It seems as if every year, cancel culture calls on radio stations to stop playing some songs. In many cases, it is an old song surrounding the Christmas holiday, and this year it is the same.
People are now telling radio stations they should stop playing the Christmas hit: ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ This is a surprise to many, as that Christmas tune has become a favorite and is frequently played when the season arrives.
Christmas music is just something that we expect to hear sometime after Thanksgiving and until the end of the year. Some of the favorites include White Christmas and I’ll Be Home for Christmas.
There are some people today, however, who are questioning whether Christmas songs should be banned altogether. This includes the Christmas classic: ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’, written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure and released all the way back in 1984.
This song was written as part of a charity song and many big-name singers were part of the production, including Sting, George Michael, Bono, and Boy George. It was written and performed to raise money to aid the crisis in Ethiopia at the time.
Writer Indrajit Samarajiva has recently explained why she believes the Christmas song must be canceled and removed from the airways.
On her blog, she said that the song was both racist and ignorant and spoke against the continent of Africa and its people. Specifically, they said: “It’s not just that these lyrics haven’t aged well. They were never good at all.
“They take an ignorant and colonial attitude, more about making white people feel good than helping anyone.”
Those lyrics include, ‘And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas time’ as well as ‘Where nothing ever grows. No rain or rivers flow Do they know it’s Christmas time at all? The greatest gift they’ll get this year is life (oooh).’
She feels that it does more than generalize the continent of Africa, it also forces people to feel sorry for those who live there.
She said: “I mean, this is all wrong. It does snow in Africa, although not a lot. Food does in fact grow on the continent, they do have water, and North Africa, as part of the Roman Empire, was celebrating Christmas centuries before England.
“You can say it’s all a metaphor, but what does the metaphor communicate? That Africa is a desolate, dark place which white men have to get together and save?”
Heard Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” yet? Please listen to the lyrics carefully and then complain to your radio station/supermarket re: explicit racism & lack of Christmas spirit “thank God it’s them instead of you”! Read @DipoFaloyin #AfricaIsNotACountry for more… pic.twitter.com/TzVnJ82HVC
— Dr. Miranda Kaufmann (@MirandaKaufmann) December 2, 2022
Many people are backing her up but there are others who say that she and others who are part of the cancel culture are taking things too far. I guess this is just a debate that will continue year after year from now on.
