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Screen Actors Guild Backs Protesters’ Rights
Amid criticism of celebrities with antiwar views, leaders of the Screen Actors Guild have warned against possible blacklisting of thesps.
Ohhhhhhhhhhh. The blacklist! Pretty soon...McCarthyism!
The union's national executive committee delivered the warning Monday in a statement asserting that such a threat had emerged in debate over a possible U.S. invasion of Iraq. SAG's announcement was accompanied by a statement of support from the Intl. Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. "A disturbing trend has arisen in the dialogue," SAG said. "Some have recently suggested that well-known individuals who express 'unacceptable' views should be punished by losing their right to work. This shocking development suggests that the lessons of history have, for some, fallen on deaf ears."
Let 'em work. If nobody goes to see whatever they're working in, then who will they blame?
SAG refused to ID organizations or individuals who have made such a threat but pro-war groupss, such as Citizens Against Celebrity Pundits, have generated boycott threats. "Even a hint of the blacklist must never again be tolerated in this nation," SAG said.
So if I think they suck and don't go to see them, am I boycotting or blacklisting?
Thesps who have been active on the antiwar front include Sean Penn, Mike Farrell, Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon, Edward Norton, Tyne Daly, Danny Glover, Rob Reiner, Penelope Cruz, Alec Baldwin, Janeane Garofalo, Woody Harrelson and Rosario Dawson. Farrell is a member of SAG's national board.
Hey, thanks for the handy list!
SAG asserted that showbiz had failed to protect those persecuted during the late 1940s and 1950s. "During this shameful period, our own industry prostrated itself before smear campaigns and witch hunters rather than standing on the principles articulated in the nation's fundamental documents," the guild said. "Today, having come to grips with its past, having repudiated the insult of loyalty oaths and examined its own failings, our industry, perhaps more than any other, understands the necessity of guarding and cherishing those rights for which Americans have fought and died."
Smear campaigns! Witch hunts! See my movie or be branded a facist!
Jonah Goldberg had an article just a few days ago in NR Online discussing the blacklists. He was impolite enough to point out that the guys who were "persecuted" were... ummm... commies. But what's happening to the present day's Brain Trust isn't a "blacklist." If people disagree with the stupidities that drop out of their mouths, if they're mocked and reviled, that's called discourse. If you're going to "debate," don't bitch when people disagree with you. And if you're not going to say anything indicating at least a 2-digit IQ, don't bitch when people describe you as stoopid. Oh, and if you make them not like you, don't bitch if people don't go to your movies. Going to your movies is the same thing as giving you money, and I don't give money to people I don't like.

Posted by: tu3031 2003-03-04
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=10877