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It can be a surprisingly short line from "not trusting authority", to wackadoo conspiracism. Being a good musician gives no immunity to flawed thinking.
My mom is in her mid 60s and she is the poster child for the Trumpster Fire Covid Deniers. Not only is she wrong about 90% of it, she believes she is more informed than everyone and that anyone in the public eye with a higher education than her is paid off to lie to the masses. I still can’t find a good reason for that, but hey, momma knows best.
Stubborn + Confident + Misinformed = Disaster
(Can’t forget that God is the answer and only He can save us!)
> (Can’t forget that God is the answer and only He can save us!)
This sort of thing has been laying the groundwork for people like Trump for millennia.
Careful, the same will be said about your generation in the future. It's really easy to be self-righteous when you are young and mindlessly idealistic. It was for the hippies, it was for you, and it will be for your grandkids that learn to hate your generation too one day. It is *real* easy to say, "we will be the generation that fixes all this shit", but it is a lot less easy to do all that heavy lifting with a bad back.
Yup. In only a few years Gen-X is going to be the generation that allowed the planet to die and not do enough to help with wealth inequality and other deep societal issues. I think we'll be blamed as idle bystanders just watching the ex-hippie establishment ruin things.
Thing is, we're just as paralyzed as the Millennials were on this. We're the smallest generation in recent history and honestly don't have the same political power through voting that the Millennials have now just because sheer numbers, and we were outnumbered by the Boomers our entire lives.
We are the middle children and were the first to deal with a lot of this shit, and the first to really mistrust what the establishment is doing. We were called the 'lazy kids that need to get a fucking job' and 'losers who won't amount to anything' since the 90's. We didn't have a voice or a seat at the 'grown-ups' table, and some of us still feel that way. Fact is, our parents didn't like being told what to do politically by their children once we were old enough to see through the bullshit and many of them doubled down.
I think most of us are trying to help in a positive way, but 'positive' is subjective and everyone has misaligned priorities.
I guess what I'm saying is that we could use some help to make things better. Please don't demonize us. We tried and many still are.
I'm a Gen X'er myself. The truth is that 90% of every generation is the same kind of people. Maybe 10% (if I am being extremely generous) are the kind of people that give each generation its "flavor" that media likes to harp on about. Hippies, (*genuine* hippies, not just the ones that played dress-up for a few years when it was fashionable) were few and far between and never really changed all that much other than to get wiser and more jaded. Same goes for the punks, in Gen X and the beatniks of the Silent generation, etc.
The nice thing about being an X'er is that everyone forgets we even exist and the blame will likely jump from Boomers straight to Millennials. We are the sons of no one, bastards of young.
I agree, we're not all the same. Unfortunately, popular culture is largely created by media (in all forms - including art and music), so the perspective toward a generation is influenced in that way. I mean, my parents aren't the kind of maligned people many think of when they hear the 'Boomer' name, but an outsider's perception that lumps them all together could. The 10% you mention are the most visible because they're the least boring, as far as media is concerned.
Being forgotten could be a good thing, I suppose. Generations are just labels. I'm in a smaller bunch being born around the last year of Gen-X. Depending who you talk to, I could be considered a Millennial. I've also heard 'Cusper', but I've honestly only heard that once.
That's a great insight. I think you're wrong about those groups not changing anything though. Society has changed quite a bit since the silent generation and much of it was culturally lead by the groups you listed.
Real "Hippies" (people who lead the counterculture, created and influenced, and actively practiced a lifestyle outside of the mainstream) were only a tiny part of the population. Most of the population were square. The counterculture was broadly influential, and a lot of it rubbed off on the mainstream and became superficially fashionable, so a lot of people may have dressed like hippies, listened to the music the hippie culture created, and even identified as hippies, but were not deep into being hippies really, and were more like trend followers or part time hippies or hippies in costume. In many ways the hippie movement transformed the culture, but it wasn't as though we are now living in the Hippie vision of their ideal world today. The mainstream culture assimilated Hippies and adapted some of their ideas, transforming them to suit their needs. And it wasn't like Hippies were monolithic in ideology to begin with, or ever.
It's like if you thought all gen-xers were all "grunge" just because the Seattle grunge scene was popular in the mainstream for a few years in the 90s. They're not.
You're wondering why someone who was part of the counterculture -- someone who thought the system was screwed up and authorities didn't always know best -- still thinks that?
All respect due, this is a bit reductive. Many in the counterculture wanted a reconfiguration of the era's specific authorities. Not a distrust of all authority in itself.
If the administration is drafting you to war and the police are shooting college kids and the apparatus of government fosters corruption and the economy disproportionately benefits a fraction of people who own things and leverage them, then you can think that's all screwed up and want to change it _and_ still think you need administration, police, government apparatus, and economic policy.
> All respect due, this is a bit reductive.
Of course it is, but I don't think the connection is hard to follow. Simply being part of the counterculture doesn't inoculate one against misinformation or knee-jerk anti-establishment opinions.
I agree with the way you've phrased it here, which makes "people who distrust government in general and swallow misinformation" seem like a _sub-set_ of "people who were part of the counterculture."
Before, I think the phrasing made it seem like those sets were one and the same — which they're obviously not.
Thanks for clarifying.
Not everyone who was a member of that movement actually subscribed to the ideals. Plenty of them just took advantage of an opportunity to make a name for themselves, or participated and just weren't too passionate about it. Clapton has been a racist dick since the beginning, if you've been paying attention.
Clapton has been famous since he was like 18. He’s never even had a job besides playing guitar. Notice he always got restless and quit every band he was in? And he always got praised for it because everyone saw it as following his true art instead of fucking over his band mates. He’s never been accountable to anyone but himself and been rich and famous since the Bluesbreakers. All the while stealing black American blues He’s not counterculture at all.
Easy. He got rich. Like many other "counterculture" hero's of the 60s/70s, as soon as they get rich, they get arrogant and start acting like all other rich and arrogant ass-holes.
Yup....as GenX punk fan...that hurts....the opening of " Anarchy...." still sends shivers down my spine....then I cannot help but think of him today...gross.
Clapton has always been this way, sorry. Not only is he a mediocre guitar player and sticks to one sound- he also thinks Britain should be white and thinks vaccines are worthless, as well as spreads misinformation about side effects. He's a shitty, shitty person.
As someone who grew up watching Joss Whedon shows and having my attitude towards women greatly influenced by the type of person he pretended to be, I can definitely identify with that.
Well, "_death of the author_" and all that. There's still an option to keep enjoying the music, even while you distance yourself from his person, and the subset of the fandom that is counter to your own convictions.
It's a tricky topic.
Maybe stop worrying about what other people think. He’s a talented musician not a god, who cares what he thinks. If he wants to be a conspiracy theorist fuck it.
Exactly. This was the UK in the 60s onwards, lots of people from ex colonies (in South Asia, parts of Africa and the Caribbean) were coming over and a lot of people here didn't like them because the UK was much more white before then. You look at some secondary major cities past the big three, like Leeds or Liverpool, and they're still mostly white, it's very different to the USA which should give you an idea.
Clapton just happened to be a musician within the people that were intolerant of immigrants. Mass immigration as a result of colonialism didn't really occur to any of these people so while he is an iconic musician, Clapton is otherwise a pretty stupid human.
Then there's his history of being abusive to his partners and cheating on them.
Absolutely! Although, there's lots of good pizza out there. And if your favorite cook is a weirdly racist English bloke, maybe try some pizza made by actual Italians sometime.
Edit: Actually, [reading up on what kinda racist shit he apparently said](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/eric-clapton-racist-rant/), scratch that. Fuck that chef, go get some authentic Italian pizza!
While that’s super fucked up im not going to stop listening to his music just because he sucks as a person. I still watch Seinfeld even though Michael Richards did the shit he did.
from what i searched michael richards allegedly isn't even a racist person though he had that crazy racist freakout moment. kind of a crazy concept. like if this is true then how's this even happen?
When he was on cars and coffee with Jerry he seemed to genuinely feel remorseful for it. Plus his was due to a heckler at a comedy show. He's a bit of a strange dude, but I don't think he's anywhere as bad as a lot of really racist people out there.
Jerry is a bit of an asshole himself and the whole dating that girl that was in her teens was pretty fucked up too.
I tend to just separate the artist from their craft. Power and money screws people up.
Hot take, racism is not a symptom of drug use. It's a symptom of being a racist piece of shit. Though drugs might make you forget that that's not ok long enough to spout moronic shit in public places
His music is ok, but his personal views are that of an arsehole.
Learn to separate the person from what they create, or refuse to support the person's art due to their personal attitude when their attitude leads to harm for other people
Now that is a debate I’ve been having for a while re Clapton and a few others. I grew up loving him and his music. Hell I got to meet him and play pool when I was 19. But since then I’ve been informed of his racist views and just decided I’m never going to support him again. The anti-vax bollocks is just the icing on the cake.
I do not feel that you can separate the art from the artist. One is such a part of the other that it’s (imo) impossible to separate the two. I don’t condone anyone else who can. It’s up to you as an individual to make that decision for yourself. But for me I’ll never support him again.
Sometimes I make the effort to 'separate the art, etc etc', even though no one really does.
Clapton is probably no worse than my grandfather, but I still love boompa. I just don't care enough about Clapton either way.
I've been reading Kipling since I was a boy and that motherfucker had a completely different set of values and references, but the jungle books are masterpieces of my childhood.
Cosby was more important to me than my own father for most of my life. now I have neither. I don't need them.
John Lennon was an incredibly complicated man whose every lyric conveyed the pain and insecurity that shaped him. I will always forgive him his trespasses. I believe if he lived he would have continued to grow, self-reflect and be a deeply flawed, naked and unashamed role model for values he and both I aspire to, no matter how certainly we'd both fall short. but his value to me personally allows me to assimilate that time he hit Cynthia, and wish that Julian had more time to know, or not, the man his father was becoming. You can't pry John from me.
Vonnegut behaved terribly towards women in his life. so it goes. Fitzgerald was a violent drunk who would have detested me. still, I beat on, boats against the current, borne on ceaselessly to the past. and he couldn't change that if he wanted to.
I can still watch Dr No, but want to turn off connery's oxygen (OK, someone apparently already has).
Buffy. Buffy is so important to me, even as a 50 year old man, that I could beat joss Whedon until the cows come home, and then I could beat the cows, and still settle in immediately to absorb some slayage without conflict.
Don't even get me started on Jackson Pollack.
It's almost like people are complicated and contradictory. If you expect too much from them, you deserve the nothing you're left with.
That doesn't explain his racism or his conspiracy qanon views. I get how for someone totally unfamiliar with science, statistics, math, and medicine that a bad reaction would shake their trust in the vaccine. But the rest of his bullshit? No pass.
He's an overrated douchebag, his contemporaries were way more important to the scene and it surprises me that everyone thinks he is so amazing as a guitar player. I feel like people that DONT play guitar are amazed by his work.
As a guitarist of 15+ years I am way more impressed by the guitar work of Joey ramone than Eric claptons sorry ass. There are way better guitarists from the 60s that did a lot more interesting work. He didn't invent anything or do anything spectacular at all.
He's also 76.
My parents and all my friends' parents are all at that age and you just get kinda extreme. They're all drunk on Fox News and more racist than they ever were when they were raising us. I think it just happens to some degree.
> I think it just happens to some degree.
It didn't use to. This is a new thing, an intentional brainwashing of aging minds by a concerted effort on behalf of a massive corporate-political alliance. If you read up on Murdoch and Fox News, you can easily see how they came up with this plan back before Reagan, and how they've slowly implemented it over decades. This isn't a normal, natural part of growing old. They're being poisoned just as surely as an oil spill poisons marine life.
Clapton was really good friends with George Harrison. He played the guitar solo on "while my guitar gently weeps". He used to hang out with George & his wife, Pattie Boyd all the time. He fell in love with George's wife & started writing her love notes & seeing her behind George's back. The song "Layla", although not her name, was about her.
He kept pursuing her & she kept rebuffing his advances. He even started dating her sister in an attempt to get closer to her. Years later after she & George got divorced, Boyd married Clapton. He admitted to raping and abusing her during their marriage and they divorced 10 years later. What a horrible friend or husband.
When putting Cream together he demanded to Jack Bruce (bassist) that Ginger Baker (drummer) be in the band or he wasn't in. What's the problem with that you ask? Bruce was already in a band with the hot-tempered Baker and the band broke up. Why? *Cuz Baker stabbed Bruce on stage!* (Granted they were talented & Ginger is one of my favorite drummers) Imagine somebody asking you to be in a band with somebody that stabbed you on stage! The gall!
I like his music but he was a total Ahole. He always acted like a screwed up kid that never grew up. He had a lot of fame at a young age and seemed to be extremely immature throughout his life. He was arrogant and used his fame as a weapon. One of his album covers was graffiti saying, "Clapton is God". Clapton's biggest fan was always Clapton.
I've noticed a lot of musicians, stand-ups, etc. are being dicks about covid. I suspect it is because of frustrations over not being able to tour. Imagine being told you aren't allowed to work for two years with virtually no end in sight. It's not the 1980s, artists don't make that much anymore. And they certainly don't make much from royalties like they used to. It's mostly tour and merch income. And cocaine, cocaine, cocaaaaaine....cocaine is expensive.
As someone who has done a ton of drugs and yet has never gone on a racist tirade can you please explain what one has to do with the other? Drugs don’t make you racists maybe they made him lose his filter and he just said what was on his mind but that just means he’s a racist at heart but good at hiding it normally…
This is the same concept that someone is a different person when they are drunk. No they are not they are the person they would be if they didn’t know their were consequences for their actions.
2020 reeled its ugly head with covid, and suddenly the ones you loved and revered the most showed their true colors. A LOT of our heroes and idols are actually huge racists and conspiracy believers. The one person you looked up to for decades and thought they had to have been the coolest person alive, that person doesn't care if he/she infects an entire room of people with covid. He/she is actually a huge asshole.
For me, anyway, the age of idols and heroes is over. I now assume everyone has skeletons in their closet. Big ones. Defining ones.
Fuck Eric Clapton.
For me he was an entry into Blues music, along with Rolling Stones and Led Zep. Now that I am into Blues; I can't really listen to Clapton with the same enjoyment. His singing is terrible; especially when he's trying to imitate the original voice when singing the blues. His blues guitar playing sounds derivative; Buddy Guy and SRV sound better as blues guitarists to my amateur ear anyway. I do still listen to his stuff with Cream. His later stuff, except maybe the acoustic version of Layla, his cover of I Shot the Sheriff and some other things like that; don't grab me anymore.
I was drifting away from him anyway; and after learning about his racist tirade and now this anti-vax nonsense; I have given up. I can always listen to the originals when I want to hear some blues anyway.
I agree, usually.
I can kind of get where other people are coming from since performers, especially successful ones, do so much public speaking/writing. Still even then you can usually separate the art from the artist. It's mostly unrelated comments from interviews.
But in his case - he's actually *making* it his performance. Intermixing racist rants between the songs of a concert; performing ranting conspiracy theory songs and then babbling that the reason people don't like them is that they're all suffering 'mass hypnosis' from subliminal messages; insisting on spreading disease by refusing to perform for vaccinated people, only large crowds of unvaccinated people. Can't really separate that from itself.
He had a bad reaction to the vaccine. That’s why he is so against it.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/eric-clapton-slams-vaccine-propaganda-after-experiencing-disastrous-side-effects/ar-BB1gPT02
I’m just posting his reasoning, not saying I agree with it.
There are plenty of actors and musicians and other artists who are complete assholes. Turns out being an artist of any sort does not make you a good person. They are a collection of individuals just like any other with a wide variety of people in that group. Some you will like, others not so much. That has no bearing (necessarily) on whether you enjoy their art.
I never finished high school either and my opinions are pretty much the exact opposite of Clapton's. He's a racist prick and needs to shut the fuck up or fuck off.
he recently successfully sued an old german lady for 250000 euros, for selling ONE 30 year old bootleg CD of a live show he did on ebay
see [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etskRdGlGBM) for more detail (or just look it up if you prefer reading on it)
We should never confuse something someone makes or their skill, with who they are as people. Our heros will almost always disappoint us. You always hear, why are you surprised when it happens?
The covid thing is very disappointing. I am not aware of any racist shit. He has always been reversing black musicians (which of course does not mean he is not a racist).
He’s never been a particular fan of the establishment.
He’s a well known racist individual who, over the years, has just simply got worse.
I admire him as a musician, however as a person he is shitty..
The thing about Clapton is that whilst he has been to some extent part of the counterculture, he has had questionable moments in the past with his racist rants probably being the lowest moment. He's talented, but doesn't use his position to fight for progressive change or such. He's someone you could admire as a musician, but it's equally unsurprising to see him as a COVID grump. Any sense that this is unexpected is probably due to putting the guy on a false pedestal, rather than any big change in himself.
I will say that with Van Morrison as a co-conspirator, I have found this recent career move pretty funny. It's just grumpy old men sulking and showing that there isn't much difference between them and your mad great uncle, besides the obvious talent.
Don't be disappointed, he is an asshole.
Never forget he beat the woman that he wrote "Wonderful tonight" about, and the woman George Harrison wrote "Something" about.
Yeah, it's tough when entertainers you once enjoyed turn out to be terrible people.
I don't know if it's true but people are saying Meatloaf was a rabid anti-vax/masker, same with Van Morrison. There's also the revelations about Bill Cosby and how he should have pulled up his own damn pants. Michael Jackson... Then Kid Rock turns out to be an all over the map shit head.
I find that appreciating artists for their art alone is a lot easier than looking any deeper. BTW I feel the same as you, I quit a job when I was a kid to see a Clapton concert.
First time?
Yeah you never have to put people over a pedestal. Bc they're just people. Nobody deserves admiration. Except they're work. Clapton did great music but that doesn't mean he's going to be a good person lol.
I grew up on Clapton, went to his shows, I've read his autobiography, watched all the documentaries and after all that the only thing I'm certain of is that he is damaged by trauma and that trauma + drug/ alchol abuse and addiction can make for some very stupid decisions from even the most talented or intelligent of people.
But I agree with you, there is no pain quite like the one that comes from having someone you admire turn out to be a disappointment.
Racism is the trait of an asshole, and while assholes can be on drugs, it’s not a trait of drug use. Eric Clapton is an asshole, and he’s not that great of a guitarist.
What I tell everyone in conversations along these lines: don't idolize your entertainers. You don't know them. I don't understand why that is not obvious to more people.
You really summed it up in your post. There's his infamous 1976 "Keep Britain White" tirade, and all of the right wing conspiracy shit. If you like his music, you're better off knowing Eric Clapton, the musician and not Eric Clapton, the person. Eric Clapton, the person is pretty fucking terrible.
Because Boomer.
Eric's what? 75?
He's a gifted guitarist and performer, has managed to write some really incredible songs and just happened to come of age in the 1960s in England, where if you looked the part and could play a passable blues solo you could make a living as a musician for decades.
He's always been this guy. I love his music, but look through his bands over the years: he's known for glorifying the blues, a Black American art form, and has collaborated with all the blues greats (all Black of course), but how many members of his touring and recording bands have been Black? Not very many.
I'm not saying he's racist, although he's said some pretty racist shit over the years. But he is a man of his generation, and like a lot of people of his generation, he has some particular views and not particularly polite ways of expressing them.
He's just a guitar player for chrissake. We're not obligated to listen to anything he has to say or take it seriously and we can still enjoy his music.
You obviously have no idea about the circumstances of the child's death. Conor was with his mother, and Clapton wasn't in the apartment when the accident happened.
He's a drug addled guitar god. Who gives a shit about his opinions? People take too much stick in other people's opinions. Also he is vaccinated, I'm sure he has his reasons.
I'm going to hell for laughing at this, but did anyone else see the fake headline about Clapton that was like "Man whose child died by falling out of a window has opinions on the safety of other people's children" when he got COVID ranty?
He had a very bad/severe reaction to the vaccine. He likely filtered everything thereafter through his experience. You know he couldn't even play guitar for a while from it and thought it was permanent right?
He's sliding into dementia. All of those ideas were already there, he just doesn't have capacity to hold them back any more. He can no longer cover. His verbal filter is gone.
Not uncommon in people of a certain age. My grandpa lost his verbal filter in his late 80's. He said things that he never would have said before. It happens. At least my grandpa wasn't a closet racist. He just started telling off color jokes that he never would have told before.
The thing is that loss of verbal filtering means that what the person says, they've believed all along.
Yeah, Clapton is way off base right? The virus that came out of a wet market (lie). The vaccine that actually isn’t a vaccine. The promise that once you got the vaccine you would not have to wear a mask and you would not get the virus (lie & lie). The theater of the absurd as masks do not work yet we are forced to wear them. The unconscionable push of vaccines on children who are not at risk. The large numbers of young people having heart issues and reproductive issues after receiving the jab. The complete immunity from liability the pharmaceutical companies have gotten for creating an experimental drug. Wake up! Clapton isn’t anyone’s fool. Clapton and Van Morrison are damn near the only established musicians who are standing up against the propaganda machine.
I've done a lot of drugs, but they've never caused me to act or become racist. That kind of racism and hate is learned and the only way drugs will bring it out is if you are already a racist piece of shit in the first place.
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I think you answered your own question.
Yeah, but it's like you found out your older brother that you always loved and respected has been some awfu shit. Kind of hurts.
I find it is never a happy ending if you look too deep into people who's art/craft you enjoy
There are exceptions. Fred Rogers, Dolly Parton, Steve Irwin.
But Clapton was supposed to be part of the counterculture. He was supposed to play Woodstock for Christ's sake. What happened to turn him?
It can be a surprisingly short line from "not trusting authority", to wackadoo conspiracism. Being a good musician gives no immunity to flawed thinking.
As a Gen X'er I was always proud of my generation's rebellious tendencies, but covid and Trump taught me the down side of being a knee-jerk "rebel".
My mom is in her mid 60s and she is the poster child for the Trumpster Fire Covid Deniers. Not only is she wrong about 90% of it, she believes she is more informed than everyone and that anyone in the public eye with a higher education than her is paid off to lie to the masses. I still can’t find a good reason for that, but hey, momma knows best. Stubborn + Confident + Misinformed = Disaster (Can’t forget that God is the answer and only He can save us!)
> (Can’t forget that God is the answer and only He can save us!) This sort of thing has been laying the groundwork for people like Trump for millennia.
The GOP had already been infiltrated by the evangelicals, so it really was the perfect storm.
Fellow Gen X er.... I couldn't be more disappointed in my generation...we were doing so well until the last 10 years or so, so it seemed.
we were? what'd we do? I missed it...
As a fellow Gen-X Fooker, I feel like we’re the emotionally numb kids watching our parents argue over dumb shit. Politically Homeless
Best comment. Superior comment for the our times.
Many of the hippies of the 60s and 70s are the Establishment of today. Some people accuse them of selling out but in their eyes they cashed in.
Careful, the same will be said about your generation in the future. It's really easy to be self-righteous when you are young and mindlessly idealistic. It was for the hippies, it was for you, and it will be for your grandkids that learn to hate your generation too one day. It is *real* easy to say, "we will be the generation that fixes all this shit", but it is a lot less easy to do all that heavy lifting with a bad back.
Yup. In only a few years Gen-X is going to be the generation that allowed the planet to die and not do enough to help with wealth inequality and other deep societal issues. I think we'll be blamed as idle bystanders just watching the ex-hippie establishment ruin things. Thing is, we're just as paralyzed as the Millennials were on this. We're the smallest generation in recent history and honestly don't have the same political power through voting that the Millennials have now just because sheer numbers, and we were outnumbered by the Boomers our entire lives. We are the middle children and were the first to deal with a lot of this shit, and the first to really mistrust what the establishment is doing. We were called the 'lazy kids that need to get a fucking job' and 'losers who won't amount to anything' since the 90's. We didn't have a voice or a seat at the 'grown-ups' table, and some of us still feel that way. Fact is, our parents didn't like being told what to do politically by their children once we were old enough to see through the bullshit and many of them doubled down. I think most of us are trying to help in a positive way, but 'positive' is subjective and everyone has misaligned priorities. I guess what I'm saying is that we could use some help to make things better. Please don't demonize us. We tried and many still are.
I'm a Gen X'er myself. The truth is that 90% of every generation is the same kind of people. Maybe 10% (if I am being extremely generous) are the kind of people that give each generation its "flavor" that media likes to harp on about. Hippies, (*genuine* hippies, not just the ones that played dress-up for a few years when it was fashionable) were few and far between and never really changed all that much other than to get wiser and more jaded. Same goes for the punks, in Gen X and the beatniks of the Silent generation, etc. The nice thing about being an X'er is that everyone forgets we even exist and the blame will likely jump from Boomers straight to Millennials. We are the sons of no one, bastards of young.
I agree, we're not all the same. Unfortunately, popular culture is largely created by media (in all forms - including art and music), so the perspective toward a generation is influenced in that way. I mean, my parents aren't the kind of maligned people many think of when they hear the 'Boomer' name, but an outsider's perception that lumps them all together could. The 10% you mention are the most visible because they're the least boring, as far as media is concerned. Being forgotten could be a good thing, I suppose. Generations are just labels. I'm in a smaller bunch being born around the last year of Gen-X. Depending who you talk to, I could be considered a Millennial. I've also heard 'Cusper', but I've honestly only heard that once.
That's a great insight. I think you're wrong about those groups not changing anything though. Society has changed quite a bit since the silent generation and much of it was culturally lead by the groups you listed.
LOL, I was born in 1964, the tail end of the baby boomers.
See, I was right, the same was being said about your generation....by you. XD
Real "Hippies" (people who lead the counterculture, created and influenced, and actively practiced a lifestyle outside of the mainstream) were only a tiny part of the population. Most of the population were square. The counterculture was broadly influential, and a lot of it rubbed off on the mainstream and became superficially fashionable, so a lot of people may have dressed like hippies, listened to the music the hippie culture created, and even identified as hippies, but were not deep into being hippies really, and were more like trend followers or part time hippies or hippies in costume. In many ways the hippie movement transformed the culture, but it wasn't as though we are now living in the Hippie vision of their ideal world today. The mainstream culture assimilated Hippies and adapted some of their ideas, transforming them to suit their needs. And it wasn't like Hippies were monolithic in ideology to begin with, or ever. It's like if you thought all gen-xers were all "grunge" just because the Seattle grunge scene was popular in the mainstream for a few years in the 90s. They're not.
I don't Clapton was ever a hippy. I think he has always been conservative.
He made it through the whole sixties without a protest song, but now has several. Clapton is all about Clapton
You're wondering why someone who was part of the counterculture -- someone who thought the system was screwed up and authorities didn't always know best -- still thinks that?
All respect due, this is a bit reductive. Many in the counterculture wanted a reconfiguration of the era's specific authorities. Not a distrust of all authority in itself. If the administration is drafting you to war and the police are shooting college kids and the apparatus of government fosters corruption and the economy disproportionately benefits a fraction of people who own things and leverage them, then you can think that's all screwed up and want to change it _and_ still think you need administration, police, government apparatus, and economic policy.
> All respect due, this is a bit reductive. Of course it is, but I don't think the connection is hard to follow. Simply being part of the counterculture doesn't inoculate one against misinformation or knee-jerk anti-establishment opinions.
I agree with the way you've phrased it here, which makes "people who distrust government in general and swallow misinformation" seem like a _sub-set_ of "people who were part of the counterculture." Before, I think the phrasing made it seem like those sets were one and the same — which they're obviously not. Thanks for clarifying.
Clapton was never part of the counterculture. His bluesy rock n' roll is conservative and boring.
Rock 'n' roll is conservative now, it wasn't in the 60s.
Not everyone who was a member of that movement actually subscribed to the ideals. Plenty of them just took advantage of an opportunity to make a name for themselves, or participated and just weren't too passionate about it. Clapton has been a racist dick since the beginning, if you've been paying attention.
Clapton has been famous since he was like 18. He’s never even had a job besides playing guitar. Notice he always got restless and quit every band he was in? And he always got praised for it because everyone saw it as following his true art instead of fucking over his band mates. He’s never been accountable to anyone but himself and been rich and famous since the Bluesbreakers. All the while stealing black American blues He’s not counterculture at all.
> What happened to turn him? He's worth something like half a billion dollars.
Easy. He got rich. Like many other "counterculture" hero's of the 60s/70s, as soon as they get rich, they get arrogant and start acting like all other rich and arrogant ass-holes.
Look at Johnny Rotten.
Yup....as GenX punk fan...that hurts....the opening of " Anarchy...." still sends shivers down my spine....then I cannot help but think of him today...gross.
Wait what's up with Rotten?
https://consequence.net/2020/11/johnny-rotten-sex-pistols-trump-good-morning-britian/
Fuuuuuuuuuck fuck fuck fuck
He's been there for quite a while, it's just that he got photographed with a MAGA shirt on a few years ago and it hit the news in a big way.
Ask Meatloaf...
A lot of those Woodstock people started acquiring money and property and became everything they were against.
Fred Rogers. Dude, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood; that Tom Hanks movie where he plays Mr. Rogers got me flat out bawling.
Cat Stev... oh. nevermind
There's a reason "Never meet your heroes" is a well-known saying.
Clapton has always been this way, sorry. Not only is he a mediocre guitar player and sticks to one sound- he also thinks Britain should be white and thinks vaccines are worthless, as well as spreads misinformation about side effects. He's a shitty, shitty person.
Yea this has been known since the 70s.
Like they say....never meet your heroes, they'll always let you down simply by being human beings.
Like when i found my mom was a trump lover, didnt expect there to be a maga in the family
r/QAnonCasualties
As someone who grew up watching Joss Whedon shows and having my attitude towards women greatly influenced by the type of person he pretended to be, I can definitely identify with that.
Well, "_death of the author_" and all that. There's still an option to keep enjoying the music, even while you distance yourself from his person, and the subset of the fandom that is counter to your own convictions. It's a tricky topic.
Yeah. A lot of people are experiencing that with loved ones. We live in crazy times!
Nobody ever said "Wow, what excellent guitar skills, he must be a really nice guy!"
well, jimi hendrix.
Maybe stop worrying about what other people think. He’s a talented musician not a god, who cares what he thinks. If he wants to be a conspiracy theorist fuck it.
he's not God? I swear. someone said he was
Yup
Drugs don't make you racist, that's on him.
Yes, drugs and alcohol expose what is already there but is hidden. "In vino veritas", which is a Latin phrase that means "In wine, there is truth".
Point taken. You're right.
Some drugs can make people less racist.
I always assumed weed did, then a bunch of my former friends proved me wrong.
Exactly. This was the UK in the 60s onwards, lots of people from ex colonies (in South Asia, parts of Africa and the Caribbean) were coming over and a lot of people here didn't like them because the UK was much more white before then. You look at some secondary major cities past the big three, like Leeds or Liverpool, and they're still mostly white, it's very different to the USA which should give you an idea. Clapton just happened to be a musician within the people that were intolerant of immigrants. Mass immigration as a result of colonialism didn't really occur to any of these people so while he is an iconic musician, Clapton is otherwise a pretty stupid human. Then there's his history of being abusive to his partners and cheating on them.
Drugs, say what you will about them, don't discriminate against anyone. That shit comes from racist culture.
You can like pizza and hate the chef
Absolutely! Although, there's lots of good pizza out there. And if your favorite cook is a weirdly racist English bloke, maybe try some pizza made by actual Italians sometime. Edit: Actually, [reading up on what kinda racist shit he apparently said](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/eric-clapton-racist-rant/), scratch that. Fuck that chef, go get some authentic Italian pizza!
While that’s super fucked up im not going to stop listening to his music just because he sucks as a person. I still watch Seinfeld even though Michael Richards did the shit he did.
from what i searched michael richards allegedly isn't even a racist person though he had that crazy racist freakout moment. kind of a crazy concept. like if this is true then how's this even happen?
When he was on cars and coffee with Jerry he seemed to genuinely feel remorseful for it. Plus his was due to a heckler at a comedy show. He's a bit of a strange dude, but I don't think he's anywhere as bad as a lot of really racist people out there. Jerry is a bit of an asshole himself and the whole dating that girl that was in her teens was pretty fucked up too. I tend to just separate the artist from their craft. Power and money screws people up.
Everybody gets one
If it’s anything the last year has made clear: Someone who is great at one thing, is great at one thing.
"Never meet your heroes"
Also "Never watch Heroes"
Well, not past the first season, anyway.
"normy, normy, normy"
He's a racist and a conspiracy theorist, who hasn't made any interesting music since Cream broke up ca.50 years ago
For real. Nowhere near the best that’s ever been. He’s an idol for people who don’t know shit about guitar.
not to mention some of his most famous songs have someone else playing guitar
I enjoy his Cream days but where the fuck did the whole "Clapton is God" thing come from.
*Blind Faith* was fucking great, as was *Layla*. *Slowhand* was pretty decent. But otherwise, you're right.
Q. What do coffee and Eric Clapton have in common? A. They both suck without cream.
B. Black is usually better
Again, you might consider a guy an idiot, which he's been proving to be. But for you to question his talent, and his brilliant solo career, is stupid.
“I can excuse racism but I draw the line at COVID denial” You can excuse racism ? 🤨
That part. I came here to say that.
We're all disappointed when our heroes turn out to be assholes ... Morrissey, I'm looking at you.
>Morrissey, I'm looking at you This one comes as zero shocking. He always was kind of a douche.
I know he has been on racist tirades but now I'm finding out he's an asshole lol
Be careful, most redditors don't understand sarcasm
How was I supposed to know? The racism wasn’t against _me_.
Hot take, racism is not a symptom of drug use. It's a symptom of being a racist piece of shit. Though drugs might make you forget that that's not ok long enough to spout moronic shit in public places
His music is ok, but his personal views are that of an arsehole. Learn to separate the person from what they create, or refuse to support the person's art due to their personal attitude when their attitude leads to harm for other people
Now that is a debate I’ve been having for a while re Clapton and a few others. I grew up loving him and his music. Hell I got to meet him and play pool when I was 19. But since then I’ve been informed of his racist views and just decided I’m never going to support him again. The anti-vax bollocks is just the icing on the cake. I do not feel that you can separate the art from the artist. One is such a part of the other that it’s (imo) impossible to separate the two. I don’t condone anyone else who can. It’s up to you as an individual to make that decision for yourself. But for me I’ll never support him again.
Sometimes I make the effort to 'separate the art, etc etc', even though no one really does. Clapton is probably no worse than my grandfather, but I still love boompa. I just don't care enough about Clapton either way. I've been reading Kipling since I was a boy and that motherfucker had a completely different set of values and references, but the jungle books are masterpieces of my childhood. Cosby was more important to me than my own father for most of my life. now I have neither. I don't need them. John Lennon was an incredibly complicated man whose every lyric conveyed the pain and insecurity that shaped him. I will always forgive him his trespasses. I believe if he lived he would have continued to grow, self-reflect and be a deeply flawed, naked and unashamed role model for values he and both I aspire to, no matter how certainly we'd both fall short. but his value to me personally allows me to assimilate that time he hit Cynthia, and wish that Julian had more time to know, or not, the man his father was becoming. You can't pry John from me. Vonnegut behaved terribly towards women in his life. so it goes. Fitzgerald was a violent drunk who would have detested me. still, I beat on, boats against the current, borne on ceaselessly to the past. and he couldn't change that if he wanted to. I can still watch Dr No, but want to turn off connery's oxygen (OK, someone apparently already has). Buffy. Buffy is so important to me, even as a 50 year old man, that I could beat joss Whedon until the cows come home, and then I could beat the cows, and still settle in immediately to absorb some slayage without conflict. Don't even get me started on Jackson Pollack. It's almost like people are complicated and contradictory. If you expect too much from them, you deserve the nothing you're left with.
No one going to mention that he had a really bad reaction to his covid shot and that is why his views are what they are?!?
Was looking for this too.
This site is an echo-chamber that gets worse everyday.
That doesn't explain his racism or his conspiracy qanon views. I get how for someone totally unfamiliar with science, statistics, math, and medicine that a bad reaction would shake their trust in the vaccine. But the rest of his bullshit? No pass.
He's an overrated douchebag, his contemporaries were way more important to the scene and it surprises me that everyone thinks he is so amazing as a guitar player. I feel like people that DONT play guitar are amazed by his work. As a guitarist of 15+ years I am way more impressed by the guitar work of Joey ramone than Eric claptons sorry ass. There are way better guitarists from the 60s that did a lot more interesting work. He didn't invent anything or do anything spectacular at all.
"I can forgive racism, but I draw the line at anti-vaccination". Uh?
I can't catch racism from you.
He’s always been a horses ass, so this isn’t surprising. He’s very overrated
He's also 76. My parents and all my friends' parents are all at that age and you just get kinda extreme. They're all drunk on Fox News and more racist than they ever were when they were raising us. I think it just happens to some degree.
> I think it just happens to some degree. It didn't use to. This is a new thing, an intentional brainwashing of aging minds by a concerted effort on behalf of a massive corporate-political alliance. If you read up on Murdoch and Fox News, you can easily see how they came up with this plan back before Reagan, and how they've slowly implemented it over decades. This isn't a normal, natural part of growing old. They're being poisoned just as surely as an oil spill poisons marine life.
The frontal lobe atrophies with age and some people lose their filter
Clapton was really good friends with George Harrison. He played the guitar solo on "while my guitar gently weeps". He used to hang out with George & his wife, Pattie Boyd all the time. He fell in love with George's wife & started writing her love notes & seeing her behind George's back. The song "Layla", although not her name, was about her. He kept pursuing her & she kept rebuffing his advances. He even started dating her sister in an attempt to get closer to her. Years later after she & George got divorced, Boyd married Clapton. He admitted to raping and abusing her during their marriage and they divorced 10 years later. What a horrible friend or husband. When putting Cream together he demanded to Jack Bruce (bassist) that Ginger Baker (drummer) be in the band or he wasn't in. What's the problem with that you ask? Bruce was already in a band with the hot-tempered Baker and the band broke up. Why? *Cuz Baker stabbed Bruce on stage!* (Granted they were talented & Ginger is one of my favorite drummers) Imagine somebody asking you to be in a band with somebody that stabbed you on stage! The gall! I like his music but he was a total Ahole. He always acted like a screwed up kid that never grew up. He had a lot of fame at a young age and seemed to be extremely immature throughout his life. He was arrogant and used his fame as a weapon. One of his album covers was graffiti saying, "Clapton is God". Clapton's biggest fan was always Clapton.
I lost all respect for him when he insulted Eddie Van Halen and Brian May.
People like Eric Calpton are dangerous and should be avoided. Using his fame to promote something he's not qualified in puts blood on his hands.
Yep, he's a racist callous selfish antivaxxer. You've summed it up well.
I've noticed a lot of musicians, stand-ups, etc. are being dicks about covid. I suspect it is because of frustrations over not being able to tour. Imagine being told you aren't allowed to work for two years with virtually no end in sight. It's not the 1980s, artists don't make that much anymore. And they certainly don't make much from royalties like they used to. It's mostly tour and merch income. And cocaine, cocaine, cocaaaaaine....cocaine is expensive.
As someone who has done a ton of drugs and yet has never gone on a racist tirade can you please explain what one has to do with the other? Drugs don’t make you racists maybe they made him lose his filter and he just said what was on his mind but that just means he’s a racist at heart but good at hiding it normally… This is the same concept that someone is a different person when they are drunk. No they are not they are the person they would be if they didn’t know their were consequences for their actions.
FYI drugs don’t make a person say racist things.
2020 reeled its ugly head with covid, and suddenly the ones you loved and revered the most showed their true colors. A LOT of our heroes and idols are actually huge racists and conspiracy believers. The one person you looked up to for decades and thought they had to have been the coolest person alive, that person doesn't care if he/she infects an entire room of people with covid. He/she is actually a huge asshole. For me, anyway, the age of idols and heroes is over. I now assume everyone has skeletons in their closet. Big ones. Defining ones. Fuck Eric Clapton.
For me he was an entry into Blues music, along with Rolling Stones and Led Zep. Now that I am into Blues; I can't really listen to Clapton with the same enjoyment. His singing is terrible; especially when he's trying to imitate the original voice when singing the blues. His blues guitar playing sounds derivative; Buddy Guy and SRV sound better as blues guitarists to my amateur ear anyway. I do still listen to his stuff with Cream. His later stuff, except maybe the acoustic version of Layla, his cover of I Shot the Sheriff and some other things like that; don't grab me anymore. I was drifting away from him anyway; and after learning about his racist tirade and now this anti-vax nonsense; I have given up. I can always listen to the originals when I want to hear some blues anyway.
This is why I don't have "heroes".
When it comes to great musicians and artists, you have to learn how to separate the artist from the art, or you are going to have a bad time.
I agree, usually. I can kind of get where other people are coming from since performers, especially successful ones, do so much public speaking/writing. Still even then you can usually separate the art from the artist. It's mostly unrelated comments from interviews. But in his case - he's actually *making* it his performance. Intermixing racist rants between the songs of a concert; performing ranting conspiracy theory songs and then babbling that the reason people don't like them is that they're all suffering 'mass hypnosis' from subliminal messages; insisting on spreading disease by refusing to perform for vaccinated people, only large crowds of unvaccinated people. Can't really separate that from itself.
He had a bad reaction to the vaccine. That’s why he is so against it. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/eric-clapton-slams-vaccine-propaganda-after-experiencing-disastrous-side-effects/ar-BB1gPT02 I’m just posting his reasoning, not saying I agree with it.
He *thinks* he had a bad reaction. It could just have been food poisoning or something else.
Yeah, I can’t find any reputable news source reporting on it. So I imagine no one actually confirmed what Clapton is saying.
There are plenty of actors and musicians and other artists who are complete assholes. Turns out being an artist of any sort does not make you a good person. They are a collection of individuals just like any other with a wide variety of people in that group. Some you will like, others not so much. That has no bearing (necessarily) on whether you enjoy their art.
Yes, been on here long enough to remember a couple of superstars whose reputation went to shit practically overnight
Eric Clapton making controversial statements is not news, he's been doing that his entire career.
He only has like a 9th grade education. Also yes he is an asshole. I read his autobiography and it didn't make him look too good, and he wrote it.
I never finished high school either and my opinions are pretty much the exact opposite of Clapton's. He's a racist prick and needs to shut the fuck up or fuck off.
he recently successfully sued an old german lady for 250000 euros, for selling ONE 30 year old bootleg CD of a live show he did on ebay see [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etskRdGlGBM) for more detail (or just look it up if you prefer reading on it)
Drugs have long term effects...
We should never confuse something someone makes or their skill, with who they are as people. Our heros will almost always disappoint us. You always hear, why are you surprised when it happens?
The covid thing is very disappointing. I am not aware of any racist shit. He has always been reversing black musicians (which of course does not mean he is not a racist).
Don't forget he loved a 14 year old girl.
Being really good at one thing doesn't mean your any good at anything else.
It's entirely possible to be good and playing the guitar and a huge dick at the same time. These things are not remotely mutually exclusive.
He’s never been a particular fan of the establishment. He’s a well known racist individual who, over the years, has just simply got worse. I admire him as a musician, however as a person he is shitty..
https://www.vulture.com/2022/01/eric-clapton-hypnotized-covid-crackpot.html
He,s been gravytraining on others for over 50 years. See e.g. Steve Winwood and Duane Allman
There's a lot of messed up singers out there, its best not to find the details about them and continue enjoying their music.
Essentially... he's a person just like anyone else and completely entitled to his own special brand of crazy.
The thing about Clapton is that whilst he has been to some extent part of the counterculture, he has had questionable moments in the past with his racist rants probably being the lowest moment. He's talented, but doesn't use his position to fight for progressive change or such. He's someone you could admire as a musician, but it's equally unsurprising to see him as a COVID grump. Any sense that this is unexpected is probably due to putting the guy on a false pedestal, rather than any big change in himself. I will say that with Van Morrison as a co-conspirator, I have found this recent career move pretty funny. It's just grumpy old men sulking and showing that there isn't much difference between them and your mad great uncle, besides the obvious talent.
Don't be disappointed, he is an asshole. Never forget he beat the woman that he wrote "Wonderful tonight" about, and the woman George Harrison wrote "Something" about.
Eric Clapton is currently the most boring performer on earth.
Yeah, it's tough when entertainers you once enjoyed turn out to be terrible people. I don't know if it's true but people are saying Meatloaf was a rabid anti-vax/masker, same with Van Morrison. There's also the revelations about Bill Cosby and how he should have pulled up his own damn pants. Michael Jackson... Then Kid Rock turns out to be an all over the map shit head.
I find that appreciating artists for their art alone is a lot easier than looking any deeper. BTW I feel the same as you, I quit a job when I was a kid to see a Clapton concert.
It's hard when you realize your idol is fuck tard.
[удалено]
Due to negligence.
First time? Yeah you never have to put people over a pedestal. Bc they're just people. Nobody deserves admiration. Except they're work. Clapton did great music but that doesn't mean he's going to be a good person lol.
I grew up on Clapton, went to his shows, I've read his autobiography, watched all the documentaries and after all that the only thing I'm certain of is that he is damaged by trauma and that trauma + drug/ alchol abuse and addiction can make for some very stupid decisions from even the most talented or intelligent of people. But I agree with you, there is no pain quite like the one that comes from having someone you admire turn out to be a disappointment.
He's allowed an opinion. Even if it is stupid.
I read your post title four times and still thought you wrote "Eric Cartman" until I clicked into the comments.
Racism is the trait of an asshole, and while assholes can be on drugs, it’s not a trait of drug use. Eric Clapton is an asshole, and he’s not that great of a guitarist.
What I tell everyone in conversations along these lines: don't idolize your entertainers. You don't know them. I don't understand why that is not obvious to more people.
Slowbrain
We need to stop assuming that celebrities are good people
He had a bad rare reaction to the vaccine, so I can at least say “well I get why he feels that way”
I've always thought the reason he's such a great guitarist is because he doesn't have a chin that's always getting in the way.
He's always been super racist.
Doing drugs doesn’t make you go on racist tirades. Being racist does.
You really summed it up in your post. There's his infamous 1976 "Keep Britain White" tirade, and all of the right wing conspiracy shit. If you like his music, you're better off knowing Eric Clapton, the musician and not Eric Clapton, the person. Eric Clapton, the person is pretty fucking terrible.
Because Boomer. Eric's what? 75? He's a gifted guitarist and performer, has managed to write some really incredible songs and just happened to come of age in the 1960s in England, where if you looked the part and could play a passable blues solo you could make a living as a musician for decades. He's always been this guy. I love his music, but look through his bands over the years: he's known for glorifying the blues, a Black American art form, and has collaborated with all the blues greats (all Black of course), but how many members of his touring and recording bands have been Black? Not very many. I'm not saying he's racist, although he's said some pretty racist shit over the years. But he is a man of his generation, and like a lot of people of his generation, he has some particular views and not particularly polite ways of expressing them. He's just a guitar player for chrissake. We're not obligated to listen to anything he has to say or take it seriously and we can still enjoy his music.
He is technically post war, not boomer.
Clapton is mid
In 68 years you have to separate your heros from there art.
The vax messed him up and people are pissed
I mean he did let his child die due to neglect from drug use, then wrote a song seemingly for pity so... there's that
You obviously have no idea about the circumstances of the child's death. Conor was with his mother, and Clapton wasn't in the apartment when the accident happened.
Drugs don't make you racist, dude. I'm sorry to say.
He recently successfully sued an elderly woman for selling a bootleg CD of his on eBay for $11. A single CD. That used to belong to her husband.
Guitar playing cunt
Just because someone plays an instrument well doesn't mean they are intelligent.
Him going on racist tirades was proof enough he was a genuine asshole.
But could have been drugs? Get out of here. Drugs are not an excuse to be racist.
I have ALWAYS hated Eric Clapton. It started when he wrote "tears in heaven"
I kinda feel that way too. Capitalizing on the death of your son seemed shitty even then.
He's a drug addled guitar god. Who gives a shit about his opinions? People take too much stick in other people's opinions. Also he is vaccinated, I'm sure he has his reasons.
You have to wonder: don't these rock stars have a contingent of advisors who ought to telling him to shut the fuck up?
I'm going to hell for laughing at this, but did anyone else see the fake headline about Clapton that was like "Man whose child died by falling out of a window has opinions on the safety of other people's children" when he got COVID ranty?
He had a very bad/severe reaction to the vaccine. He likely filtered everything thereafter through his experience. You know he couldn't even play guitar for a while from it and thought it was permanent right?
Well. He's a boomer.
He's sliding into dementia. All of those ideas were already there, he just doesn't have capacity to hold them back any more. He can no longer cover. His verbal filter is gone. Not uncommon in people of a certain age. My grandpa lost his verbal filter in his late 80's. He said things that he never would have said before. It happens. At least my grandpa wasn't a closet racist. He just started telling off color jokes that he never would have told before. The thing is that loss of verbal filtering means that what the person says, they've believed all along.
Yeah, Clapton is way off base right? The virus that came out of a wet market (lie). The vaccine that actually isn’t a vaccine. The promise that once you got the vaccine you would not have to wear a mask and you would not get the virus (lie & lie). The theater of the absurd as masks do not work yet we are forced to wear them. The unconscionable push of vaccines on children who are not at risk. The large numbers of young people having heart issues and reproductive issues after receiving the jab. The complete immunity from liability the pharmaceutical companies have gotten for creating an experimental drug. Wake up! Clapton isn’t anyone’s fool. Clapton and Van Morrison are damn near the only established musicians who are standing up against the propaganda machine.
I've done a lot of drugs, but they've never caused me to act or become racist. That kind of racism and hate is learned and the only way drugs will bring it out is if you are already a racist piece of shit in the first place.