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Today thirty years ago the greatest musician and man of peace that after lived was assinated by a crazy no-body in New York City. I am speaking of John Lennon. A man who changed the world through music instead of violence and tried to make a peaceful world. His legacy lives on in everyone who loves and supports his message. So leave comments about how John Lennon or the Beatles have changed your life

Well, I am not trying to start an argument here (NOR AM I FLAMING) but golly, I hope that I will be allowed to post an opinion unmolested...


Erm, that is a matter of opinion. And I assume you meant "ever lived". Frankly, there are far greater men (and women) who struggled and campaigned for peace and human rights than Lennon ever was or did. Writing and performing songs does not make a person a proactive force for peace and human rights. I place far greater respect in those who have risked their lives and struggled through imprisonment and suffering to achieve such goals than someone who simply milked their own popularity and made tons of money under a pretext of being a peace proponent (among other motivations of a less savory nature). People of real peace and human rights struggles, who got down in the dirt and struggled hard, most of them without the wealth to show for it, would include (and this is a woefully-short list):

• Mother Teresa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa)
  
  
• Mohandas Ghandi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghandi)
  
  
• Clara Barton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Barton)
  
  
• Desmond Tutu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu)
  
  
• Pope John Paul II (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_II)
  
  
• Martin Luther King Jr. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.)
  
  
• Andrei Sakharov (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Sakharov)
  
  
• Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_Dalai_Lama)
  
  
• Liu Xiaobo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Xiaobo)

The question of musicianship is also a very subjective one. After all, don't any of us remember this topic? http://www.animationsource.org/board/r-i-p-michael-jackson-1959-2009-t27481.html (Admittedly, some of the posters since left AS, but some posters maintained during that time that Michael Jackson was the best musician and performer ever. Again, subjective. Not quantifiable from a purely objective point of view then or in this topic.)

And then this...


I am disturbed by that statement. While the man who shot down John Lennon was certainly mentally disturbed, and had some deep-seated personal issues, to call someone a "no-body" [sp] is very inappropriate. Incidentally, that "no-body" [sp] had a name too. Mark David Chapman.

I mean, I like the Beatles' music, and even some of John Lennon's solo work. Not that any of that music ever "changed [my] life". But Lennon being "the greatest musician and man of peace that [ever] lived"? Not hardly...not from my perspective.

I created this topic to honor John. Not create debate, but to honor his memory and what he tried to do for this world.

I see no effort on my part to dishonor John Lennon. However, posting a topic in a forum with a varied membership, with varying degrees of cultural views, life experience and opinions is a risk anyone assumes when participating in what is, essentially, an open forum.

So long as the debate is healthy and abides by the rules of the forum (and of general decorum), you have no right to impose restrictions uoin what content is posted here.

Besides creating some music with grassroots themes (and then engaging in a heck of a lot of "experimental" and, really, recreational drug use...which hardly is a contributive element to society and culture), I keep wondering what he "did for the world".

I'm sorry if it upsets you, but you called Lennon "the greatest musician and man of peace that [ever] lived". That begs a response. So long as it is an intelligent and civilized response, I have done no harm...nor would anyone else who would post in this topic.

I never said you didn't say anything to dishonor John, although I wonder why you posted given I feel your comment was irrelavent to why I created the topic. It was never created to debate as to whether John wasn't a humanitarian or call into question anything about him. I created it to honor his memory given today is the anniversary of his death.

Perhaps you missed this part of my original post:



Asked and answered.

In any case, if you didn't want to unintentionally invite debate or discussion (which I think is silly), perhaps you should not have posted the opinion about his being the greatest etc. etc. Which I believe dishonors the legacies of people like those I listed...people who actually suffered hardships and pain and so on to achieve real peaceful and humanitarian goals. And some of whom were killed for that. Which is hardly "irrelevant".

Again missing the point of the topic, it is created to honor him and debate nothing about him. A person can voice themselves about how his music or legacy has effected them personally. This is what it's created for, and it isn't silly that no one wants to debate. Debating can often be rather boring or frustrating and not everyone wants to do it.

Well then I think you may be in for some disappointment as this topic develops. People will chime in, and you cannot expect them to comply with your unstated expectations or to accept what was most likely a personal opinion, but delivered as a fact. And that's all the more I have to say on this matter.

Locked upon request.