Responsibility, Arrogance, Tolerance. A Dresden Dolls essay from a black girl.
On July 20th, 2022, I was confronted with the shocking consequence of my actions. That day I left a comment below one of the Dresden Dolls posts. The post was a poster for one of their upcoming return tours and in response, I commented a hilarious and creative comment that showed my excitement for this announcement and the love I had for the duo.
Nineofmee: "Big day for racists!
In a SHOCKING turn of events, I was banned from their Instagram account, and still feel this sting to this day....."Why did I do that?" I thought. "What did I learn from this experience?" I questioned...
"How should I feel about the Dresden Dolls?"
The Dresden Dolls, Pioneers of the dark cabaret/punk-cabaret scene in the early 2000s, were represented by Amanda (fucking) Palmer and Brian Viglione. The two of them performed for many years and released two full-length LPs an EP and live albums galore. The duo frequented hiatus for personal and career purposes causing their activity as the Dresden Dolls to be far and in between, but in 2020 when they officially announced their reunion and are currently playing shows all around. The social climate they left in the 2010s would not be one they'd return to in the 2020s because something shifted when it came to the Dresden Dolls name; something they didn't have an abundance of before that they now have.
"Plus my only natural talents wasted on my alcoholic friends.."-The Dresden Dolls.
TikTok is a double-edged sword. Through all the corruption and bad media overstimulation that the brains of millions around the world experience, the app allows once unheard-of artists to be readily available and gain some traction, boosting their careers. This is exactly what Amanda and Brian found themselves benefiting from. My Alcoholic Friends spread like wildfire on a specific side of the app and introduced many people to the Dresden Dolls.
Not far after, another Amanda Palmer project gained traction around TikTok to...let's call it "mixed reviews", and from this many people got more interested in the question of who Amanda Palmer was outside of the Dresden Dolls, and up from the depths of the internet came;
WARNING! I WILL BE GOING INTO OLD AND ACKNOWLAGED CONTROVERSIES HERE! GIVE ME A SECOND TO EXPLAIN WHY I BRING THIS UP!
"Fuck the police comin' straight from the underground
A Young n**** got it bad 'cause I'm brown
And not the other color so police think..."-N.W.A
N.W.A, a hip-hop group from Compton, California sings about police brutality from the perspective of being African-American men in America...and Amanda Palmer also sings along for some fucking reason. It was in 2009 when Amanda Palmer started to perform these ukelele covers and at the time apparently; she was not aware she should probably not say the N-word as a white woman? Amanda Palmer has a long statement on her blog apologizing for her arrogance surrounding the use of this racial slur, but here's where I want to flip this post to be a little less of an essay and more of a personal statement.
As a black woman, I do not forgive her arrogance.
Amanda Palmer has apologized and I'm not asking for anything with this post here, I'm just simply conceptualizing my feelings. Amanda Palmer in a video interview talks about her feelings about being flamed on the internet and her feelings on "Radical Compassion" What is Radical Compassion? Well, it is the idea that "even in the moment when you strongly disagree with someone (ect...) you have to approach every last motherfucker with a massive dose of compassion knowing that they're just as human as you..." Kindly, I think this excuse to deflect full responsibility. Even in her blog she says and "this is to remind you that nothing progresses within a vacuum, that we are in a relationship. we are a unit, you and me.." If this isn't to shame her audience or deflect blame then, why bring up other people in your apology? Also, Amanda Palmer is notorious for not hearing people out in her career, standing on her opinions as strong as a cement pole. I will forever continue to acknowledge their music, their history, their impact on my life, but I don't think it is fair to be asked to not be angry about this. If Amanda Palmer didn't understand it's impact then why did she add it to her song Guitar Hero where she uses it in a derogatory to prove a point about how much the word weighs? If Amanda Palmer didn't understand it's impact why would she change the inflection of the word from an "a" suffix to an "er" suffix? How punk and non-racist are you if you don't think and reflect on that maybe a little bit. Black people aren't here to educate you on what you should and shouldn't be saying, google it. Lear history. Use your privilege. Don't be arrogant.
What does this have to do with The Dresden Dolls?
Amanda Palmer is half of the band, I support the band I support Amanda. I don't want to directly finance her, but i struggle to ignore her importance to me. She was someone really important to me but, i am so sick of being told by people to forgive them for mistakes surrounding my race, my person, she's aware of her actions, she isn't a child. 2015 was the last time she performed this cover and embarrassed herself in front of her fans. It isn't OUR JOB to educate you. That, in a whole is where I stand.
Thanks for reading this and, please comment any comments that pop in to your mind! I love to further conversations and challenge my own opinions! In the words of Amanda Palmer; "I talk, you listen. We're a unit," except I'm not saying slurs I shouldn't say and trying to deflect the blame.
Cited Sorces:
āAmanda Palmer on Abortion, Cancel Culture, and Australiaās Bushfires | Junkee.ā YouTube, YouTube, 5 Feb. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN9JtncxF5o&t=1s.
āOn Racism, Words, Art, Time and Progress.ā Amanda Palmer Blog, 22 June 2020, blog.amandapalmer.net/racism-words-art-time-progress/.
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