"If people want bland, inoffensive performers on the folk scene , then god help the folk scene."

It's surely not necessarily all about what the audiences(the people) want but what the performers want to do or feel confident and comfortable enough to talk about...

If your main business is playing the fiddle, accordion, or even the concertina either solo or in a band, then you are not necessarily going to be that concerned with promoting your views on political and social situations. You may, of course, choose to do this elsewhere or help "the cause" by playing benefit concerts etc or as a supporting role to someone who more actively engaged in this process.

Also, you might even be a singer specialising in sea shanties or something along these lines and you may not consider it your place to comment on certain matters although you may wish to mention "fishing quotas", "cod shortages", working conditions at sea and so. However, you would probably have less interest in many other political topics including distant wars and so on.
On the other hand, if songs about political and social issues are "your bag", then fair enough.

I was in no way suggesting that performers should be "bland or innofensive" but only that they shouldn't be expected to speak out about every topical subject which happens to be in the news. The same would apply to less sensitive(or more sensitive depending on your point of view)subjects, i.e. you don't have to always crack jokes about horse meat in hamburgers and so on.