It was the Librarians in the US who got Michael Moore's 'Stupid White Men' book out, after Bush and his cronies tried to make it disappear...Long live the Librarians!

The English folk world is, in my opinion, saturated by pseudo-intellectuals who assume they know everything about everything. They have made folk music 'academic' and they go out of their way to lambast anyone who is 'not of their circle' as stupid, ignorant and er...'intellectually bereft'. They ARE class obssessed, to the point of paranoia, imo.

I'm with John MacKenzie here, and I'm very pleased to read that he feels as I do about class. It's the biggest load of b*llsh*t I ever did hear. It's used by those who have either been told, all their lives, that they 'belong' to this 'group' and no other, and have come to believe it, or it's used to insult and degrade others.   It divides people off and sets each group against one another, causing constant bitterness and unrest.

People are people.

Songs are songs.

For way too long those within 'Cecil Sharply House' and beyond, have kept the songs locked away, and convinced people that they must only be sung a certain way, by certain people, who are from the right background. You're made to feel that if you don't know every single aspect of history about each and every song, then you are a dingbat of the highest calibre. If you don't want to 'worship' the songs then you mustn't love them. I feel it's driven people away in droves, it's kept the music unpopular. It will continue to keep the folk world small and insignificant. That's an absolute crying shame, because some of the best musicians and songwriters are in the folk world.

Since I 'fell' into it, I have been *told* what class I am, been *told* I am a racist, been *told* that I read the *wrong* papers. I'e been *told* more things about myself than I even knew, because they know far more about me than I do, apparently. I've had just about every insult imaginable thrown at me, simply for loving the music 'my' way and not 'theirs'. Why???

I recall one musician and singer, and a damned fine one too, saying that he had come up against some problems being accepted, purely because he'd been to public school, and this was held against him. WTF is that all about then? Inverted, judgemental snobbery of the highest degree in my mind.

I have *never* fallen into a world that professes to be so open, so fair, so 'even' and accepting, yet so often, it is the absolute and complete opposite. It is one of the most judgemental worlds going, imo, and that is terribly sad. I know there are many in the folk world who do NOT judge, but they do NOT make their voices heard enough, so all that IS heard is this bullying, pompous demeanour, which keeps so many away from a magical world. The quiet, accepting people need to speak out far more, because their world is being held back by those who belittle others.

These songs were merely songs written or made up on the spot, to be enjoyed by people. They've now become an Academic's Dream to be used as power over others, so that some can fluff their feathers, strut their stuff and show the world how much they know.


Thank God I was raised by a man who taught me only and ever to see 'people' and never 'class'