@kevin I watched a clip of End It’s “Banana Man” incident yesterday evening and then replied to you. I’ve since deleted that post because I realized on my run this morning that I didn’t put enough thought into it before shooting my mouth off, so to speak. (I often think more and deeper and better about things during my runs, so you’d think I’d have learned by now to hold off on posting shit before going for a run. Apparently not. I’m a work in progress.)

My initial reaction was unjust because I gave the benefit of the doubt only to the Banana Man and not also to Akil Godsey, End It’s frontman. To the white man and not also to the black man. That’s fucked up.

I watched that clip and put myself in the shoes of the Banana Man. Just a goof enjoying a concert in a silly costume that brings him joy when he wears it. Suddenly, he’s called out and attacked for wearing the costume. Uncool! Dude wasn’t hurting anyone!

Except…

There’s a single black man in a room full of aggressive white men and one white dude wearing a banana costume. Yeah, maybe Banana Man has a history of wearing that costume to other concerts, and maybe he meant nothing by it—maybe he didn’t even know End It has a black frontman (End It was the opening act, not the headliner)—but maybe that’s not how it looked or felt to Godsey. Maybe Godsey is frequently harassed by racists in a music scene dominated by aggressive white men. Maybe he’s had white supremacist assholes call him a gorilla or throw bananas at him while he’s on stage. Maybe he’s had other white guys in banana suits pantomime gorilla shit at him while he tries to put on a show.

I’m not a pacifist. No kumbaya-let’s-all-get-along-don’t-hurt-the-nazis bullshit for me, thank you very much. So I got to thinking to myself: Would I have had a problem with the incident if Banana Man had been wearing a Confederate flag or a swastika? No, indeed I would not. Sometimes a good thrashing is called for to make a fascist slink back to his cave, never to poke his shitty head out in public again. Would I have had a problem with the incident if Banana Man could be heard shouting slurs at Godsey from the “safety” of his silly costume? Again, no.

That’s not what happened that night, but still, it got me to thinking. Thinking about what it must be like for Godsey to be a part of the hardcore scene. Thinking about what it means for hardcore fans and venues to actually be inclusive, rather than just performing inclusivity with slogans and written policies.

Could Godsey have asked Banana Man why he was wearing the costume rather than assuming it was for racist reasons? Sure. But Banana Man could also have taken the time and care to look up the bands he was going to see that night, and he could have made the choice not to wear his beloved banana costume to a show that featured a black man. In solidarity with that black man.

“I see you. I can imagine how difficult it must be to be in your skin in this scene. I’m going to change my usual way of showing up to be certain I’m making a safe space for you to be a part of this community.”

Between the two men, I believe the responsibility of care rested more heavily on Banana Man that night. He’s a white man in a white supremacist society—Canada is racist AF too, fam—so it’s on him to prove that not all white people are racist asswipes.

But maybe Banana Man can be forgiven for having not looked up the opening act before dressing up in his usual banana costume. Hell, sometimes it’s impossible to find any information about an opening act.

The venue, on the other hand, should not be let off so easily. If the venue truly wants to be seen as an inclusive space, it needs to work to be inclusive. That means, on a night when a black person is putting on a show, they tell Banana Man he has to take off the costume or he won’t be allowed in. You say your venue is a safe space. Walk the talk.

Anyway, sorry about the essay 😅

I fucked up, and I felt obligated to speak up about it. That’s not on you.

Thanks for the recommendations 🙏

#Music #LiveMusic #Punk #HardcorePunk #Antiracist #Antifascist