I am irritated about all the falderal surrounding Macklemore’s Free Palestine comments.

Macklemore has every right to say what he said.

Ed Sheeran, or whoever it is that made the decision, has every right to remove him from the tour for saying what he said. Free speech has consequences. You have every right to say it but then I have every right not to listen. I do not have to provide you with a platform for your free speech.

Macklemore can continue to say Free Palestine in the numerous places willing to give him a platform. Given the controversy stirred up as a result of his actions, he seems to be doing fine with these new options for free speech. So how has Macklemore’s free speech been hindered by his removal from the tour?

He can’t say it in front of Ed Sheeran fans. Well, and I am just guessing here, a good many of them don’t want to hear controversial political statements at a concert. They just want to enjoy some music.

But they really need to hear what Macklemore is saying. Maybe. Maybe not. If, as an audience member I wanted to hear about Palestine, I would have gone to a Free Palestine protest instead of an Ed Sheeran concert so Macklemore is forcing his opinions on an audience who didn’t want to hear a Free Palestine speech. If the concert was advertised as a an Ed Sheeran and Macklemore concert with a little pro-Palestinian speech then I would feel a bit more uncomfortable about the removal of Macklemore from the tour. It wasn’t.

The free speech being practiced here is a one way street. Macklemore is speaking and his captive audience are listening. In this way, concerts are a terrible place to engage in political speech. It is all monologue and no dialogue.

Macklemore rolled the dice and he lost but spare me the tears and the beating of the breast.