Max Bickley – General Assignment Reporter
Musician Bruce Springsteen has cancelled his show in North Carolina in response to the recent passing of House Bill 2.
Two weeks ago in North Carolina, House Bill 2, also known as the “bathroom” law, was passed and puts restrictions on the usage of bathrooms by transgender citizens. HB2, officially known as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, is an emergency bill passed by the State senate which dictates what bathrooms transgender citizens are permitted to use, along with disabling the ability of citizens to sue when they face discrimination in the workplace.
Springsteen, who boycotted his North Carolina concert in his nation-wide tour, has also stated that he will not perform in any other state which passes a law such as HB2 which heavily discriminates against the LGBTQIA+ community. In a public statement made by Springsteen on his website, and all major social media forums he has, Springsteen announced his cancellation and his reasons behind it.
“I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters. As a result, and with deepest apologies to our dedicated fans in Greensboro, we have canceled our show scheduled for Sunday, April 10,” said Springsteen. “Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry — which is happening as I write — is one of them.”
When it comes to the understanding of Springsteen’s actions, sophomore Anthony D’Amico, a musician at Southern, said what Springsteen is doing is hard, but necessary.
“As a musician, I know it’s difficult to not give a performance you have been practicing for,” said D’Amico. “Being a professional musician, Springsteen is in a bit of a different situation, though; on the one hand, he is on tour, so he will still give the same performance elsewhere, meaning his preparation won’t be frustrated, but on the other hand, he could be disappointing a lot of fans and patrons.”
Junior and Vice President of Prism Ivan Meyerovich, commented on the tact of Springsteen’s plan.
“As a professional, and a businessman, Springsteen has made an important act if he does want to fight this bill,” said Meyerovich. “Something similar happened in Georgia, or another southern state, and when names such as the NFL and others were ready to pull their sponsorship and revenue, the governor was read with the Veto stamp before the bill got to his desk.”
In regards to the actions of Springsteen, D’Amico finds that the artist has hit that right note between raising awareness for political but not being preachy about it.
“He is being considerate in his method of activism by boycotting instead, using his fame to raise awareness rather than abusing it to spread his views,” said D’Amico. “Spreading awareness allows more opportunities for people to learn about the issue and start caring about it, and if enough organizations boycott economic participation in North Carolina, the politicians there will be painted into the corner.”
In terms of this frame of mind, Meyerovich believes the actions of Springsteen to be commendable.
“I give him credit for standing up for the right thing,” said Meyerovich. “He is pushing back against discrimination and with so many other companies and organizations backing up this point of view, it’s good to see.”
In his public address, Springsteen pointed out the bottom fact of the matter that brought him to this standpoint: “No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden. To my mind, it’s an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress.”
