Sol-

Given that your experience triggered this discussion, I'm pleased that you posted your reaction. I was also pleased to hear from Magpie to gain the performers' perspective, and I'm impressed but not surprised that they are endeavoring to arrange a refund for the offended (and offensive) two.

There also are some lessons to be learned about what "blacklisting" is or isn't. Mick, Ron, and Jeri seem to have nailed that one right. "Blacklisting" is negatively characterizing performers, discriminating against them on the basis of political criteria, and encouraging those who would consider booking them not to. "Blacklisting" is not something that the audience or potential audience members do; action from them might better be described as a "boycott," refraining from having any dealing with said performer or performers.

My family is intimately familiar with the meaning and impact of "blacklisting" given the experience that Richard Dyer-Bennet underwent in the 1950's, in part because Burl Ives identified him at a public hearing as a Communist sympathizer. Dyer-Bennet continued to perform (although at a much reduced level) and teach but never achieved the commercial success that he might have been expected to have achieved.

Charley Noble