Nick Cave might be a Bad Seed, but he’s not one to suffer douchebags.
The Aussie rock legend has used the most recent post on his website blog series The Red Hand Files to address a gross homophobic question posed by a dude from Alabama named George.
George asked Cave: “Do you ever get tired of all the pretentious fat lesbians who enjoy your music? Personally I enjoy a lot of your music, but I find most of your fans insufferable. I’m just wondering if you’re on the same page.”
Cave’s response was, unsurprisingly, thoughtful and powerful, with the singer shooting down the troll for spreading negativity while musing on the issues surrounding free speech.
“Jesus said on the cross, ‘Forgive them for they know not what they do’. George, I think Jesus may have been talking directly to you,” Cave began.
“Some weeks ago, I answered a question at one of my In Conversation events,” he continued. “I was defending people’s right to say what they wanted. I was defending people’s right to offend. In short, I was defending the idea of free speech. It seems that these days free speech has fallen out of favour.
“The concept has been polarised by some and now a free speech advocate is often seen – I feel somewhat bizarrely – to be aligned to the far-right. However, I do believe that, even though we should have the right to say what we like, there are consequences to what we say and just because we can speak freely, it does not – and should not – inoculate us against these consequences.
Cave’s response went on: “In the interests of free speech, George, I have given you a platform. However, and I am speculating here, I think that probably ninety-nine percent of the people who read your question will think that you are being, well, a bit of an asshole. I could be wrong. It could be more. Now, you may say “so what? No one knows who I am. How can this possibly hurt me?” You may say that. But you would be wrong.
“I do not believe that your anonymity protects you, any more than I believe the anonymity of the hate trolls on social media protects them. I feel that there are psychic pathways that exist between us all, and that the negativity we create eventually finds its way back to us.
“The opportunity to act in a better way is one that is continuously afforded to us – to try to make the next thing we do the best thing, rather than the worst thing, the destructive thing,” the singer continued.
“In this instance, George, it’s not too late for you. If you close your eyes and apologise to my fans, just maybe that negative attention will begin to dissipate. I think my fans are smart enough and sufficiently forgiving to understand that your words extend only to the margins of your own individual evolution.”
NOTHING. BUT. CLASS.
You can read Cave’s full post here.
Previous posts on the Red Hand Files have seen the iconic rock poet address his attitude towards women in music and share how he dealt with the grief of his late son’s passing.
Meanwhile, in other Nick Cave-related news, we can apparently expect a new Bad Seeds album pretty damn soon, while you can catch the man himself live next month when he teams up with Warren Ellis for a very special performance of their various film scores, accompanied by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
