The bombardment of media and friends inundating me with information, concerns, and experiences with the Wisconsin labor bill and planned parenthood protests has caused me to agonize over another issue: Justin Bieber’s Rolling Stones comments.
While republican Wisconsin governor Scott Walker’s attempt to slash collective bargaining rights from all Wisconsin state employees is appalling, it is, as many have pointed out, pretty much exactly what he said he would do in his campaign. He spells it out on his website and in many of his campaign videos as seen below:
So why did he get elected? Maybe because people were busy worrying about abortion, going to hell, and the like. I know that is a brash, over-generalized comment, but it is really all that is needed to get across the equally simple point I am making. Here is a video that highlights the use of abortion as a tool and dividing issue used by both parties in the 2010 Wisconsin governor’s election.
These are the issues that elect. These are the issues that people care about. Why do they care about abortion?
Because Justin Bieber told them to!
Again, gross overstatement and abortion is an important issue. But when intense moments of government polarization come to such sharp clashes, as with the current protests, recognizing the forces that are leading to such polarization come with extreme urgency. Justin Bieber taking an anti-abortion stance (and also an evangelical agenda) when he is in a position heavily influence (brainwash) such large populations of very young people is a big fucking deal. I am not trying to make Bieber a bad guy, it is just an event that I can stop thinking about. Here is a news video that presents a brief, but wide-ranging view of the discourses that are coming out of Bieber’s Rolling Stones remarks:
To conclude my mash-up, I will leave you with this video of the Wisconsin protests. At 0:16 you can see a protester holding a sign with a poster of Bieber and the slogan “Bieber says Hell No!” What would Bieber say and why does what Bieber says matter?
Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill Protest from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.
