Who Killed Punk?
TW/CW: racism, violence, transmisogyny, sexual assault mention
If you are involved in the Ottawa music scene, it is likely you have heard about the controversy surrounding American pop-punk band, The Queers, or more specifically their headlining of a much contested show at Mavericks.
For those who remain blissfully unaware, here is a brief summary: The Queers were slated to play at Mavericks on a bill put together by the production company, The Diamond Mine Agency. If you actively follow punk music, you may know that The Queer’s front man, Joe AKA Joe Queer AKA King Joe AKA Joseph P. King, has received a lot of criticism in recent years, most notably by Don Giovanni Records who issued a statement in 2014 via Facebook asking Asian Man Records and Recess Records to dissociate themselves with the band (you can read his post here).
Upon finding out about the Mavericks booking, a local queer collective known as Babely Shades (aptly named as such due to all members being people of colour) created a petition asking the promoter to cancel the headliner on the premise that Joe’s outspoken racism, sexism, victim blaming, and support of Ben Weasel (prominent punk asshole) had no place in Ottawa’s music scene. Many found reasons to disagree with these statements and soon counter petitions were created. One stated there was NO proof of Joe’s well-documented transgressions and that what Babely Shades was saying was libel as well as censorship, while Joe himself created another stating that Babely Shades’ only contention with him was the fact that he was gay and married to a transwoman. He later expressed that he is neither gay nor married to a transwoman, that these remarks were simply sarcastic and meant as a joke. This was admitted by him after many of his fans mobilized against Babely Shades, and it should be mentioned that several of their members identify under the trans umbrella and do not have a luxury as treating their gender as a laughing matter.
Anyway, The Diamond Mine Agency cancelled the show, Babely Shades and their supporters were met with much hostility in the form of racist and sexist slurs, many people mourned the “death of punk rock”, several Ottawa-based news publications provided watered down coverage, and then… Mavericks rescheduled the show.
Now, before I go further I’d like to introduce you to some links that Joe supporters/Babely Shades haters seemed to have overlooked in the initial threads that ensued on the original event page (perhaps they were too busy screaming themselves hoarse with cries of “FASCISTS” and “SLANDERERS!”).
- Joe King from The Queers is a racist, misogynistic, homophobic asshole (punk rock hate watch).
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Joe Queer Defends Ben Weasel, Reasonable People Everywhere Wonder Why They Ever Listened to This Shit in the First Place (The L Magazine).
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Oh, and Ben Weasel’s Anti-Trans, Too (punksexism blog).
- Joe Queer Would Like to Clarify Some Things (Impose Magazine).
Now, if you are wondering how Ben Weasel’s actions are relevant to The Queers, I have to inform you that Joe has supported, defended, endorsed, and promoted Ben’s actions and continues to make music with him to this day.
If you want to imply that what Babely Shades did is in any way “censorship”, I’d like to call your attention to the obvious fact that he WAS awarded freedom of speech, in that Joe was able to say what he said and did not face persecution by the government or any other institutions. Try to remember that freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences.
His comments were not censored as they still remain in the public domain and he still has a large platform via Facebook to continue to say shitty, uninformed things that are the antithesis of punk (unless you define punk as a bunch of angry white dudes listening to glorified pop music with shouting on top). As citizens it is not possible to “censor” in the way his supporters are saying, given that it is a private event (originally put on by the Diamond Mine Agency) at the private venue, Mavericks, and lest we forget that private means not publicly owned (by the state). Let’s use another example:
If the CEO of a company’s products are boycotted on the premise that they are a shitty person and do and say shitty things, would you have the audacity to claim those who choose not to consume their products are censoring the company? Joe’s product, his band, (and I say his because he has fired countless musicians in his 30 + year long career as The Queers’Â only permanent member) is a product that Babely Shades and others did not want to consume or endorse so they chose to educate others via a petition, which is how most boycotts actually function.
If we are going to invoke “free speech” – and we should – it should also apply the other way around. As citizens we have the right to lobby and petition, which is what was done. Diamond Mine made the decision to cancel the show out of a desire to avoid controversy that could potentially tarnish their production company’s name with associations to the band. The petition was created as a measure to inform Ottawa punks just who they would be paying to see, and who their money would be supporting. The petition did convince a lot of people to avoid spending their money on him, though unfortunately it attracted the attention of a ton of people who refused to face the ugly truth, or who were sent by Joe himself, or just came there to shit on women of colour. Everyone has the right to choose how they spend their money and it seems that a lot of people in Ottawa want to spend their money on someone who promotes hate speech.
Not that I need to further defend Babely Shades, but I’d like to bring up a similar situation that happened almost a year ago after the band Black Pussy played at TARG. Babely Shades was newly organized and they received backlash when they called out House of TARG for booking a band with such a blatantly racist name. (It should be noted that the band have gone on public record stating they named themselves after the song “Brown Sugar” by The Rolling Stones – a song that clearly references the rape and abuse of black women.)
TARG eventually apologized and has made continuous efforts to rebuild the trust they lost when their initial response to the protest was shirking responsibility. During the social media frenzy that occurred during this time, many expressed doubt regarding whether the scene was actually sexist or actually racist when they themselves had never experienced it. It seemed more plausible to them that the women and people of colour positing the existence of these barriers were only doing so to ruin things for the “real” music fans.
Another common phrase used in defence of BP playing was, “Why complain after the fact? What does that solve?” Fast forward to now, with a petition created almost a month in advance of the show in question, with substantial proof of the frontman’s continued oppressive remarks, with many supporters in and out of the scene, and it didn’t make a fucking lick of difference. The show will go on, and punk in Ottawa will remain the same as it was before: full of angry, hypocritical hedonists who lack the introspection necessary for compassion. Long live punk, indeed.
On a personal note, I’d like it on record that I listened to The Queers growing up and was a fan, but I ascribe to the belief that punk is synonymous with politics given that so many young punks formulate their opinions on those of their idols. Joe is unapologetic in his prolific, reckless spouting of hateful rhetoric that endorses a certain way of thinking about women and people of colour; it really is up to his fans to hold him responsible for it because, in reality, if people are still paying his bills, he can go on without checking himself because he doesn’t have to. You want to act like you aren’t complicit by going to the show? Enjoy living in the fantasy world where punk is “just about the music”.
Unfortunately for members of Babely Shades who are also musicians, they are not afforded the luxury in which they can separate themselves from their music. Last week’s MEGAPHONO involved an incident in which Babely Shades activist and musician for Everett, Elsa, was met with hostility from the bar staff working at Dominion Tavern. During their set, Elsa made a statement about how mentally and emotionally taxing the ongoing backlash has been when a bartender reportedly shouted “at least The Queers are good!” This statement was fortunately not met with agreement from the crowd who was largely there to see Everett (tips were pulled back and the bartender avoided), but it still was a source of anxiety for Elsa who understandably felt disrespected by the venue to which they were bringing business.
“I felt like I was more focused on reclaiming that word and spreading positivity,” Elsa says, “We still had a good night and felt supported by the community and everyone that was there.”
The experience of community support has not been universally felt by all; many individuals who have been outspoken regarding The Queers have felt unsafe venturing out into spaces so overtly full of people who believe their lived experiences of oppression are invalid and even necessitate violence. Several of Babely Shades’ members have been doxxed and harassed with dehumanizing comments on their Facebook pages, walls, and inboxes (TW: racism/ablism/sexism – some examples can be seen here.)
Many are choosing not to attend events and turning down work with the music community out of fear. It is up to the rest of the community to do as was done at the Everett show and demonstrate just how unwelcome racism and sexism is in Ottawa’s music scene. It’s up to us, not Babely Shades, to continue calling each other out on behaviour that invalidates marginalized experiences and put in the work to change the scene for the better. It’s up to you to educate yourself and not rely on those who are exhausted to do so for you. Please consider donating to Babely Shades today to support Ottawa’s artists of colour and ensure they can continue doing the work they do and creating the art they make.
*update: Mavericks has taken to deleting and blocking people from the new event page. So much for ‘freedom of speech’…
Editor’s Note: In the initial stages of this article, I approached the author with a pitch prior to speaking with the Babely Shades collective. In making this rash decision, I failed to acquire permission from the very group that has been the focus of harm from The Queers backlash. I have apologized to Babely Shades, and have since received permission to continue with this post. We are working with members of this community to fight back against racism, sexism, transmisogyny in Ottawa. Please seriously consider joining us in this cause. – MM
* Any hateful comments made on this post will be deleted at our discretion. We don’t tolerate that kind of discourse amongst our community.Â