Bad Bunny is the literal embodiment of the American Dream that the GOP has spent decades waving in our faces. So, what’s the problem?
Republished with permission from John Pavlovitz
Now, if you’re over 25 and, like many older folks, have remained permanently trapped in the amber of Classic Rock radio, you may have never even heard of Bad Bunny, whose birth name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio. (I’d be willing to bet my house that 90 percent of the Conservatives currently rending their garments online haven’t.)
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, his father was a truck driver and his mother a school teacher. He spent his formative years singing in the choir in a Roman Catholic Church his family attended, and began writing his own music at the age of 14. Bunny was signed to a record label at the age of 20 after being discovered online.
Today, Bad Bunny is an international superstar, the second most-streamed artist of all time, with 100 billion streamed songs. He is a multiple Grammy winner, has crossed over into professional wrestling and acting, is a coveted brand ambassador, and does millions of dollars in philanthropic work through his Good Bunny Foundation (Fundación el Buen Conejo), which he started in 2018.
He is the literal embodiment of the American Dream that the GOP has spent decades waving in our faces.
So, what’s the problem?
Let’s just say it’s a pigmentation issue, with a side order of MAGA cultism and a dash of homophobia thrown in.
As I mentioned, Bad Bunny is from Puerto Rico, which a terrifying number of MAGAs don’t seem to know is an American territory, as they’ve fallen all over themselves to decry the supposed insult of a “non-American” artist playing the Super Bowl. (Something tells me the objections weren’t leveled at the Who or the Rolling Stones or U2, but in those cases the melanin was more compatible and palatable.)
Many of the outraged Right have suggested that ICE should show up at the game and deport Bunny. Deport him from where, exactly? Others have (without merit) bristled at a guy who “doesn’t speak English,” while they still can’t differentiate they’re, their, and there.
This kind of knee-jerk, mob mentality vitriol is what Trump’s movement has fostered and fomented, and what it demands.
A self-described gender-fluid Latin musician who sings predominantly in Spanish has previously criticized Donald Trump and recently lamented the inhumanity of ICE? He must be condemned and vilified and eradicated because membership in the mindless death cult of white American intolerance they now call home requires it.
Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of Bad Bunny’s music, but that’s irrelevant.
What I am a fan of is artists who’ve spent their lives honing their craft, grinding for decades to manifest their dreams, and defying nearly insurmountable odds to achieve greatness in their field.
I’m a fan of creative expression, of fierce authenticity, and of people who refuse to conform to the norms mapped out for them.
I’m a fan of activism and social justice and diversity and free speech.
And I fully reject the intellectually-fetal, knuckle-dragging, morally-inverted white supremacy that is fueling this MAGA Super Bowl outrage—and the violence against people of color it perpetuates every day here away from the spotlight, in our streets and schools and workplaces and government buildings.
This isn’t about Bad Bunny.
This isn’t about a halftime show.
It’s about who we collectively want to be, the kind of nation we dream of living in, and the future we want those who follow us to inherit.
It’s about the cost of standing up to the bullies, of rejecting racism, of being intolerant of intolerance.
This is about what we will demand and what we will not accept when it comes to the rights and voices of people of color.
In these days, we are in a brutal battle for an America where everyone will find opportunity, safety, and welcome.
It’s time we all got in the game.
John Pavlovitz is a writer, pastor, and activist from Wake Forest, North Carolina. A 25-year veteran in the trenches of local church ministry, John is committed to equality, diversity, and justice—both inside and outside faith communities. When not actively working for a more compassionate planet, John enjoys spending time with his family, exercising, cooking, and having time in nature. He is the author of A Bigger Table, Hope and Other Superpowers, Low, and Stuff That Needs to Be Said.
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