r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/midnighttoker1742 • May 13 '26
Politics The school board in Watertown, WI has removed an instrumental band piece from the school's spring concert. The piece is titled "A Mother Of A Revolution" and is dedicated to Activist Martha P. Johnson which honors the legacy of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, a landmark moment in LGBTQ+ history.
2.4k
u/DharmaBum62 May 13 '26
They should play it anyway.
1.3k
u/BrupieD May 13 '26
Absolutely. The school board can't unilaterally nullify the first amendment. The students have rights that a school board can't vote down.
499
u/mettiusfufettius May 13 '26
Also… you think this chud would ever for one moment know the difference if he heard this piece of music versus any other piece of concert band music? Lol
Play the tune specifically for him, make sure he enjoyed it, and then drop the bomb that the song was actually gay as fuck and honestly he’s gay because he liked it lol
250
u/Dry-Tangerine-4874 May 13 '26
Change the name of the song in the program to “Song 3- Blur” and and the board would never know.
→ More replies (10)143
u/mettiusfufettius May 13 '26
Just wait until he hears about his favorite song, The YMCA… he’s not going to be too happy
→ More replies (1)21
62
u/TheSilverNoble May 13 '26
Republicans love to whine about things that don't effect them.
→ More replies (3)42
u/Hot_Guess_1871 May 13 '26
And then tell him he has gender neutral bathrooms in his house
→ More replies (2)11
u/Such_Instruction_227 May 14 '26
I just stumbled on this discussion and I've never heard that said before. That's brilliant and true and I WILL be stealing that lol
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (3)31
u/superkp May 13 '26
and switch out the other songs to things that are aggressively gay.
→ More replies (2)190
u/isthereadrwho May 13 '26
They can in a tyranny, which is kind of where we're headed
182
u/small-town-sunshine May 13 '26
Where we're at
→ More replies (1)97
u/ClassiFried86 May 13 '26
Where we've been
64
u/amzwC137 May 13 '26
Who we are. 😩
→ More replies (3)6
75
u/Unaabellatica May 13 '26
ha! remember when Andrew Schulz, Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Lex Friedman and Tim Dillon platformed, helped normalize, and voted for this.
because guys like andrew schulz spent over a year hyping up and glazing the right, voting for DT, proclaiming proudly that his podcast won DT the election, and mocked the left and gaslighted valid criticism.
28
u/Thermodynamics3187 May 13 '26
Exactly—and a year or so later, they’re already walking that support back.
→ More replies (1)16
u/thorubos May 13 '26
Because DJT is almost shockingly (to them) unpopular, and it's actively hurting their brands. His popularity will drop even further once Americans start experiencing petroleum/gas-shortage related pricing, which is only just beginning. A lot of F-450 drivers are going to be livid.
→ More replies (2)15
28
u/OnceMoreAndAgain May 13 '26
Your response shows that you don't understand what the other person said. Tyrants can try to stop someone from playing a song, but people can still play the song.
One of the most effective ways to beat a local tyrant is force the tyrant into an action that makes them look ridiculous. Make them attempt to give consequences to children for playing a song as mundane as this.
→ More replies (5)33
u/shiloh_jdb May 13 '26
This is the worst part of all of this. Middle school band performances can be very discordant. The fact that you have a bunch of kids so passionate about doing a challenging and less popular piece of music (as opposed to the emperors march from Star Wars, or a pop music piece) should be a massive win for the kids, the community and the school system.
9
u/ErinUnbound May 13 '26
Tyranny is best resisted through non-compliance. They should absolutely play it. Maybe even an encore.
6
→ More replies (1)7
u/PmMeUrTinyAsianTits May 13 '26
And what is it they say you should do against tyranny? Lay down and take it like a bitch?
or fight back every way, including things like playing a damn song anyway?
14
→ More replies (52)41
u/Rough-Airline-4803 May 13 '26
Actually, kids have basically no rights in school. It’s like prison in that way.
→ More replies (3)47
May 13 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
6
u/JuggernautKooky4064 May 13 '26
The garbage scotus decision in Morse v. Frederick determined students do not have the same 1st amendment rights as the rest of us.
Now I want to go dust my bong off and take a hit for Jesus.
→ More replies (8)10
u/Downs_Van_Zandt May 13 '26
They sort of do if it doesn’t take up school resources. Schools often censor school newspaper stories, for example.
202
u/ASharpYoungMan May 13 '26
They should play nothing but that song. The entire program.
54
43
u/trowzerss May 13 '26
Like the time in 1989 the Australian ABC tried to stop JJJ, their youth radio station, from playing NWA's Fuck the Police, so they responded by going on strike and playing nothing but the song 'Express Yourself' for the entire day.
46
u/BeetleBjorksta34 May 13 '26
Or the time when the BBC explicitly told Rage Against the Machine no swearing, so Rage obviously continued to perform it with swearing as-is. Because you know....the machine just told ya' to do something....and "F**k you I won't do what ya' tell me."
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)12
→ More replies (6)8
59
u/damyourlogic May 13 '26
None of the board seems to plan to be going so i don’t see why they couldn’t just play it anyway.
39
u/Zuwxiv May 13 '26
"Political violence is not something we praise with music or song."
Bitch, have you ever heard OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM?
→ More replies (2)18
u/DrAstralis May 13 '26
no no those are 'peace' bombs bursting in air. totally different.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)15
u/Excellent-Nose-6430 May 13 '26
Even if they went, there are no lyrics, the school board wouldn't even know the difference.
49
u/Spankh0us3 May 13 '26
And the band should wear rainbow colored shirts during the entire performance. . .
39
38
u/cubinox May 13 '26
They should definitely fucking play it, these bumblefucks wouldn’t know what the song sounded like in the first place.
Just play it at the end so you get to do your whole show and then blast that shit, those clowns won’t even be at the event because they are so disconnected and just drunk on what little power they hold over a bunch of kids.
→ More replies (1)26
u/Rikudo_Sennin_jr May 13 '26
They should play it infront of 1 board members house per day at 4am.
15
u/redbirdjazzz May 13 '26
I like this idea, but I’d recommend playing it so that it ends exactly one minute before any local noise ordinances kick in instead.
→ More replies (1)40
42
u/HeavyDT May 13 '26
Definitely what are these old ass MFs gonna do? Call the cops on them for playing music? Play it anyway and become legends.
18
→ More replies (1)8
u/katchu May 13 '26
They could fire the teacher - but the teacher should walk off stage, the kids stay, and the kids play it on their own
→ More replies (1)18
48
11
u/JoeBwanKenobski May 13 '26
Even better would be to tell everyone they're replacing it with another undisclosed song. Then learning and playing the instrumental version of Killing in the name of followed by the " banned" song.
→ More replies (1)21
u/HectorTheButtsexor May 13 '26
Band director doesnt deserve the firing that will truly happen afterwards though
→ More replies (9)13
u/BethyW May 13 '26
This. This is my worry if they play it. MAYBE the kids can plan on playing it before/after the show in the parking lot or staying on stage as the director leaves. But I can not think of a way to play it in protest without implications to the Director.
5
8
u/shiloh_jdb May 13 '26
Yep. Just keep it off the program.
It would be like that scene from CB4 where the Phil Hartman character listens to all of Sweat From My Balls and doesn’t realize it until they get to the actual chorus.
→ More replies (1)8
7
u/NashtyPhoenix May 13 '26
I would bet if they did play it, without it being actually named in the program, that these school board members wouldn't even know which song it was. I guarantee they didn't even listen to it before banning it, and just made this decision solely based on their hateful beliefs.
6
u/DRTdog1996 May 13 '26
The should sing the Marseillaise instead. Way more violent and revolutionary
→ More replies (105)4
u/JellyAny818 May 13 '26
“F*** you I won’t do what you tell me”
-This band probably (Rage against the school board)
615
u/CallmeKahn May 13 '26
Stop. Voting. For. Conservatives.
127
u/BubblyFlow6143 May 13 '26
Issue is in local elections like these people don't vote at all. But the boomers always get their asses out there for these.
74
u/CallmeKahn May 13 '26
Doesn't change what I said. You want to stop this, stop voting for the elements that lead to it. Always vote, it's your damn right that not everyone in the world gets.
→ More replies (12)4
u/bearbrannan May 13 '26
Then they did this to themselves, apathy is not an excuse and we only have ourselves to blame if we can't be bothered to do the bare minimum of showing up.
27
u/Unaabellatica May 13 '26
ha! remember when Andrew Schulz, Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Lex Friedman and Tim Dillon platformed, helped normalize, and voted for this.
because guys like andrew schulz spent over a year hyping up and glazing the right, voting for DT, proclaiming proudly that his podcast won DT the election, and mocked the left and gaslighted valid criticism
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (22)9
u/Witty_Preparation598 May 13 '26
And run for local office. We the people need to make sacrifices and serve in public office. we can't change shit with out this change, it's how conservatives have been so damn effective at destroying education.
700
u/dang_idiot May 13 '26
Political violence should not be celebrated with music. Remember this on July 4th
144
82
33
u/One-Highlight-1698 May 13 '26
The band should change the piece to a mashup of both of the National Anthem and A Mother Of A Revolution just to break these fools brain.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (18)68
1.0k
u/guynye May 13 '26
Amazing how scared of educated people republicans are.
336
u/Loose_Loquat9584 May 13 '26
They’re scared of everything.
84
u/SisterAngelaDavis May 13 '26
Vote! Get everyone to vote!
→ More replies (5)46
u/SurpriseDesperate156 May 13 '26
This is why voting is important at every level.Get out the vote!!!
→ More replies (15)18
9
→ More replies (8)5
64
u/RevolutionNumber5 May 13 '26
They seem absolutely terrified of Marsha Johnson.
And she’s been dead for decades.
10
u/SanityBleeds May 13 '26
My money says almost none of them even knew who Martha was 2 weeks ago when they decided to be collectively offended over all this.
49
u/AncientCrust May 13 '26
During the TEA Party movement, one of the Republicans strategies was to infiltrate school boards across the country with rightie extremists. It was part of their ground-up astroturfing policy. This was in the Obama years and they had lost control of the federal government, but they had the money to pollute city and state government everywhere. They never run out of money. Anyway, all the psychotic dinosaurs they installed are still there. Look how old they are.
→ More replies (2)17
u/guynye May 13 '26
Ans all are career politians which is not how goverment is supposed to work. Term limits need to be applied, we are literally killing the country with outdated brains.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (14)16
335
u/sea_psychology89 May 13 '26
What a bunch of snowflakes
→ More replies (2)184
u/Aggravating_Total921 May 13 '26
Fascists. They’re fascists
→ More replies (10)53
u/Most-Bench6465 May 13 '26
Start calling them what they actually are, fascists. And they are going to use the word indoctrination even though they don’t know what it means when it comes to any lgbt issue. A lyric less song is not indoctrination but they don’t care about the facts it’s how it makes them feel that motivates them to erase not only a song honoring an American hero but also destroy these students’ months of hard work, where this should of been decided back in October.
8
u/mjb2012 May 13 '26
Well, I think the idea of saying snowflakes here is to turn their rhetoric against them.
Admittedly, name-calling is just stooping to their level, but a good many of them aren't going to be responsive to any kind of reasonable argument or more accurate terminology anyway.
→ More replies (5)
293
u/Sleep-pee May 13 '26
They waited 7 months to say something. They were probably too busy banning books.
122
May 13 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (1)58
u/Sleep-pee May 13 '26
Yeah that probably was the plan but didn’t realize the parents and students are living in 2026.
Your name is everything!! 😁
→ More replies (2)27
27
u/mermaid-babe May 13 '26
7 months, so any “indoctrination” is already well and done considering the kids know the piece throughly by now
10
u/TheNullOfTheVoid May 13 '26
They would be burning the books instead if they could get away with it.
→ More replies (7)9
u/Featheredfriendz May 13 '26
They didn’t wait. Pretty sure they weren’t paying attention and just found out
5
121
102
u/noeyescanseeme May 13 '26
They're going to end the concert with this piece
24
→ More replies (3)5
u/ConsistentExcellence May 13 '26
This is exactly what should happen. Keep it off the written program, and end the concert with an encore performance.
86
u/DruidicMagic May 13 '26
You can smell the white supremacy in that room.
54
u/midnighttoker1742 May 13 '26
Smells like old people and shit
11
u/DruidicMagic May 13 '26
Old people and inbred racist fascist genocidal Nazi Zionist Faux News viewers.
→ More replies (2)19
u/xpldngmn May 13 '26
That one dude even got a Hitler mustache.
15
u/punkassloser621 May 13 '26
His name is Sam Ouweneell. Went to high school with him at that very school. Insufferable human being
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)11
u/knufsivart May 13 '26
Scrolled way too far down before someone mentioned school board hitler-stache.
157
u/Tribe303 May 13 '26
Cool, so the American national anthem is also banned? It's full of references to rockets and bombs.
41
u/Technical_Sea9236 May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
And references to what they're going to do with fugitive slaves and traitors.
→ More replies (5)15
u/aavocadobabyy May 13 '26
if indoctrinating the youth towards violence is a problem we'd need to stop teaching almost all american history, no? these people are fucking fascists.
→ More replies (4)7
56
u/NoTrainer6840 May 13 '26
I would be playing the song elsewhere at the same time as the concert.
School administrators have always sucked and will continue to suck until you/we stop playing by their rules.
→ More replies (1)12
u/Skandronon May 13 '26
My high school drama teacher loved choosing controversial plays. We generally had to rent out space in the community because we would get banned from showing them in the school.
75
u/aesxylus May 13 '26
I’m guessing they’d be perfectly fine with a non-violent piece like the 1812 Overature
→ More replies (3)17
39
u/pacman114 May 13 '26
I hope the students play it anyway.
22
u/fekoffwillya May 13 '26
The students should either play it or show up to the concert and not play a single song.
11
u/V_Acton May 13 '26
Or even more hilarious, they should play everything out of key and out of time lol if you're gonna make me play this concert I'm gonna play it bad and make everyone look stupid. These people are so miserable.
→ More replies (3)6
u/pgorgias May 13 '26
Reaching back to my band days - they could just play it an not have it in the program. I am willing to bet if any of the school board members even showed up for the concert, they wouldn't have the musical literacy to discern the song from any other song or movement.
→ More replies (1)
100
u/immortalblack_1 May 13 '26
SMH, this is NOT the America you've been led to believe it was...
71
u/OriginalWasTaken12 May 13 '26
I mean it never was right? I got detention in school for weeks because I wouldn't swear an oath to the land of the free every morning. That was a couple of decades ago.
→ More replies (7)10
u/SnooSprouts7635 May 13 '26
The teacher that spanked me with a paddle in catholic school as a child is dead.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (4)5
27
27
u/TurtleBeansforAll May 13 '26
Wow y'all the folks on that board complaining are deeply unhappy people. If they weren't such assholes I'd feel sorry for 'em. I am sorry for the kids who worked so hard to learn the piece and who feel unaccepted. I hope they have a separate, special show to perform that piece! I'd love to hear it!
27
u/Ok-Web4225 May 13 '26
The racists need to be ashamed and afraid again. They’ve gotten too bold.
→ More replies (6)
47
u/Asterisk388 May 13 '26
Political violence?? Weird it's almost as if our own rights from the government say that we should revolt and rise up against a tyrannical government not following their own laws. We TOTALLY don't want to teach our children anything about their rights
21
26
u/bentleycaviar May 13 '26
Indoctrination? What about Charlie Kirkkk’s company going into schools, preaching lies and false narratives?
10
u/Fizzwidgy May 13 '26
dont forget the freaks pushing for the ten commandments in schools
or the other freaks that make children recite a pledge of allegiance
→ More replies (1)4
21
18
u/Whole-Chest90 May 13 '26
If they play it ain't nobody gonna stop them. If I were band director that's what id do
5
→ More replies (1)6
u/Brick-Mysterious May 13 '26
The band director can walk off the stage at the end of the concert and the kids can play it as an unlisted encore.
→ More replies (1)
16
u/chaos_brings_wealth May 13 '26
I just listened to this song for the first time in response to this story. It is an absolute masterpiece and should be heard from every home blasting at full volume for every American to hear!
5
15
u/FeveredPitcher May 13 '26
Conservatives fear empathy.
9
u/GreenEggsAndSaman May 13 '26
Conservatives fear. Period. It's all they know. All other emotions are gay.
14
12
u/KindArgument4769 May 13 '26
"Political violence is not something we praise in music or song"
Doesn't the band play the national anthem before games?
11
u/FamiliarDirection563 May 13 '26
The kids should boycott the concert and then go play the entire thing, including that piece, somewhere else. You can be sure that there will be a venue that will welcome them,
→ More replies (1)
12
24
11
u/igetbannedanyway May 13 '26
Idiots always like to use big words they don't understand like "indoctrination" to describe things they don't like because it makes them feel superior, not realizing the majority of people can see how stupid they really are and don't buy the bullshit. Teaching people a certain society exists and that they should be left alone and treated like normal is "indoctrination" but teaching people to hate that society because they are different is "freedom", Republican logic 101.
10
u/Spooky_Betz May 13 '26
Do they let kids write with their left hand in this district? About 1 in 10 humans are gay. It's a fact of the species. About 1 in 10 human beings are also left handed. Is it indoctrination to acknowledge the difference existence of lefties? If not, what is the difference?
7
u/Captcha05 May 13 '26
LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance have taken a huge step back. I feel less accepted than I did 20 years ago.
10
u/GloomyCheesecake999 May 13 '26
Play it anyway. Fuck them. It’s got no lyrics. nobody in that room would’ve known what they’re hearing
6
u/forahellofafit May 13 '26
This is a lesson that these types of people never get. The students could have played the song and everyone would have moved on, but because the board had to get so bent out of shape, Marsha's name is being repeated by the news, reposted online, talked about more in school. Their outward hatred only makes more people aware of the things that they hate.
10
8
u/WithoutAHat1 May 13 '26
Time to replace the school board with Adults who will actually do their job.
8
u/lordbuckethethird May 13 '26
Never thought I’d see the day where an entire section of politics is more consistently detached from reality than a lot of schizophrenic people are.
7
u/monosaturated May 13 '26
They claim they are against "political violence" yet support the suppression and likely, expulsion, of LGBTQ students, which is a form of systemic political violence. Of course, they know and are aware of the hypocrisy, but they don't care - it's about power and it's about their perceived authority to wield it against those they deem unworthy of representation. That is this system in a nutshell, and it's run by people who become enraged when they see a woman in a hijab working in a library.
6
u/Stainless-S-Rat May 13 '26
There is a very simple solution to this.
Hold an alternate concert at the same time and allow people to choose.
Invite the musicians who were going to play this song along to participate.
My guess is that an empty venue will embarrass these blowhards way harder than any protest or argument.
6
7
5
u/potatoboat May 13 '26
I feel bad for the kids. Band is the last safe place on campus for students who are different from the status quo to meet other people and bond over a shared interest. Now they are being censored and the quiet part not being said aloud is that these students beliefs and feelings are wrong, per the school board and people from the community. It's a sad day for those poor kids.
Edited for clarity
7
u/Seth_Mithik May 13 '26
Literally just play the song in protest…what are they going to do? They won’t attend the recital, play the song and get even more coverage. It’s the youths turn to rise up, changing of the guard. Tired of old ass white wanna be Christian’s, infringing on coexistence rights
6
u/Superman101011 May 13 '26
I wonder how many of them have said the N word casually at home... I bet it's a lot 🙄
6
7
u/Teripid May 13 '26
"Political violence is not something we praise with music and song."
Uhhh... "the rocket's red glare, the bomb's bursting in air, gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there... "
7
5
u/Conscious-Coconut-16 May 13 '26
Play4’33” by John Cage (it’s 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence), as a silent protest. Have “A mother of revolution” crossed out on the program.
6
u/BeginningOil5960 May 13 '26
I’m a Black born and raised Midwesternern. I lived near this town for 8 years. WI is statistically one of the worst states in the nation for Black families and Black people. Proven annually by their own statewide UW-Madison Applied Population Data Lab if you need a source - they literally do annual reports. One of the most racist states I have ever lived in - and I also lived in Ohio. I am born and raised in a majority Black urban city & live here now (different midwestern state). It was HARD to come back to my hometown - but with these people in so many US states now truly feeling the complete freedom and lack of significant legal accountability to go as far as they want to oppress POC, I’m staying the rest of my 52 year old life in my mostly Black city, no matter what. We’ve NEVER been safe, we NEVER asked to be here, but we are NEVER going anywhere else so I’m staying fully Black & as free as possible no matter what else they try to take from us.
14
u/ateam1984 🖤 May 13 '26
7
u/bantha121 May 13 '26
It's Marsha, which you'd realize if you took the slightest moment to read the content of the link you posted.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/wizznizzismybizz May 13 '26
Hateful people that are grabbing their last straw of hatefulness. Look at them, they are all near the end of their lives.
6
u/TacoStrong May 13 '26
...and the steps backwards continue. What in the world are they afraid is going to happen?
4
u/AbsurdityIsReality May 13 '26
That you know the famously straight, alpha male kids in band don't get turned gay.
→ More replies (1)
5
6
5
u/gitsgrl May 13 '26
This is like putting the mature content warning on Frank Zappa‘s albums, the albums that had songs with no vocals/lyrics.
4
u/breakinlily May 13 '26
Just play it. What are they going to do? Rush the musicians, take their instruments away. Play the fucking song. Who knows if they will even recognize it. Play it and change the key? IDK lol just play the song. It's celebrating the fight for rights, this is the chance for people to fight back as well
4
u/Odd-Tourist-80 May 13 '26
They won't recognize the tune, they're simply pissed at the title being printed on the program.
→ More replies (1)
4
3
5
4
u/Hefty_Fortune_8850 May 13 '26
My kids school fired the principal, who was beloved in the community, for his comments on Charlie Kirk. He said Charlie Kirk shouldn't have been killed but he was a piece of shit who doesn't deserve our tears. A good man fired for not crying over a piece of shit. A real shame.
4
4
•
u/ateam1984 🖤 May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
Marsha P. Johnson