No, Tevi Troy doesn’t want the president to object to Korean rapper PSY’s silly song or his even sillier dance.
Writing for Politico, Troy explains why there’s a much more serious reason for the president to display some “moral leadership.”
While PSY is a superstar because of his multi-million download YouTube video, he is also a controversial figure, who sang a virulently anti-American rap song in 2004. At the time, PSY sang the words “Kill those f—-ing Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives” and “Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law and fathers.”
PSY-gate is far from the first artistic controversy to take place during the Obama administration. In fact, as CBS’s Lindsey Boerma characterized the situation, “Another rapper, another musician controversy for Obama.” These earlier controversies include the inclusion of the rapper Common, who had rapped, “tell the law, my Uzi weighs a ton,” at a Michelle Obama-hosted White House poetry event. As offensive as Common’s anti-police comments were, PSY’s hateful anti-Americanism is far worse. The sentiments he expressed are so offensive that they can unite nearly all Americans in disagreement, a rare event in these hyper-partisan times. The Atlantic’s David Graham, contrasting PSY to Common, admits that “The critics seem to have a more serious bone to pick this time around.”
This period before the PSY performance airs presents Obama with an opportunity to exercise some moral leadership on behalf of the nation he leads. It is unsurprising that he has not yet taken this stand, given his embrace of all things pop culture in his first term and especially in his reelection campaign. Nonetheless, there are some behaviors that should not be embraced, even from the entertainment community, and anti-Americanism is at the top of the list.
