fairytale new york homophobia disguised christmas cheer

[Ontheboardwalk]

This is my Christmas song, Christmas starts when I hear this song. Kirsty MacColl sounds fabulous.

It’s all over the newspapers again about the outrage.

Shane MacGowan has explained a million times what the word faggot means in his life and this song. There’s no harm in the song

AIBU that outrage at this word finishes and everyone should all sing along together to a great tune

Awwww @MyBlueMoonbeam , it makes me emotional too but for different reasons.
The story of the Irish immigrants going to America.
That was myself and Dsis as toddlers , going from a drunken , junkie birth mom and then a convent in Belfast and being adopted by our American family.
Granted we then had a better life but on different air bases.
It wasn't the fairytale people would imagine.
Adopted mom left DF and life was tough .
The streets of America most definitely aren't the fairytale a lot of immigrants thought.

You can’t pull the culture card

I bet you use the ‘race card’ expression too, don’t you?

@Pumperthepumper - Fuck Off!

If you actually think that Gary Glitter lyrics and story telling are in the same league as Kirsty MacColl and the Pogues you are tone deaf and lost to art. Honestly, can you read or hear? Have you ever read fiction or understood a story? I'm the leader, I'm the leader. I'm the leader of the gang I am... Blimey.

Go back to your Celine Dion!

Honestly, Kirsty was the most god damn strong and poetic woman ever. She'd laugh loudly at the idiocy of your objections. She had soul and spirit and knew the real language of life. She sang from the heart Artists do.

Bland people like bland words and don't get the truth of art. Read these MN pages and pages and understand that relationships aren't all serviettes and tea and biscuits, and please may we have bedroom time. They're cruel and rude and cut with painful attachment when its no longer good for you. Thats what this song tells you. Not Jingle Bells...

I’m waiting for Adam Ant, George Michael, etc to be called transphobic, because they wore makeup in the eighties, while acknowledging that they were men. 🤷‍♀️ Quick! Stop playing their music!

What about calling someone, a sod or, a bugger?

I shall continue saying, faggot to mean a brat and if someone comes along who wants to be offended, well fill your boots and enjoy it!

Kirsty was wonderful. I love the song.
There’s a 2019 Birmingham version on UTube too.

English people censoring what Irish people are permitted to say. Now what does that remind me off?

Agreed. It's funny how when something is Irish people see it as OK to insist that their use of the word is wrong and they must conform to the English understanding of a word. Yet if an Irish person objects to eg the term 'having a paddy' we're told we don't understand the context, it's not what we think etc.

Hmmmm. My perspective is that faggot was a general rather than homophobic abusive term amongst the Brit/Irish communities.
It's more of a US term to describe someone who is gay and as it's an Irish song, shouldn't be taken out of context.

No it isn’t. It’s widely used as a derogatory term towards gay people here too. My son has been called it several times at school and there have been quite serious consequences.Kids follow all sorts of US media on their phones and language used by teens is pretty international. Racist and homophobic language is banned in schools and dealt with quite severely. The term faggot wouldn’t be tolerated in any context.

Hate this song it’s so Mosh mashed and sounds like someone drunk on the street.

Well yes, that's rather the point of the song. Good they've managed to convey that effectively

Personally I don't think history should be edited to suit modern standards however blanking out words on radio edits is fine. I did think it ironic when I heard in on my local station yesterday though that faggot had been blanked but 'slut on junk' was fine to air

www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/12/16/fairytale-of-new-york-shane-macgowan-lyric-offensive-the-pogues/

So McGowan only lived in Ireland until 6( not that that is an excuse) and called The Pet Shop boys faggots with synths, nice.

Any adult proclaiming their Irish right to use the term really need to think of the example they are setting their dc who will be dealt with quite severely in school if they do the same.

It is offensive to many and as such needs to be blanked out.

This was your previous point @Bouledeneige

Who can't understand the separation between ideas and personal views.

If this is true, why don’t we still play 70s pop rock paedophile Gary Glitter on the radio?

It’s because the separation between personal views and ideas is pretty irrelevant when people get hurt.

Shane MacGowan has explained why the lyrics were written, he knows that people are offended and that he has no problem with them being changed. Not sure what else he's supposed to do 30 years later.

I agree that slut is just as bad but doesn't get the same furore. Funny that.

Faggot does mean different things in different countries. The N-word doesn’t. It is abusive and disgusting all over. So can we stop making this comparison now?

Here's a cover with the offensive bits changed by Peat and Diesel

Time and context are everything. If people are so shallow they cannot understand how sensibilities change, they should restrict themselves to music written in the last 2 years and keep rolling it forwards.

It is the same with ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’, clearly two people who are really into each other having a good old fashioned flirt.....

@Freesunglasses did you read that article before you shared it? It is making the opposite point you think it is. Here’s a quote:

It was kept off the Christmas No. 1 spot by The Pet Shop Boys Always On My Mind (“faggots with synths,” says Shane with a snigger).

Faggot is used here as a homophobic term and as such is offensive for many to hear.Hearing it played openly in the public arena also encourages its use and make the use of the word mainstream. My ds doesn’t need an explanation every time he hears it, he just doesn’t need to hear it. Interestingly the last charmer who called him a faggot proclaimed he didn’t mean it in a homophobic way( yeah right), he was still dealt with severely and had an exclusion.

If McGowan doesn’t mind it blanked out I don’t get the problem with it being blanked out. That said it really isn’t his choice to make anyway.

And all the heart and soul removed Calyx72. Utter shit

Where are you? Sl1pknOt?

In the UK

I don't like this song at all, but it's got nothing to do with the use of the word faggot. I switch it off if I hear it on the tv or radio - overrated and overplayed.

@Pumperthepumper I realised after

It was on Facebook and so many gay people were saying what I'm saying which doesn't show.