Posted by chris on Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 12:45 PM (EDT)
Ben Weasel, the iconic frontman of Screeching Weasel, was in an altercation last night during his band's performance at this year's South By Southwest festival in Austin, TX. The L.A. Times account of the incident is as follows:
It's a "a carnival of schadenfreude" Weasel said of SXSW, and repeatedly said he regretted coming. Yet the contentious atmosphere turned more aggressive by show's end, with Weasel ultimately jumping into the crowd, allegedly to confront a woman who had hit him in the face with ice.
Another woman, who security staff said was one of the venue's owners, ran on stage to break up the fight. Weasel was soon dragged off the stage by security. He left the venue before he could be tracked down by reporters, and has not yet returned a call requesting comment.
You can check out video of the incident below by clicking Read More.
the 16 year old sitting on his skateboard, listening to SW, waiting for his dad to pick him up from his job at whataburger inside of me died at :08; Ben donkey punches women
Until he threw a punch, I'm sure the club security would've been on his side and thrown out the rowdy/obnoxious girl. That's why you have a mic Ben, so you can call security...and also to use words against shitty concert goers rather than your fists.
I'll add, as a commentor, not on behalf of Punknews, that Ben was saying some very crude things to the girl, and that's why she started throwing ice. So it's not like she was just an obnoxious attendee - based on first-hand accounts I've heard.
I've heard the same from people that were there. I am in no way defending the girl for spitting on him (as this is not an adult way to deal with an idiot such as Weasel), but he went way too far. It should have stopped at the ice throwing and he should have dealt with it like a decent adult. She probably would have been escorted out despite what he was saying (which I am also not defending)
Seriously, he needs to get out of punk and just go away.
Did that horrifically misogynistic speech about getting his dick sucked and calling her a whore come before or after she threw the ice?
Either way, that was horrendous. It would have been bad enough without him then punching her and the venue's owner, but coupled with everything, it's making me so incredibly angry. Ben Weasel really is a turd.
Blah blah blah, he hit a woman. If Ben had punched a man then nobody would be saying a damn thing about it.
By supporting the "never hit a woman even if she's being a cantankerous bitch" argument all you're doing is perpetuating the "women are too fragile and must be handled with kid gloves for their own good" mindset. Did he overreact? Perhaps. Is it more newsworthy just because she was a woman? Fuck no.
And before you sand-filled throbbing pussies start bandying about the charge of misogyny for what I've said, let me state that I don't think women "deserve" to be hit, I just don't see a difference between hitting a man and hitting a woman.
i only hit my bitches when they fuckin' with my money or my children... but when they run a muck, bitches be running wild, i don't raise my hand in so sort of violence
Guy or girl, violence towards anyone in a situation where it's not self defense is bullshit. He shouldn't have put his hands on anyone in the crowd and quite honestly the little respect that I had for Ben Weasel is gone.
Regardless, I will continue to listen to the Screeching Weasel records I have.
Tom gable slammed a dude's head into a table because he got called a sellout, and i still love against me every bit as much today as i did years ago: some of my favorite sports teams have people on them accused of assault, hell, maybe even sexual assault and i'll still tune in to watch a game. It would just seem way to hypocritical of me to single screech weasel out, despite the fact that ben is a complete and utter fuckhead.
Oh man, you're totally right. I hereby resolve to change my miserable ways. Truly, I am a changed man. Here, have my Punk Membership card. Do with it what you will.
I don't like this kind of talk. We're all hating *each other*, why can't we go back to hating *reasonable* things, like crab grass or skinned knees? :(
I understand where you are coming from. There are a lot of shitty kids at SXSW and you still like the music Ben Weasel makes, however people feel the same way about michael jackson, who was a pedophile
Wow I can't believe he actually threw punches at the club promoter trying to break it up. I'm sorry but if Ben Weasel thinks he's tough by punching two woman, I think he needs to stop listening to Chris Brown.
When he turns around, she hits him with her right hand... watching it again, I can't tell if it was a slap or a punch... either way, she wasn't trying to break up anything.
I really don't see that. I'm not taking sides here and, while I haven't given the video a thorough JFK "back and to the left" examination, what I'm seeing is that she runs into Ben, practically pushing him (you can see him lurch forward a bit), grabs his left shoulder with her left hand and then quickly grabs the same shoulder with her right hand. Her right hand never makes contact with his face...she didn't take a swing at him. However, she may have intentionally pushed him, and that's what Ben is reacting to.
What was she thinking might happen to her if she got involved in the fight, by trying to "break it up"?
Have any of you ever been in a fight?!?!
If you're in a fight and someone grabs you from behind, what is your first reaction?
"He is a practicing Roman Catholic,[4] which explains why he enjoys punching women in the face. Especially multiple women within seconds of each other. He is also really annoyed by flying ice cubes that come into contact with him. Several important people agree that if a water bottle was thrown at Weasel, he would have simply mimicked the friendly reaction of Justin Bieber's bottle incident, unless a woman threw the bottle."
"After the incident, Weasel received a phone call from Against Me! frontman Tom Gabel and the two agreed to do a split seven inch to be released on Epitaph Records. Mututal friend Charlie Sheen is said to be producing."
"After the incident, Weasel received a phone call from Against Me! frontman Tom Gabel and the two agreed to do a split seven inch to be released on Epitaph Records. Mututal friend Charlie Sheen is said to be producing."
Wikipedia vandalism is the equivalent of punching no less than seven but no more than nine little girls in the face, only doubly as pathetically desperate and quadruply as depressing.
So he talks shit about everyone all day long, but the second someone does the same to him, he goes on a misogynistic rant and cold clocks someone half his size. Way to go, Ben. Your skin's as thin as rice paper. What a whiny ass titty baby.
Received this this morning.. So pretty sure it is a no go
annoucement:
screeching weasel show has been cancelled. Refunds are being processed. If you have bought your ticket within the last 30 days the refund will be issued on the credit card you used. If you bought your ticket more than 30 days ago you will recieve a refund check in the mail to the (ship to) address you provided.
I'm not a misogynist, but unless there's a visibly unfair advantage on the male's side (which there seemed to be in this case), there are varying levels of acceptibility when it comes to engaging in fisticuffs with a member of the opposite sex, at least according to my female friends (provided, all of whom are very butch lesbians). Fighting is stupid either way, but I've always found the bizarre double-standards people hold when it comes to sex absolutely ridiculous, especially in the seemingly progressive 21st century.
To clarify, I'm not defending Ben: he WAY overreacted in punching the first woman and he had absolutely no right to try to hit the intervening woman, but both parties are to be held accountable for equal acts of assholism. The girl was wrong as to continuously provoke a visibily irritated man and Ben was wrong as to fly straight into violence instead of just walking away.
I'm with you on that one. The flurry of anti Ben Weasel stupidity this is getting just goes to show the sort of double standard one can expect to find when discussing gender issues in this country.
I'm curious to know how much support Ben would be getting if he was instead Teresa Weasel and had thrown a punch at a male audience member that had provoked him. I'm sure the cries of "you go girl" would be deafening.
You're a stupid fuck. A fourteen year old girl getting murdered in a truck stop parking lot and nobody giving a shit shows the kind of fucking double standard that exists regarding gender in this country. You're a stupid, stupid fuck.
Dammit, why did I comment on this stupid fuck's stupid bullshit? I should just delete my damn account to this site so I won't be tempted to respond to nonsense like this.
Copied and pasted from above - "If you bait people for hours and get a negative response then respond in turn with over reactive violence, you're a huge asshole regardless."
Copied and pasted from above: "I'm not saying he's not an asshole. I'm saying that I don't give two squirts of p*** who he's hitting, regardless of their chromosomal makeup."
There is no difference. By saying it's somehow less acceptable to hit a woman than a man you're saying that one gender is inherently better and more deserving than the other.
The idea that hitting a woman is bad really comes from the idea women are, generally, physically weaker than men. Personally, I see no reason why hitting a woman twice your size is worse than hitting another dude, but I do see something wrong in going after someone smaller than you, guy or girl.
Absolutely. I was mostly picking a flaw in the "she's a woman so it's ten times worse" vs. "there's nothing wrong with hitting a woman" debate. My point is that gender has nothing to do with it and I don't see how a man hitting a woman is any worse than hitting a man smaller than yourself. No-one would be as outraged if say, Serena Williams smacked someone like myself.
Also, hitting someone in genuine self defence if there's no other option isn't wrong, but now I'm just being petty.
I'm with you in theory, but this is one of those places where the physical (and psychological) differences between men and women really change things. In general, men are bigger and stronger than women. In general, men are much more prone to violence and therefore tend to have more experience fighting. Therefore, a man versus a woman is, in general, not going to be a fair fight. So even though it could be seen as sexism, I'm of the opinion that men hitting women = bad for purely practical purposes. Of course, that doesn't apply to legitimate self-defense.
"In general" being the key phrase. Depending on the sizes and advantages of those involved, there are varying levels of acceptability when it comes to a cross-sex fistfight. Ask any able-bodied woman, they'll gladly engage in fisticuffs with an equally-matched male should the situation call for it and should they desire it.
I say this only because I've been surrounded by emotionally and physically strong women (and lightweight and femmy men like myself) most of my life and know several chicks who have kicked a guy's ass. Thus, I'm incredibly biased on such matters. However, in Ben's situation, it's clearly and unfairly one-sided.
Yes of course there are a lot of big, strong women out there, and I know plenty who can hold their own in a fight with anyone. But "in general" is indeed the operative term. Grab a random sample of men and women, pit them against each other along gender lines and the men will win the vast majority of the bouts. Not sexism, it's just nature, and a practical reason to have hard-and-fast rules about men not beating up women.
i would like to think that, but i don't know... in the first video, when he's actually asking another girl to punch this girl and he'll give her 20 bucks for it, and then whipping his dick out, you can hear a guy shout "give it to her." of course the whole crowd isn't on his side, but the people clapping, laughing, whistling, for her "link his taint". that was before he even punched her and the other woman.
The Queers did try to warn us all "He rants and raves, he screams and shouts/He always flips his lid/But deep down inside he loves you kids/I know that you think he's just a goon/But he makes little Vapid clean his room/He don't like Nirvana/I know he don't like Prong/And I bet you five bucks that he don't like this song/Ben Weasel, he's an asshole/Ben Weasel, he's a jerk/Ben Weasel, you just hate him cause he dosen't work
And Kurt Cobain was a million more times original and punk rock than Ben Weasel could ever dream to be. Kurt was a strong advocate for women, Nirvana played many benefit gigs in support of women who were abused.
You're clueless and heartless is who you are. You're clearly misinformed or dow right ignorant when it comes to the disease that is depression. You lack any kind of empathy, in the way you talk about suicide. While there is no question suicide creates devastation and destroys the family living. The person that dies by suicide road was already as dark, and so much so they opted death to living. There goal isn't to hurt those left behind, but to stop the pain they live with every single waking moment. I don't condone it, but knowing people personally that have died by suicide, I accept it, and take strength from other living families such as plants and animals that push on when faced with devastation.
Secondly, saying Nirvana was average at best simply shows an agenda of ignorance and disdain you have for Nirvana. There music was good, and at times thrilling. It's why peers of Nirvana also enjoyed the band such as Blake from Jawbreaker, or the band that Weasel copied 10x over the Ramones. Or Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth. But yeah we get it, to you Nirvana sucks man!!
And what made Nirvana punk rock ? What makes any band punk rock, we all have our own ways to define punk rock. Look up some quotes by some of the key players from 77 and you might shocked at what their definition of punk rock was. So I'm not going to expound what makes a band punk rock maybe you're to young to have understood or seen a band like Nirvana before it became a huge success. Myself being a 35 year old born in the city of Oakland, had the opportunity to see many bands and artists growing up, and still do this day. And I can certainly say that when I saw Nirvana play in the late 80s, along with bands like DOA, Green Day, The Exploited, Operation Ivy, they were just as punk and exciting as anything going. But yeah maybe you know something me and Joey Shithead are clueless about.
You're clueless and heartless is who you are. You're clearly misinformed or dow right ignorant when it comes to the disease that is depression. You lack any kind of empathy, in the way you talk about suicide. While there is no question suicide creates devastation and destroys the family living. The person that dies by suicide road was already as dark, and so much so they opted death to living. There goal isn't to hurt those left behind, but to stop the pain they live with every single waking moment. I don't condone it, but knowing people personally that have died by suicide, I accept it, and take strength from other living families such as plants and animals that push on when faced with devastation.
Secondly, saying Nirvana was average at best simply shows an agenda of ignorance and disdain you have for Nirvana. There music was good, and at times thrilling. It's why peers of Nirvana also enjoyed the band such as Blake from Jawbreaker, or the band that Weasel copied 10x over the Ramones. Or Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth. But yeah we get it, to you Nirvana sucks man!!
And what made Nirvana punk rock ? What makes any band punk rock, we all have our own ways to define punk rock. Look up some quotes by some of the key players from 77 and you might shocked at what their definition of punk rock was. So I'm not going to expound what makes a band punk rock maybe you're to young to have understood or seen a band like Nirvana before it became a huge success. Myself being a 35 year old born in the city of Oakland, had the opportunity to see many bands and artists growing up, and still do this day. And I can certainly say that when I saw Nirvana play in the late 80s, along with bands like DOA, Green Day, The Exploited, Operation Ivy, they were just as punk and exciting as anything going. But yeah maybe you know something me and Joey Shithead are clueless about
No Kurt Cobain was an over-rated douche bag (as person said below) and the music was not even mediocre it was crap. Just plain crap, and I am still shocked people respect a guy who killed himself leaving a child in the hands of that crack-whore Courtney Love makes him an even bigger douche bag. Not saying Ben Weasles the most talented guy, I am not even saying he's a little talented, but when I hear people say that Nirvana and Kurt Cobain was punk rock I sit back and laugh and go how? What justifies them as punk rock?
What justifies anyone as "punk rock"? It's just a marketing term. Kurt was a talented songwriter, but I agree that his deification by misguided fans is way overblown. I get sick of hearing Nirvana being spoken of in such revered tones as if Jesus himself fronted the band, but I have to admit I can plainly see the quality of his music, regardless of my own tastes (although 'Bleach' is a f***ing awesome album), and even more so the influence of said music, be it for better or for worse.
At least we can agree on one thing: it's better than Pearl Jam, that's for d*** sure.
It's not nice to punch women, or anyone for that matter, but I love when people who throw shit at bands get whats coming to them. Its not nice to throw shit at bands either.
I feel that, but Screeching Weasel isnt new and Ben Weasel is well known for his antics. It seems if you're not into that kind of thing you could go see some other band. It was SXSW there were only about 1000 other shows going on.
How common of knowledge is it? I mean, we all know it because we've been on Punknews and whatever for the past couple years, but is it possible that his attitude wasn't as known way back in the 80s/90s and people could have been watching them based on their memories from then?
I'm not trying to sound like a turd either, I honestly just don't know when a lot of these behaviors of his started coming in to the light.
totally agree! its awful to punch a girl, but i fucking hate when people throw shit on stage... this is super disrespectful! Especially when the band is just playing a show!
By that logic, didn't Weasel "get what was coming to him" after insulting, taunting, and baiting the crowd all night? (Not to mention half-assing his way through a performance, and bitching constantly about a music festival that he didn't HAVE to participate in in the first place.)
Hard to say who started it, but there's supposed to be a little give and take between the audience and the band, and either side can be responsible for violating that. Once the band and the crowd get adversarial, this stuff is bound to happen.
the only thing i dont really understand, why the hell did he play the show if he hates all that music business? his twitter says: "Gearing up to play the most depressing show of my life in the most joyless, soulless, shameful excuse of a music event in modern history." Like he didnt know before what SXSW is...
Ben, please leave the onstage ranting to Ian Mackaye. He is much more intelligent, witty, relevant and articulate than you. And definitely way more fun to listen to.
Idiots for not agreeing with you? Of course, how did I miss that massive smear of arrogance across your online presence! If idiocy is disapproving of Ben Weasel's douchebaggery, then glue a dunce cap on my head, dickrash.
It might be okay because the majority of people reprehends what he did, regardless of the victim's gender (although the fact that it was a girl augments increases the number of people frowning upon this). It's not censorship and removing the ad wouldn't keep him from making a living off his public figure. Idiotic actions make earning a living more difficult to everyone. It just might be the case that Punknews or Fat Wreck or other advertisers don't like their names/products linked to the guy's band since this happened. I wouldn't say it's mandatory but it might happen.
welp, i'll say what i've always said. fuck ben foster. i've always hated him and screeching weasel. get off the stage, back to wisconsin, go talk about sports and about how shitty brendan kelly and his band are, go to church on sunday and stay out of this community.
Well artists don't get paid to put up ads on websites, they only get paid if you pay for their records, shows or merch. Anyway this story is probably a better ad for the record than the actual ad itself. And it is a pretty good record.
But he's right about how shitty brendan kelly and his band are. Also, if you're brendan kelly's wife and you're reading this; get a medical check up. I'm serious.
and screech weasel is soooooooo much better. i'm listening to a jawbreaker rip off band all day before a ramones rip off band.
i can't take your argument seriously with your favorite albums consisting of dream homes, civilwar, keep your heart and from the bottom. all good albums, but honestly how much better are they than greastest story, cocktails or calcutta?
wasn't as much of an insult as it was a request. and, it's not an attempt to sling mud or anything, it's fact. look it up. ben talks a bunch a shit about beex. check out little big man for a recent example.
mike is a rabble rouser, that's why he said that. but i'm assuming you're trying to troll me. good try.
Guys hitting girls...
Ben Weasel is a real tough guy.
I just ended a 5 year boycott of one band, just to start another.
No big loss..Their new record is not very good.
The West pretty much hates women to be honest. Some of the greatest heroes of the USSR were women and many of them won renown in the Great Patriotic War. Probably the culmination of all of human history (or pre-history since we haven't really begun yet).
Every time I feel a little blue, I stop and think about how fast we're getting there if you look at big picture. Shit, it took the booge a millenium before they could muster 70 years and even then it was touch-and-go. What was their high point in between -- trying to recreate the Holy Roman Empire?
We're gonna win, we're gonna win big, and never look back
i would of cracked her too. dont hate on ben cuz some dumb bitch had a little too much to drink and acted like a cunt. women want equal rights then you gotta take a punch if you fuck up, just like a man.
In this situation, though, Ben seriously outmatched the woman in size to the point of being a practically one-sided fight. Even were she a he, it's a scummy thing to pick on someone smaller than you and even if she were a he, it's still a scummy thing to assault them instead of walking away the bigger man.
Both sides are guilty of extreme assholism. The girl had awful judgment in provoking a larger, easily irritable man and Ben had poor judgment in resorting to senseless violence. Neither is better than the other.
Spitting at someone, in the eyes of the law, is assault.
As far as I'm concerned, taking a swing at someone who assaults you, is a perfectly reasonable course of action.
Furthermore, this probably wasn't the first time this girl has acted like an idiot.
In fact, I'm willing to bet that pretty much everyone who has ever come into contact with this girl probably think that Ben Weasel handled this just swell.
Yes, spitting is assault. That doesn't mean the recipient has to counter with additional assault. He chose to loosen his moral restraints and clock her in the face, despite the presence of venue security. That, to me, is senseless.
The comments about his misogyny is in reaction to his words, not his actions. Watch the first video and listen to what he says and then tell me he's not being a sexist douche.
You are literally the biggest douche commenting on this story. I think it's time you hung up your 'provocative commenter/pain in the ass' hat and put on your 'going to quietly drown myself' hat.
I am literally the only person making a damn bit of sense commenting on this story.
I think it's time you hung up your "can't argue the point, so I'll call the person a bunch of mean and nasty names and hope they stop posting because I lack the intellect and maturity to have a civil discussion like a grown-up" hat and put on your "beanie with a propeller" hat, because you behave like a clown... might as well dress the part.
Also, I'm only replying in kind. If you wanna hide behind the half truth of implying insults ('rain on the idiot parade', 'you must be called a dumb cunt pretty often') then fine. Stay up on your high horse. Just keep in mind the comments you've posted today. Remember that when someone calls you a nasty name.
I had said nothing about the accusations of Ben Weasel being misogynistic. I was referring to within this thread. People who are outraged against what Ben said and did are being labelled as misogynistic. People who are not outraged against what Ben said and did are also being labelled as misogynistic.
My point was that apparently there is no "correct" way to feel about this without being labelled as such, hence this community is fucked.
I don't see how hitting a WOMAN with a punch is "bloody hilarious". Then again, your comment just encapsulates the anti-female agenda that runs rampant on this site.
So you thought they might be a joke account, looked at their older posts (which were even more blatantly fake/sarcastic/satiric), then decided to reply to them as if they were legit? Makes sense.
Really, I shouldn't complain. Nothing's funnier then when people engage in internet name-calling with obvious trolls. Best joke account since blinkrules.
Someone hit him in the face with ice, right? Then someone deserved one right in the kisser.
As for the female promoter getting hit, not that any of you twatty nerds have ever been involved in a fight, but in the heat of the moment, when someone grabs you from behind, you don't really have a whole lot of time to turn around and access the situation...typically, all you're really thinking is: hit or be hit.
if someone hits you in the face with ice, a punch in the face is not the best retaliation. why not just throw ice back at that person if you're going to take a non-pacifist route anyway?
he hits her once on gut instinct...fine... and then hits her a 2nd time when she's clearly defenseless and got her back to him. if the security guy doesn't stop him, i'm guessing he gets a couple more shots in. fuck that pathetic idiot and fuck you too.
Oh, we're role playing now? Kinda nerdy, but ok, here goes:
I'd duck your punch and slug you right in your fat tummy. After you fell to the ground, I'd drop trou, squat over your head, force your mouth open and squirt a wet fart right passed your chapped lips, braces and cracked tongue, right to the very back of your throat. Then, I'd stand above you, with one foot firmly planted on your concave chest and raise my arms in victory.
That was fun. Now tell us about how you'd tearfully vomit while pressing charges against me.
First time Australia has been bowled out in the CWC since 1992. First time they've lost a CWC tie since May 1999. All rather amazing, really. Hats off to Umar Akmal and the boys.
I love how the media is going to try and demonize Ben for punching a "chick" and they will neglect to mention the fact that the chick assaulted him first. Yes, spitting on someone and throwing ice cubes at them is assault. I'm sure a good lawyer could defend Ben on the grounds of self-defense, especially against the second girl who jumped in and initiated contact with Ben first.
Meaning: the second girl which jumped in (to the fight) initiating contact with Ben as he had not made any contact with her before hand. A 6 year old could understand this concept, yet you have difficulty?
There's no way that defense would succeed. Unless you're living someplace goofy like Florida or Texas where you're allowed to kill someone for looking at you funny, using disproportionate force in self-defense can still carry criminal penalties.
Perhaps not against the first chick, but certainly the second one who jumped in. Ben could easily file a return suit against the first chick for the spit and cube throwing. If the moment is heated it can be declared an assault, no different then if you pick up a rock, throw it, and hit someone with it. It can also be classified in todays day and age in the US as a hate crime in some situations.
Also if you have a disease that could be transmitted that way it can be declared assault with a deadly weapon. The criminal code would be at the judges discretion.
Eh, I still think a judge looking at all the evidence would conclude Ben was way out of line, not to mention the huge taboo of hitting a woman which our "impartial" justice system still holds sacrosanct. And consider the other circumstances; Ben initiated the direct confrontation that started it, he's older and bigger, there was security nearby, he was obviously in no danger, all that stuff.
He might be able to scrape together something and it might work, but he should probably hope this all just goes away.
He definitely fucked things up by throwing the punch, but I just think there's enough violent action on her part for him to file a return claim. If the girl is found to have HIV or AIDs it would actually be worse for because that would mean she assaulted him with a "deadly weapon" whereas he was only using fists.
then again, if she was sucking on that ice cube and she was bleeding and a drop of blood in the thrown ice cube was acidentally swallowed by ben weasel...well then we've got a case now! :I
I think he's talking about the fight. If someone's teeth get punched in, there's going to be plenty of blood flowing both from the victim and the attacker (shredded knuckles). If the either have HIV, Hep or something else blood-borne, there's a real risk of cross-infection.
You know what, I didn't even consider the fact this WAS in Texas. Which I'm pretty sure means Ben could have massacred the whole audience with a machine gun out of "self defense" and then be considered a hero vigilante for it.
No. I'm guessing it's some post-Marxist or anarchist scholar who is/was fervently anti-Stalin.
In which case, I don't care. Because I don't need anybody to tell me that Stalin created and sustained one of the most cruel, inept and oppressive regimes the world has yet seen. It's all plainly there in the historical record for everyone to see.
I feel like you should have a crappy show on MSNBC and be pumping up "the Base" -- which would people like my Dad. Then he'll fart and turn on Two and a Half Men repeats. Its all part of my "ordered universe" theory.
I love it how anyone who isn't constantly spewing poorly-paraphrased Marxist cliches is automatically a "liberal." As a Stalin apologist, I do believe you're the right-winger here.
Aren't you like a Frankfurter or something? Even the name screams "I have no self-respect, give me a wedgie (atomic variety)".
fwiw on the other, I have friends who are Stalinists of a sort, but I toe the line all the way to the end (heck, I have friends who admit to reluctantly sticking by Gorbachev until it became very, very obvious what he was about).
As for "liberals", I can't even see how you're in the closet about it, unless what you call a closet is a 2000 sq ft studio apartment. To use a term I despise, I've yet to encounter a liberal "meme" that you don't passively (aggressively) regurgitate
Can only assume those "liberal memes" you're referring to are simple, obvious truths that you're too myopic and batshit to recognise and integrate into your obsolete worldview. You're like a poseur-Marxist Glen Beck, desperately grasping at any feeble "evidence" for your Weltanschauung; dismissing without thought or investigation anything which remotely appears to contradict your inconsistent mess of jumbled 19th-century theory and distorted historical fact; intentionally divorced from reality so as to avoid being confronted by any contradiction of what Must Be So, thus providing self-fulfilling evidence that it's You against Everybody Else. Your disjointed vitriol betrays a paralyzing fear of being fundamentally wrong about everything, yet also an understanding that, of course, you are.
When did this become about me? Well, its not. The only point I wanted to make was that you are acting offended by the liberal tag, but you're simultaneously parroting every single talking point -- because I'm sure you can mass murder a crowd in Texas and get off on self defense.
How you choose to take the label is beside the point: you're a liberal and not even an unconventional one in any sense I can think of. Honestly, I could care either way, but c'mon, you're living in denial man.
Most Marxists never read Marx so I'm not gonna be the one forcing him down your throat. Still, you either do the work or you chant the Philistine line word for word.
The departure starts with a simple rejection, the recognition that what you know does not adhere to reality, forcing you to question what you THINK you know. And from there you move to examine what it actually is that you *think*. Its very much addition by subtraction and very much building from the ground up. But the thing is, the "simple" rejection is simple only in that complacency and going along to get along is not possible. Desperation sets in, and thats when you start asking questions and looking for answers in a serious way. Thats when you learn how to fight.
Needless to say, you're not desperate. But thats no kinda comment on the process.
Oh, and the Texas thing: It's called a joke. But unfortunately it's not all that far from the truth. Research "Stand Your Ground" laws. Insert foot in mouth.
For the record, though, I am actually fervently anti-"gun control." I think any sapient adult should be able to own any weapon that isn't a "WMD," if for no other reason than they have legitimate recreational purposes (shooting at targets is pretty fun). So that means I think private citizens SHOULD be allowed to own, and operate, machine guns, and rocket launchers, and armed aircraft and vehicles, you name it.
I play devil's advocate a lot on this forum; it's fairly obvious when I am. You seriously need to work on your reading comprehension. I've said it before, and you either didn't heed it or didn't notice -- it's apparent you don't read things through and think about them, you just reflexively react after skimming. How can I respond to shit like that Texas comment or your gross misinterpretation of the drone thing on yesterday's thread if you plain just don't understand. Seriously dude, if you want to talk about this stuff: Reading comprehension. Please. It's all futile otherwise. Though maybe you really do just like talking at yourself.
I hate to throw in my cents because I'm clearly out of my league, but I just took the FL/TX comment as a flippant little aside. It's too obvious to take that seriously. And quite frankly I think victim's response was more or less the same thing, he just dug it in a little deeper than was probably necessary. And now it seems like the whole new_wave thing where you're kindof arguing past each other. I thought you was buddies :(
What? Both spitting and hitting are means of assault and neither are acceptable. Just because one initiated it first doesn't give a justification for another to retaliate in the same way, not on moral grounds and not on legal grounds.
I wasn't replying to you, Skibz... I was more or less poking fun at everyone who's morally outraged at Ben's behavior, but have NO problem whatsoever with the girl who likes to spit at people.
The spittingin someones face isnt ok either, But taking it to the next level of physical violence outweighs the spitting, well for me at least. As far as fighting between men and men or women and women goes, Im not really into that either... unless it is well deserved. And Sometimes it is, but not in this case i believe. Also, fighting between the same sex is more socially acceptable, look at the sport of boxing or mma. Sure, the people fighting generally dont have a grudge against each other and are only fighting for sport, but it is still fighting. I usually dont care to post my opinions on forums, but I guess i am just in the writing mood today! lol
Just really quickly I gotta say, that obviously Ben Weasel is a total asshole, and I realize and totally respect the HUGE difference between threatening words and actual violence. He fucked up. He sucks as a person and he is a poor representation of pop punk. I'm embarrassed that he is one of the more popular figures in what I consider my favorite kind of music. What i want the punknews commenters to realize is that the disgusting shit he was saying on stage is not any worse than the shit SOME (I know not all, or even a majority) of you guys typed out here when Lauren from The Measure SA expressed her concerns and feelings on what it's like to be a woman in the scene. It wasn't funny spewed into a microphone, and it's not funny on here. Yes I realize you didn't punch anyone. Good for you. I'm talking about the shit before the thrown fist. Lesson: Don't be lame like Ben Weasel. Shouldn't be too hard, right?
One thing that irks me about this (not really so, more just a mild annoyance) is everyone that is saying "Well, everyone knows he's a dick, did you expect any less?" I don't fully agree with that. It's one thing to be a verbal asshole that has a reputation for being one, but resorting to physical violence is completely another thing. If he had done this before, then saying "Oh, its expected of him" would make sense.
For all I know maybe he has, but in this day and age of the internet and everyone putting up EVERY video they take on the internet almost instantly its no surprise its this incident everyone is talking about. But, I've yet to hear or read anyone else say they've witnessed him doing this before.
I see what you are saying but assholes typically overreact when they get spit on or beer trown at them. If you watch the video, it seems like a woman threw a beer at him, then an ice cube. Then another ice cube. Then spit on him. I don't make it a hbit to do that to assholes. The risk of getting in a fight goes up.
I'd have to agree, though mostly because BW isn't known for being THAT kind of dick. He's more famous for being beaten up than doing the beating. This is way beyond what I'd "expect" from him.
I never paid much attention to the people on this site sayin he's a stuck up dick... i cant deny it now!!!
it takes 5 people to make simple, mediocre music??? fuck buying the new album!!!
SW should retire, there's plenty other bands that make simple punk music sound way better... Teenage Bottlerocket, Dopamines, Chixdiggit, Copyrights, Reaganomics, Dear Landlord, i could go on forever, and the list continues to grow!
I don't know about anyone here but I'd actually rather be punched in the face than spit on. You shouldn't hit anyone, I don't care if it's a woman or not. However, women know this in advance when they start shit with men. They expect you to not want to hit a women and alot of them will use that to be complete bitches because the way they see it, there will be no reprocussions. Men can't win when they get involved in physical confrontations with women. You should do everything in your power to just avoid it any way you can. You kick her ass, you're a pussy who hits women. You get your ass kicked or don't do anything you're a pussy who got handled by a girl. You "call security" and your a punk ass snitch. I suppose calling security is the most mature option....if you're a total pussy... ha.
I'm a firm believer in the "don't start none, won't be none" philosophy.
I never want a girl to get hit, but the whole 'rabid pack of guys will descend on and pummel you' never sat well with me. I think it comes more from a place of murderous group mayhem than any kind of chivalry. And not saying that there aren't truly evil guys out there who probably do deserve it, but they're also likely smart enough to perpetrate their violence without being caught that way. Not that it necessarily applies here, but sometimes a person can be stuck like you suggest, and just physically reacting before processing anything. Not to mention, you ever watch like Lockup in a women's prison? 70% of them would crush me. The blanket chivalry thing is nice in theory but not all womens is ladies.
oh I guess this was already kindof discussed. Maybe if it happens a guy just has to get jumped, all I'm saying is I can envision a scenario where I'd have a measure of sympathy for him and, you know, not want him dead.
Agreed, though I can't think of too many situations in a show sort of environment where a guy is going to be so much imminent physical danger from a girl that he's justified in punching her. Beating the guy down in response isn't the right thing to do, but the odds are good he deserves it.
Fair enough. My reaction is mostly to the guys out there who suddenly throw out their chests in outrage when you can just tell that it's either 1. glee at an excuse to mess somebody up or 2. a show of faux chivalrous posturing that's all to easy when you know it's 12 on 1.
the kid who climbs onstage at the 14 second mark in the 44 second cip, in the tank top. I'm going to assume he's not a close friend/boyfriend/blood relation. That's what I'm talking about.
It seems like everyone is kind of missing the greater point here. The issue is not WHO Ben Weasel hit. The issue is that he hit anyone to begin with. I understand and agree with the point that violence against women should not be tolerated. But, again, by focusing on that we are missing the greater point. Violence against anyone, regardless of gender, should not be tolerated.
It is funny to me that a lot of the same people yelling about Ben Weasel being a sexist (which, I would agree with), are the same ones who got all pissy when Lauren Denitzio accused the scene of being sexist. Sorry, you can not have it both ways. You can not sit and make lame sexist jokes, and then act outraged when someone else does something sexist. In the same tone, you can not act like it was ok for Tom Gabel to assault some dude, but act like this is not. There is no grey are here. Right is right, and wrong is wrong.
Agreed, I dunno if "right" and "wrong" really exist objectively, but if they do, hitting somebody for spitting/throwing ice at you when security (and most of the venue's large audience) is at your side is pretty damn wrong.
I think there are two main differences between this and the Gabel assault situation:
1) Weasel's actions immediately followed a series of sexist and misogynistic comments, so he did two bad things (sexist harassment and an act of physical violence toward another human being)
2) At least Tom Gabel has put out some good albums
Gabel assaulting a dude who did nothing to him, in a physical way, is less of a problem than Weasel punching someone who was throwing shit and spitting at him? I think the similarities between these situations far outweigh the differences.
Both are frontmen of well known punk rock bands, both are polarizing figures, and both escalated a situaton way the fuck higher than it needed to go. Sure, one featured a whole lot of sexist shit talking, and one did not, but the point remains
I cannot agree that a joke is at the same level of wrong than physical violence. I'm not trying to defend anyone here but:
"You can not sit and make lame sexist jokes, and then act outraged when someone else does something sexist."
The difference is that on the left hand of the phrase there are jokes in the comments section of a website, and on the right hand (omitted) there's physical violence. Remember that Danish cartoon that made extremists send death threats? Big difference of "wrongs."
it just seems disingenuous to me for people to act like one act of sexism is worse than another. The assault was not sexist. The shit talking prior to it was.
What a fucking sook. thousands of local bands get shit thrown at them every night and are just stoked to be up there playing let alone getting paid for it
is this the band with that song "Dingbat"? My sister gave me her copy in like 1997 and i haven't listened to it since then. Whats the hype about? especially with a joke like this guy?
In all fairness, when he's not beating women, he can write a pretty good pop-punk song... He also writes a lot of shitty pop-punk songs, but the point still stands...
My guess, if I had to make one, is that it has something to do with hipsters ironically laughing at..someone. Come to think of it, who do hipsters make fun of? I'm at a bit of a disadvantage because I know little about the "culture" of SW.
Maybe. Didn't someone say Ben was talking about how the audience didn't really care about punk rock, or something like that? I'm really not familiar with SXSW culture...Austin was pretty much a punk rock capitol back in the 1980s, wasn't it? I'm not privy to how it's changed in the last 20 years.
I don't know if hipsters "make fun" of anything anymore, they just enjoy things ironically. However, what is there to ironically enjoy about punk rock/pop punk? I can't imagine a bearded hipster in bicycle shorts and a 'Yo Gabba Gabba' t-shirt saying "hey, let's go see Screeching Weasel. That'll be a laugh!". The more I think about Ben's comment, the less sense it makes.
maybe the smug satisfaction and superiority they take from the fact that other people aren't them borders over into shadenfreude. (not even trying to spell it right). I'm thinking he just said something, figured nobody would try to make sense of it anyway..like the plot to an 8 bit RPG or something.
I'm not seeing the confusion on this statement. What artist doesn't feel a little better about themselves when they can see another's stock falling? Unless they are completely egoless hipipes who are kidding themselves anyway. Especially at a film festival, I have no problem seeing it. It's an inward thing most likely, I mean I don't think they're walking around going 'ha-ha'
This guy thinks he could do a better job. Pity you'll never get a chance to show us, you're clearly too misanthropic to ever address another human being verbally.
Well, clearly you do think you could do better, because you're blatantly implying that you see enough comparative faults in said podcast to boldly claim that they do a lousy job at it. What would you do to improve it?
I've never done a podcast. It would be incredibly arrogant of me to say that I can do better.
That being said, the podcasts/radio shows that I like are driven by strong, opinionated personalities... strong and opinionated doesn't apply to anyone on the Punk News Podcast.
I'm sure they're all nice dudes. Unfortunately, nice dudes are super-boring to listen to. They need to find their own Ben Weasel and let him mix it up a little.
Furthermore, it's gotta be tough fill a one hour show like that with content. I sympathize. I really do. But when the Gods Of Podcasts drop a gift into your lap like the Lauren Denitzio Dumpster Fire Of Awesome- don't fuck it up.
And pretty much the ONLY way you can fuck that up is by having 3 bland, boring dudes sitting around agreeing with each other.
THE WOMYN FROM MEASURE SA SAID THAT SHIRTLESS DUDES AT PUNK SHOWS MAKE HERE FEEL UNSAFE AND NONE OF YOU SEE ANYTHING EVEN A LITTLE BIT FUNNY ABOUT THAT??? REALLY??? NO ONE IN THE ROOM WANTS TO CALL BULLSHIT???
Christ- shirtless dudes were the SECOND point of her argument.
It's not like she was trying to round out a list to an even 10 by sneaking something weird into the discussion... it was literally the Chewbacca to her arguements Han Solo.
And even if you DID agree with her position- maybe have the foresight to find someone who DOESN'T agree so you can have an interesting fucking conversation?.
oh wait wait. He just hauled off and slugged a girl in the audience? For some reason that part was fuzzy on the clip I watched this morning, I just thought he was sortof falling forward and that all the furor was about the blond onstage who he wheeled on. That's just a nearly unfathomable lack of self control.
Music is music. Michael Jackson is a nasty pedophile, but I still listen to him (hey, he wrote some damn good tunes). Ben Weasel is a phenomenal songwriter/lyricist and I'll listen to him regardless of who he punches. I don't condone his actions, but it's just music. Who gives a shit what he does?
I loved his music back in junior high school and I love it today. His songs have gotten better as the years go on. His scene-cred and respect, not so much... I'm sure this incident will make it worse and make it even harder to find his records, but it should have no merit whatsoever in his capabilities as a songwriter and making good records.
He could grow a mustache, fuck a bunch of cub scouts and burn down a hospital for all I care. As long as he keeps churning out catchy little songs that change the way we think and feel about things, he's alright with me.
p.s. - He punched like a little girl anyway, she probably would have won....
I think we could rack up another 200 comments if we can prove it was racially motivated. "I mean, look, I don't think they should just be able to come across the border willy-nilly, but the truth of the matter is...."
The history on the Ben Weasel Wikipedia page is great. It's just like "Random IP address vandalizes it, Skibz777 reverts it, random IP address vandalizes it, Skibz777 reverts it..." etc etc.
do you remember that show doghouse, where it was like a cop that got stuck in a dog's body? and the theme song was "digby's in the doghouse...danananaaaaa'?
I'm going solely on the suggestion in this thread and solely on the wikipedia 'I've contributed significantly to:' and maniac mansion being one of the pages, and digby, with the cop who possessed a dogs body and was in a show on the family channel at the same time and no one I've ever met being able to remember it....... It's just copious amounts of bud light.
I'm 22 and was raised outside Canada. I never caught 'Maniac Mansion' in it's initial run, only through exposure from the game(s) years later. I'm not familiar with any other Family Channel exports, unless you count the Fox Family Channel in the US during the early 2000s, in which case part of my life DID revolve around 'Big Wolf on Campus'...
yeah, doing the math I was like...wait, he would have been like, 2. Well, that's a disappointment. You would have loved doghouse. and swamp thing. and black stallion. actually you wouldn'tve at all. but at least someone would know what i was on about.
I honestly try to avoid television as much as possible, though I do have a small number of shows I have a loyal cult devotion to. I'm not the sort of person who actively seeks out old, esoteric shows purely out of curiosity, unless they're directly relevant to my interests, such as 'Maniac Mansion''s connection to the LucasArts games.
Fat Mike posted this "I heard from some people that Ben Weasel is saying that I thought what he did in Austin was funny. Ben, I dont think its funny! It's lame"
you ever see face off!? you ever see that movie asshole!? someone get this asshole face off!. get him a dvd, guys, go to the store, there's a tower down the street....make sure you get the criterion one, the one that's got extras on it. there's two different dvds, ya know, get both, get both.....get ready to watch a movie asshole.
last night I dreamed I was in earthquake ravaged japan. And for what seemed like a long time I was just in a never-ending black and dead wasteland. And finally I thought, man, I just want to see something green. And I came upon a sortof grassy planted area, and for a moment thought "ah, finally, a nice park to rest in"...but I soon realized it was a rice patty? And that you couldn't really lay down on it. But then I found a great big sandbox in the shadow of a 2nd story deck/patio of another building, and in its shadow, beneath the structure, suddenly Cam Newton was there, and asking to bum a cigarette. And even though I quit in November, I had some on me. So I shared, when suddenly his lily white mother and grandmother come walking around the corner. And they seemed angry, and I thought "oh shit what did I do?" and they ask.."what drugs have you been doing?" (really concerned and accusatory, and my heart is beating in my throat) and he's all..."Nothing. Just pills, pills and thc pills" and this answer seems to satisfy the two women completely, and they turn and walk away, and I breathe a sigh of relief that I didn't ruin Cam Newton's life as a result of my willingness to share a smoke.
japan/upcomingdraft/current/former/drugusepouringintomysubconsci ous? I can't entirely explain why his mom was white. But, I mean, my mom is white. So I don't think it's altogether a stretch.
The other night I had a dream that I was forced at gunpoint to smoke crack out of a sock. Then I was forced to drive to my childhood townhouse and chop down the Japanese Maple Tree my family had planted there on arbor day. The tree was then sold and the proceeds went towards Japan earthquake relief. I love dreaming. Consistent, free, and often hilarious entertainment.
I had a dream aliens had landed and the leaders of the earth were trying to show them around the earth without them killing anyone (the aliens, that is, hawhawhaw). Unfortunately the rolling stones were there and had one of the alien weapons. they kept pressing codes and releasing burst of red poison gas by mistake. Not the best I've ever had.
Shit! i hope i get a refund for tonights canceled show. Oh well glad i made the trip to see the Austin show, aside from all the drama it was fun to hear all those pop-punk classics live. Banner Pilot was fun, dead to me killed it. i don't know how their new line-up sounds recorded but live they where great.
Weasel highlights: totally, supermarket fantasy, hey suberbia, my brain hurts, guest list, joannie loves johnny
ASIDE from all the drama those were the highlights, but ya that scuffle was entertaining. I don't support at all hitting girls and Ben should not get a free pass just because who he is, but it shouldn't come as a total surprise. It really did complete the show, felt like a genuine punk rock show. Ben was talking mad shit, the girl threw beer and ice, he kinda deserved it, he reacted. She kinda deserved it.(im not saying he should've done it, just sayin she was kinda asking for it) I must say though he did give her fair warning.
it turns out prettiest girl on the (greyhound) bus is actually more of an androgynous award sometimes, and nominally synonymous with "prettiest ex-con"
Have you ever seen Friday Night Lights (the television show)? Adrianne Palicki is the hottest thing since sliced bread. Lord, on a show full of beautiful women, she takes the cake.
God, this is what I hate about the Internet. Back in the day, punk bands got in fights with people (regardless of gender) all the time, nobody spent hours arguing the morality of it in a fucking message thread, it was just...you know...what HAPPENED at punk rock shows. Now we have 500 "comments" on a message board. That's depressing.
Remember the good old days
Remember the sound
Remember the sweet mustiness underground
No, I don't feel the need for relivin'
Some things are better off dead
I used to view Ben Weasel like Charlie Sheen. He's an idiot, but it doesn't get in the way of me enjoying his (mostly old) work. But he's crossed WAY over the line into Mel Gibson territory at this point.
Whaaa? Are you trying to tell me you can no longer enjoy such Mel classics as 'Bird on a Wire', 'Air America' or 'Million Dollar Hotel'?! Surely you jest.
Okay, I kind of liked 'Million Dollar Hotel'. The only reason I'd ever disown it is because it's written by Bono, who is far more despicable a figure (in my twisted, irrational mind) than anyone else associated with the film.
Milla Jovovich needs to stop doing shitty films and release another album.
I saw Bono at an English Beat show in Anaheim. No foolin'. He wore sunglasses the whole time. I kind of wanted to punch him in the face, and I've never even heard a single U2 song.
God this made me so happy. Ben Weasel at a hipster fest and he punched a hipster girl in the face. All of you "punk" fans dogging on him are probably the same ones that praise GG Allin who hit women who didn't deserve it.lol
yeah but that bitch should have still shown some damn respect and shut her mouth. no sense in bitching because the guys refused to play some art faggy psychadelic music. she deserved the strong arm.
Am I the only one who thinks that South By South West is kinda (ok really) over rated. I know Gallows played it once, and Paint It Black plays it a bunch of other times. When i check youtube for videos from this event, I find a some douche with a pedo stas, and the same glasses my dad wore in the early 80's interviewing (poorly at that) some scene kids about ATTACK ATTACK!. I remember every movie premiered at it bombs when it debuts in theaters. Maybe I am just jealous that I did not go.
Only band i woulda seen. My fav band, or the queers, or, MDK. Must suck to play in a rock festival with the schmaltz of the world heading here. It gets worse every year.Couldn't really tell too well what was happening, my 30 dollar memorex records better than that. Did she throw like a girl? What a douche! fuck punk rock, he don't like nirvana.....
"I just bought some of those new eel abs at the Asian market yesterday. Texture has improved from the old recipe, but it's still not worth the diarrhea."
or...
"You know, the only reason they introduced New Eel Abs is to drive up demand for Eel Abs Classic so sales will go through the roof when they bring it back."
wish YOU had the ripped physique of a ....*screeeeeeech*.....I'm sorry I'm going to have to slam on the brakes here. In an effort to find a specific species of eel to name for my pretend infomercial, THIS little gem pops up on the wikipedia: :
"In 1876, the young Austrian student Sigmund Freud dissected hundreds of eels in search for the male sex organs."
Come on. That's just. Come on.
If we still had the subject line I'd put 'sometimes an eel is just an eel'
It's a Neil LaBute film; if it DIDN'T deliver on the misogyny, I'd want my money back.
Those mere seconds when Nic Cage punches a woman while wearing a bear suit literally redeemed the entirety of that horrible film....until the credits, when the film was dedicated to Johnny Ramone, then it landed square on my s*** list.
There was nothing good about the remake! At all! Ever! I was borderline offended by the clumsy plot points, gaping logical fallacies and inexplicable changes to the original story. However, if I think of it all as just a build-up to the scene where a bear-suit-clad Cage punches a woman in the face, it's much easier to digest. Nic Cage NEVER fails to deliver. :D
that was a heart breaker. that inbound pass that got tipped was like a punch to the gut, and I was just pulling for the upset. I hope you aren't around any sharp objects.
I'm hating life, but I had a sick feeling that unc would steal the game at the end. Good news is that if IT comes back, next year is going to be great.
if anyone makes it to the end of the thread to read this, like other people said, it doesn't matter whether it was a woman or a man, the whole thing could have been handled in a better manner.
But I do have to say it reminds me of the first song off of War on Errorism....I think people just need to relax, no one was serioulsy injured because he looks like he hit like a pussy and there's more you can do about stuff like this than bitch on punknews.
How many of you bitching have PCDC tattoos? hahaha
So Ben is Ben more like the NFL owners or the Players in this circumstance? I say owners...people are PAYING to see him preform and he's complaining b/c he's getting heckled. Not only does he have to get paid, but it has to be his way all the time.
Male or female, violence is ridiculous. I can't condone it at all. But what is more appalling is the amount of people offended just because it was a girl. I actually think this a perfect example of equality in punk rock. Throwing beer, ice, and spitting on someone isn't any more or less assault then throwing a punch. Most women will tell you that they want to be treated as equals, and as a man, when you behave in this manor, you do run the risk of getting socked in the mouth. A few episodes back on the podcast, there was a lengthy discussion on sexism in the punk scene, and I think people are going to use this as validation to point out that there is a problem, but I don't think that's the case at all. This situation was handled very poorly, and whether it was a male or female, it doesn't make it any better or worse.
isn't it curious what a meekly subgroup they may be made out to be? Even as I said it sounded all kinds of wrong, but I can't really put my finger on why, aside from all the movies and tv movies.
Yes, people getting offended because of slight double standards (attributed to the fact that we live in a society where violence against women is mostly overlooked and swept under the rug) is just as appalling as the actual act of punching someone in the face after sexually harassing them in public. You are a fucking idiot.
Also, genuine equality doesn't mean treating everyone exactly the same - it means taking a person's abilities, limitations, and general context into consideration when dealing with them. You don't wave hello to a blind person, just like you don't say hello to a deaf person. If people devoted even half the energy that they've spent in this thread decrying the supposed sexism of male/female punching double standards to, oh I don't know, combatting ACTUAL issues of sexism, this world would be a lot better.
Where the hell do you live where violence against women is mostly overlooked and swept under the rug? It must be a different country then mine, and it sounds horrible.
Yikes, what an embarrassingly ignorant, privileged, and myopic statement. Though, given your profile, I suspect that you may just be nicksocial making alternate usernames to continue your immature trolling and mindless Ben-defending.
I haven't heard anybody Ben-defending, and I'm certainly not. I'm just pointing out how sexist it is to give this more merit because the "fan" was a female. Violence is violence no mater what, and this "fan" was the one who began the physical assault with the beer, ice, and saliva, but nobody seems bothered by that because shes female. But its extra "horrible" that she was hit because shes a female. The whole fucking mess is appalling, on both ends. But it seems easier for you to just start name calling, yet I'm the immature one. You reminding why I just read the stories and move on and skip the comments.
Way to try and redirect the argument; the statement to which I was replying (as evidenced by the nested response) was clearly you arguing that violence against women is NOT an ignored issue in contemporary Western society. Look at your statement; there can be no debate about what point you were making there. And yet now you're trying to shift things back to your initial point (a point I strongly disagree with, but at least was more reasonably argued).
However, this 'reverse sexism'/'double standards' argument that you initially put forth (and are now trying to put forth again) has been argued against numerous times throughout the entire comments section. Including in this very thread: check out slowstupidhungry, or my own earlier reply. Or xminivanbanditx's thread 3 comments below. It's simply a ridiculous viewpoint that doesn't hold water for so many reasons.
Further, you really "haven't heard anybody Ben-defending"? I guess you haven't been reading the comments then because there's plenty of it here, especially from one nicksocial. And you yourself very much appear to be in the Ben-defending camp, given that your profile indicates you having only EVER commented on THIS story, and the fact that the ONLY listing in your "favourite albums" section is the new Screeching Weasel. A little suspicious, no?
And finally, if you were paying closer attention, you'd noticed that I never engaged in name-calling at all. Any word I used that could even be construed as such (e.g., ignorant, privileged, immature) was an adjective or adverb that was specifically applied to your statements/actions and NOT you. Nice attempt to claim the moral high ground, however.
I'm curious why you think violence against women is an ignored issue in our society. It's not at all. Which is not to say that it doesn't happen, but it's certainly not ignored. It's criminal. The way you make it sound, is that if you were out on the street assaulting on a woman , people would just ignore it as "business as usual". There's no fucking way that would happen. 50 - 60 years ago people may have turned a blind eye to spousal abuse, but we are not in that society anymore. As a whole, it's not ignored, and no one wants to shove it under the rug. There are support groups, shelters were women can go for safety, and heavy criminal charges against men who beat women, or anybody who beats anybody for that matter. Once again, I'm aware that violence against women does happen, but no one just says "OK" and accepts it. And finally, I was most definitely paying attention, and good for you.
That spousal abuse is illegal is hardly proof that violence against women isn't often ignored or downplayed. Yes, things are obviously better than they were 50 years ago, but to make the claim that violence against women is always taken seriously and properly addressed comes from a very patriarchal and privileged worldview. Sexism exists in spades, though it's less explicit.
In my city (Toronto, the 5th-largest city in North America, so not some backwater town), a police sergeant recently got into trouble for giving a speech to university students in which he stated that women wouldn't get raped if they didn't "dress like sluts." Sadly, this is not an unusual or isolated incident; it's symptomatic of a larger societal treatment of women. Rape and sexual assault (issues which overwhelmingly affect women) are frequently dismissed or undermined through general victim-blaming and shaming. If a woman is sexually assaulted, we often ask questions about what she said, or how she was dressed, or what her actions implied, as though there are things you can do to DESERVE to be assaulted. Victim-blaming is so depressingly prominent in cases of sexual assault or rape that the rate of reporting for these crimes is disturbingly low. We as a society continually downplay sexual assault to the point where women will often rationalize themselves out of considering their experiences to have been abuse because of the stigma associated with it. Have you read the countless studies describing the stigmatization and treatment of women who do report rape or abuse? Women often report that their claims are dealt with dismissal, skepticism, and constant accusations that they brought it on themselves/were asking for it. Have you read the ridiculously low conviction rates for rapes and sexual assaults? There may be laws that punish people for cut and dry instances of abuse, but that hardly serves as evidence of proper treatment protection for vulnerable women. My province recently made a law against using cell phones while driving; do you honestly think that people have stopped doing so? Laws are meaningless with concomitant structural change, and if we were really serious about addressing violence against women, we'd do more than make a law against it.
Another example? In addition to recent federal defunding of women's shelters (how can shelters continue to exist without funding?), a decision was made a few months ago in Canada that immigration officials could wait outside, or even enter, women's shelters to retrieve/deport undocumented immigrants who had escaped abusive situations. This is tantamount to state-sponsored violence, as it clearly discourages immigrant women from escaping violent situations. Afterall, guess who are typically the ones reporting these women to immigration? Their husbands, of course, incensed that their partner would dare flee their abuse.
These are but a few instances of how society often downplays all but the most explicit instances of violence against women. Furthermore, the constant belief that equality means treating everyone the exact same way (a belief perpetuated by your earlier comment on double standards) serves to ignore a lot of the issues that specifically or more powerfully face women. This gender-blindness, where men and women somehow face the exact same issues in the exact same way, contributes to our tendency to dismiss and victim-blame, and helps to downplay less explicit instances of violence against women.
If you want even more proof, examine any time that rape or assault accusations have been levelled at any remotely well-known person. Just look at how quickly the dismissal and victim-blaming begins. We are not a society that takes violence against women nearly as serious as we need to.
That is truly messed up. Guy or gal, nobody should be swinging punches like that, especially from a heckle. Use your words.
Also, as far as this "double standard" talk. To quote Seth Meyers & Amy Poehler: REALLY!?!
It is not a double standard as long as we live in America. A male dominated society, where violence towards women is still very much an issue. Considering that context, it is not a double standard. We should never encourage violence towards women or put up with dudes whining about "double standards" as part of some ass backwards, reverse sexism, defense of their male ego.
And to any heterosexuals bro's on here who encourage this facetious frame of mind. Next time you're on a date with a lady, I implore you to bring up this issue of how if women wanted to be treated equally they should expect some punches to the face. See how well that goes over, that is, if your date doesn't involve hiding in some bushes and wacking off.
I want to apologize to both the club owner and audience member involved for my actions during our show at SXSW on Friday night. While their actions were outside of my control, my regretful reaction is wholly my responsibility. Whatever my feelings are about fans crossing the line like that, I wish I could have that moment back and deal with it in the same spirit as I did the preceding 60 minutes. Since I can't, an apology is all I've got and I sincerely hope those people will accept it. Up front, I wish to say that I am sorry to the fan and any others who were involved. As a husband, father, and a musician on the public stage, I understand that it is my duty to always take responsibility for my actions in a socially acceptable way, and most especially in the face of confrontation.
I want to apologize to the San Antonio fans, also, for having to cancel that show. I hope we can make it up down the road. I've obviously already talked to my band about it but I also want to publicly apologize for putting them in a bad position, as well as my manager, booking agent, label, and the support bands. My actions were unprofessional and unfair to the people I work with.
has everyone seen the video of rollins punching the shit out of a kid who's trying to gab his mic? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4uahL_tQWc
if only ben punched a boy instead of a girl...
C'mon we can make 700 comments, just seven more! All we need is something to set this off. This site is just a carnival of schadenfreude and you're all silly misogynists!
I love all you brats that jump on a ban wagon asap...wait it out, then comes the truth:
Watch the videos, and listen to the news. Sorry but the truth of the matter is simple. First off it this, we all know if you go to a Weasel show, Ben is gonna bitch about something if not everything. Second she should have not been throwing ice and trying to start the fight. Whats up with the owner and bouncer being right there and not stopping her, they were a row or two back...? So really who is to blame? The people who should have done their jobs? The girl who wanted to get some steam under Ben's ass? or Ben? Sorry I'm siding with Ben on this one. I don't care who you are, but if your gonna fuck with me, while I work and do my thing, then "Hell yeah, I'm gonna get pissy about it". Stop crying about how Ben was the bad guy...do your research and look at the possibilities of the out come and why, what happen, happened !!
I love all the whin-o's crying about how Ben is bad, well it wasn't for Ben and some of these bands out there, you wouldn't have what you have now, so give the guy some breathing room and let him explain his side...
But really what you should do is watch the video more then once, and watch it without judging Ben Prior to the video. I know its easy to hate on Ben, and yeah hes a jerk, but hes a jerk for a reason and now your making him something he is not.
Also he apologized, and what did the girl do? did she apologize at all, how adult is that?
" If you walk into fire, don't you expect to get burned?"
Bitch deserved it. Both of them did, really. Why anyone ISN'T siding with Ben is beyond me; at one point before the fight, he even says something along the lines of trying to be polite about the 10 minute ice tossing. Where was security or the venue owner? In second row, eating it up. And since maybe 1% of posters here were even there to see it, notice how the crowd started CHEERING when he threw punches? They all knew she deserved it.
i love women, but if you're going to jump a man, then expect to be treated like one. plain and simple. If i would have jumped that stage i would been beaten down worse X10.
Well i don't like you whiny cronies. Well I can't stand you sellout phonies. Punching women blindly, putting out mainstream radio friendly pop crap since 1993. Stealing the kids' hard earned money. Funding your extended childhood unkindly. Calling it "punk" and underground. What's that sound? You are the corporations. All your hate is what you became. My rights treaded on by you, all we found the same. Ben your legacy makes me want to puke, ben you make me want to puke ice all over you ;)
Well i don't like you whiny cronies. Well I can't stand you sellout phonies. Punching women blindly, putting out mainstream radio friendly pop crap since 1993. Stealing the kids' hard earned money. Funding your extended childhood unkindly. Calling it "punk" and underground. What's that sound? You are the corporations. All your hate is what you became. My rights treaded on by you and your cartoonish self righteous humiliation... Your anti-female and anti-humane agenda made to further your last seen in the 80's fame... . Ben foster your legacy makes me want to puke... ben you weasel, make me want to puke ice all over you ;)
Ben Weasel, the iconic frontman of Screeching Weasel, was in an altercation last night during his band's performance at this year's South By Southwest festival in Austin, TX. The L.A. Times account of the incident is as follows:
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