TO THE EDITOR:
Thank you for your recent publication, “Objections to ‘Blurred Lines’ causes stir at Fitzgerald’s,” which highlighted how our community spoke out after learning that myself and four friends were told “It is time for you to go” and were escorted out of Fitzgerald’s, following our request that the DJ change “Blurred Lines” due to its triggering, violent lyrics. There were no blurred lines in how we were treated.
While I applaud the fact that Fitzgerald’s will no longer play that song, and that the DJ who felt he had a right to dub us ‘f***ing stupid” for asking will not return, there is a bigger issue at hand. Songs like “Blurred Lines” and how we were treated show that we live in culture that normalizes sexual violence and writes off those who speak out against it.
In seeking to hold Fitzgerald’s accountable, and in pushing them to take measures thereafter, we were fundamentally asking for the respect of patrons and for the creation of safe spaces in our community. I applaud other businesses on Franklin Street who have since articulated that they would like to engage in this meaningful conversation and work to create safe spaces. With the support of many activists in the community, we ask that programs like “Raise the Bar” be instituted, training bar staff in bystander intervention.
As aptly noted by Bob Pleasants, UNC’s Interpersonal Violence Prevention Coordinator, in a recent Huffington Post article: “It’s not a complicated point: we can’t end rape until we change the culture that enables and supports rape. And we can’t change this culture without a community-based approach.”
Join us in doing so.
Liz Hawryluk
Coalition for Human Rights
