Sir Elton John Photo By Elton John Aids Foundation
By Ethan August (Palo Alto, California) June 7 | Did Sir Elton John just stick a knife in my back and twist it? It actually feels a lot like something else more painful but I’m a top – I don’t want to go there. News reports are saying that Elton John performed at Rush Limbaugh’s wedding today! I was so confounded at first I thought my brain would short circuit and a seizure would ensue. I broke it down however, and I think I’ve figured it out.
Forget about the fact that this is Rush Limbaugh’s fourth Christian wedding. He’s supposedly a Christian but the only thing that seems to apply to him in the Bible are the abortion and homosexuality parts… other than that he just does what he wants to – drug abuse, fornication, adultery just to name a few. However, this isn’t what my article is about. Rush will have to answer to God for those things and that’s good enough for me.
I could see Elton performing at Al Gore’s next wedding. I mean Al did falter on our civil rights for a long time but he eventually (after it didn’t matter anymore) came through. Rush Limbaugh though? Seriously – Rush Limbaugh? Elton please don’t tell me that you’re planning on singing at Kim Jong-il’s funeral! At this point, I don’t know what could be bigger news after the Rush Limbaugh un-Christian fourth wedding performance. I feel like taking all of my Elton John CD’s and throwing out the damn window, except that I don’t own any – he was a little before my time.
Now I understand that Elton’s an artist who loves to perform. But how can you perform for Rush Limbaugh and not feel like a sell out? Like an Uncle Tom? Subservient to those who seek to oppress us? I suppose some people could say “Well I made 1 million dollars doing this, I swallowed my pride.” Elton that’s only $500,000 after taxes depending on where you live! This really decreases the monetary argument. Now you’ve got to factor in the pissed of Gays! How many Gays are not going to buy your next album because of this? It may actually equate to more than $500,000 in sales.
Which makes me wonder… is this a gigantic mistake by Elton’s handlers? Or is he really seeking to appease his true audience? Let’s face it… how many of us Gays under 40 really listen to Elton John? The answer is – none of us. Probably more straight white Christians buy his music than we do. Elton John is an icon, he doesn’t make public relations mistakes this big, there is something going on.
I completely understand the performance with Eminem – it was a serious political coupe! Not only did it drive home the message on free speech, it took an emerging enemy of the Gay community and made him a friend after only one performance. Not only did Elton neutralize Eminem, the poor kid calls him every time he feels like he’s going to relapse! Way to flip a straight Elton and serve your community at the same time! Plus Eminem is hot, I’m sorry but I’d had to go there – who wouldn’t want to be close to him?
At first I thought that being Gay supersedes financial gain and was extremely angry. However Elton is worth an estimated $225 Million, so $500,000 (after taxes) isn’t going to get him to do something he doesn’t want to do. If that’s true, then why did he WANT to do this? That’s the difficult question. He’s also one of the largest contributors to Gay and Lesbian causes in the world. That’s why he’s not worth the $500 million he was some time ago. Can we just excuse these things when someone donates so much money to our causes?
There are two things here that the Gay media is completely missing. The first is that Elton John is converting enemies of our community to allies, one by one. If he can do this with Rush Limbaugh - he will truly be my hero. How many anti-Gay songs have you heard from Eminem since that performance? None. Elton did what many of us do in our own lives when we come out – he helped someone who doesn’t understand us, understand us. That’s why they are fighting an unbeatable cause, too many people know us, understand us, and love us.
The second is that Elton John is in recovery from drugs and alcohol. In recovery, one needs a sponsor… someone to show you the ropes and take you through the steps. You become a sponsor because you have to give away your knowledge of what it takes to stay sober to better understand and strengthen your own sobriety. Eminem and Rush Limbaugh are in recovery… and I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Elton John is sponsoring them. In recovery, anonymity is a key principle… Elton can’t come forward and say he’s sponsoring anyone or even that his is in recovery. Which means he may never come forward and explain why he’s friends (and let’s not kid ourselves, you really have to be friends to perform at someone’s wedding) with Rush Limbaugh. Elton John has drunk the cool-aid of 12 step programs –and that’s a good thing! He wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t in recovery, we would have lost him years ago.
Celebrities don’t typically show up at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings – they can’t, to protect their own anonymity. There is a great deal of recovery going on at the celebrity level which we never see. The great thing about this for us is that Rush Limbaugh will always have this in the back of his mind every time he attempts to persecute us. This will result in one of two things, he will either relapse on pills, or he will become a friend and ally – pocketing his nearly $1 Billion in earnings over the last 20 years and call it a day. Regardless, if he did pay Elton to do this, it’s all going to our causes. I’ll be able to sleep tonight. The real headline should be - Rush Limbaugh funds Gay Causes!
Forget about the fact that this is Rush Limbaugh’s fourth Christian wedding. He’s supposedly a Christian but the only thing that seems to apply to him in the Bible are the abortion and homosexuality parts… other than that he just does what he wants to – drug abuse, fornication, adultery just to name a few. However, this isn’t what my article is about. Rush will have to answer to God for those things and that’s good enough for me.
I could see Elton performing at Al Gore’s next wedding. I mean Al did falter on our civil rights for a long time but he eventually (after it didn’t matter anymore) came through. Rush Limbaugh though? Seriously – Rush Limbaugh? Elton please don’t tell me that you’re planning on singing at Kim Jong-il’s funeral! At this point, I don’t know what could be bigger news after the Rush Limbaugh un-Christian fourth wedding performance. I feel like taking all of my Elton John CD’s and throwing out the damn window, except that I don’t own any – he was a little before my time.
Now I understand that Elton’s an artist who loves to perform. But how can you perform for Rush Limbaugh and not feel like a sell out? Like an Uncle Tom? Subservient to those who seek to oppress us? I suppose some people could say “Well I made 1 million dollars doing this, I swallowed my pride.” Elton that’s only $500,000 after taxes depending on where you live! This really decreases the monetary argument. Now you’ve got to factor in the pissed of Gays! How many Gays are not going to buy your next album because of this? It may actually equate to more than $500,000 in sales.
Which makes me wonder… is this a gigantic mistake by Elton’s handlers? Or is he really seeking to appease his true audience? Let’s face it… how many of us Gays under 40 really listen to Elton John? The answer is – none of us. Probably more straight white Christians buy his music than we do. Elton John is an icon, he doesn’t make public relations mistakes this big, there is something going on.
I completely understand the performance with Eminem – it was a serious political coupe! Not only did it drive home the message on free speech, it took an emerging enemy of the Gay community and made him a friend after only one performance. Not only did Elton neutralize Eminem, the poor kid calls him every time he feels like he’s going to relapse! Way to flip a straight Elton and serve your community at the same time! Plus Eminem is hot, I’m sorry but I’d had to go there – who wouldn’t want to be close to him?
At first I thought that being Gay supersedes financial gain and was extremely angry. However Elton is worth an estimated $225 Million, so $500,000 (after taxes) isn’t going to get him to do something he doesn’t want to do. If that’s true, then why did he WANT to do this? That’s the difficult question. He’s also one of the largest contributors to Gay and Lesbian causes in the world. That’s why he’s not worth the $500 million he was some time ago. Can we just excuse these things when someone donates so much money to our causes?
There are two things here that the Gay media is completely missing. The first is that Elton John is converting enemies of our community to allies, one by one. If he can do this with Rush Limbaugh - he will truly be my hero. How many anti-Gay songs have you heard from Eminem since that performance? None. Elton did what many of us do in our own lives when we come out – he helped someone who doesn’t understand us, understand us. That’s why they are fighting an unbeatable cause, too many people know us, understand us, and love us.
The second is that Elton John is in recovery from drugs and alcohol. In recovery, one needs a sponsor… someone to show you the ropes and take you through the steps. You become a sponsor because you have to give away your knowledge of what it takes to stay sober to better understand and strengthen your own sobriety. Eminem and Rush Limbaugh are in recovery… and I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Elton John is sponsoring them. In recovery, anonymity is a key principle… Elton can’t come forward and say he’s sponsoring anyone or even that his is in recovery. Which means he may never come forward and explain why he’s friends (and let’s not kid ourselves, you really have to be friends to perform at someone’s wedding) with Rush Limbaugh. Elton John has drunk the cool-aid of 12 step programs –and that’s a good thing! He wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t in recovery, we would have lost him years ago.
Celebrities don’t typically show up at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings – they can’t, to protect their own anonymity. There is a great deal of recovery going on at the celebrity level which we never see. The great thing about this for us is that Rush Limbaugh will always have this in the back of his mind every time he attempts to persecute us. This will result in one of two things, he will either relapse on pills, or he will become a friend and ally – pocketing his nearly $1 Billion in earnings over the last 20 years and call it a day. Regardless, if he did pay Elton to do this, it’s all going to our causes. I’ll be able to sleep tonight. The real headline should be - Rush Limbaugh funds Gay Causes!
Palo Alto, California based Writer & Comedian Ethan August, gives his spin on life, being Gay, politics, & the current political atmosphere surrounding the ongoing debates in Washington. August holds a degree in Psychology and has volunteered for numerous LGBT non-profits. His blog, This-Gay-Life, features his own comedic and politically incorrect commentary on Gay life, politics, movies and other interesting events. He is working on his first book, a collection of comical short stories on some of the most serious and hilarious Gay issues.
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1 comments:
Perhaps we could get Christopher Hitchens to read the eulogy at the Pope's funeral when it comes time, for a million dollars, donated to those who survived the attentions of the priesthood.
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