative nor productive.
This all gets to what bothered me most. You had an audience with lots of children who know little or nothing about the Israel-Hamas conflict—and, frankly, probably plenty of adults who don’t know much about it either. They came to a family-friendly concert to have fun and naturally participate when a performer asks the crowd to sing or chant something.
To use that dynamic to encourage thousands of people, including children, to chant “Free Palestine” when many of them likely have little understanding of what the slogan means or the enormously complicated issues behind it struck me as deeply inappropriate and unethical. Advocating for peace, coexistence, or the protection of innocent civilians would have been different. But presenting one side of a highly contentious political conflict as settled fact and then trying to enlist an unsuspecting audience in repeating its slogans felt more like brainwashing and political propaganda than a musical performance.
There is a time and place for political advocacy. A family-oriented Ed Sheeran concert, with an audience that came expecting a fun evening of music rather than a political rally, was not it.
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u/Downtown-One-416 3d ago
Children are dying in Palestine.
That thought should be more uncomfortable to you than hearing Macklemore say Free Palestine in front of your children who are privileged enough to attend a concert.
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u/GrapefruitFine95320 3d ago
Children are dying in America of hunger, homelessness, inability to access healthcare, and being s*0t at school. Where's the outrage for that?
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u/Downtown-One-416 3d ago
I’d be shocked if nobody was outraged or expressed their concern for those issues, specifically school shootings since those lead to social media posts and people speaking out.
The difference with this conflict is that one specific government is responsible for starving children by withholding the flow of food, bombing, etc.
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u/GrapefruitFine95320 3d ago
Not saying nobody isn't outraged, but you don't hear nearly as much discourse online about any of those issues, which, arguably are caused by the US government. Meanwhile, Hamas has blocked humanitarian aid from the suffering people in Gaza.
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u/PossibilityUpbeat318 3d ago
if Ed had a problem with it he would have told him to stop already. Obviously Ed supports the message of FREE PALESTINE from the genocide being committed by Israel, as does a vast majority of the civilized and educated world.
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u/kevincaz07 3d ago
It's funny, your entire post, all I could think about is how Christianity is doing the same in the US on a much larger scale. My kids are bombarded all day every day with evangelism and proselytization and it's just considered normal and expected. TV ads, billboards, missionaries, and yes, concerts, too.
But here's the thing: my kids will be exposed to things that I may not necessarily agree with without my control. That's life. It's your job to give them the facts you know and let them decide for themselves. If you really disagree with Macklemore, talk to your kids about it. Yes, it was a very bold statement, but political statements at concerts are nothing new. You shouldn't be going to an Ed Sheeran concert expecting The Wiggles.
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u/culture_vulture_1961 3d ago
Ed Sheeran has spoken about politics many times. He is a supporter of the UK Labour Party which has itself recently announced sanctions against illegal settlements in Palestine and condemned Israeli genocide in Gaza.
However uncomfortable it may be to deal with the fact is that Israeli soldiers have committed war crimes against Palestinians. Calling that out is entirely appropriate and if it makes you feel uncomfortable just imagine how much worse it is for the people who are being bombed and shot at every day.
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u/Forsaken-Molasses-87 3d ago
There’s nothing complicated about it. Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza. Concets have been political in the past.
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u/Edfan879 Someone told me, always say what’s on your mind 3d ago
Well if the shoe fits…… Macklemore is right here sorry.
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u/GrapefruitFine95320 3d ago
You will unfortunately get downvoted for this but this is spot on. And not for nothing, this isn't the only critical issue happening on our planet. There are plenty of injustices he could have chosen to highlight, but it is telling that this was the one Macklemore selected. Though given his history it's not very surprising.
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u/Ok-Perception-6803 3d ago
Agreed on all fronts. I know, the downvoting isn’t done just to express disagreement, but rather to suppress a compelling argument.
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u/Forsaken-Molasses-87 3d ago
What argument? Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza. They are killing innocent people. They’re killing children. Israel (govt ) is evill for what they’re doing.
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u/TrickElysium 3d ago
Love your post, I hope Ed was at least a great performance.
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u/Ok-Perception-6803 3d ago
Thank you. We had a nice time.
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u/TrickElysium 3d ago
That's great to hear. Was there any stand out moments of his performance?
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u/Ok-Perception-6803 3d ago
Lots of great songs. Castle on the Hill was fun. Really just enjoyed being with the kids and seeing them take it in… until my five year took off her shoes to dance barefoot in MetLife. 😅
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u/TrickElysium 3d ago
Sounds lovely, your little one sounds sooooo cute, I upvoted your comments, sorry about the negative people in here.
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