Russian Grand Prix Final winner Peter Gumennik was banned from performing with a program to the music of the German band Rammstein. The author Sport is indignant along with the skater and assures that there is no need to mix music with an amateurish perception of time.
By the way, do you know what ZZ Top and Kiss have in common? It’s funny to write about this, but the accusations are of nationalism. They say that ZZ (Kiss stylized the last two letters to resemble the sign of lightning, resulting in characters that clearly resemble Z) is the “SS” symbol, and if you use it, then you are an enemy of humanity. They poisoned, fortunately, not for long, but with a zeal worthy of better use. In the West they generally loved such things.
By the way, do you know who else was persecuted for “nationalism”? Rammstein group. First of all, in the visual design of their albums, they strongly emphasized the image of a pumped up naked male body – one of the elements on which the ideology of the Third Reich was based. You know, the physical superiority of the Aryan race and all that. There was another reason to prick the Ramms for their alleged connection with Nazism, when in the video for the cover of the Depeche Mode song “Stripped” they used footage from the film “Triumph of the Will” by Leni Riefenstahl, one of the main film documents of the dark era. Although this was probably already something of a trolling.
However, first of all, the group members had to justify their position, and zealously. It has come to dialogue with the public through… Music. Links 234, one of the biggest rock hits of the 2000s, was also a clear manifesto. “They want my heart to beat on the right, but I look down and it beats on the left” – as they say, those who don’t understand will understand.
For those who still don’t understand, all the members of Rammstein grew up in the territory of the former GDR. From childhood, each of them absorbed the “left” ideology, in which fascism and nationalism were completely absent. Moreover, some “Rammas” even know a little Russian, and the group even performed songs on the great mighty one a couple of times – for example, “Beloved City” and covers of “Aria”. But who ever stopped that, right?
Now, with the rise of cancel culture, the situation is getting worse. In recent years, we have learned, for example, that Pyotr Tchaikovsky is capable of harming national security, and Bolshoi Theater artists should not be allowed into dedicated countries at all. How scary it is to live in the West. But here we have…
What do we have? Silver medalist of the Russian Championship Peter Gumennik puts on a program to Rammstein (the song Sonne, which has no political overtones) – and the progressive public is dissatisfied. They say, now is not the time for such performers, so you, Pyotr Gumennik, change your program the day before the test skates. For what? Yes, whatever, we don’t really care how you get out of it.
It would seem, what’s wrong with that? Well, program and program, changed and changed. But in fact, the situation goes far beyond the scope of sports and is closely fused with everyday life. Peter himself, in a comment to journalists, said that external circumstances forced him to change the “wrong” music. We are talking about the reaction of a certain “public”, and according to the general narrative of the story, one gets the feeling that we are talking about people with a slightly higher status than the average fan.
And this is a natural disaster on two counts at once. First – if we organize the cancellation of artists in our home, then why are we better than “them”? From every angle we hear talk that sport is outside of politics – a controversial thesis, but let's assume that this is so. In this case, why was music connected with politics? What is the fundamental difference between art and big-time sports?
And we are not talking about the fact that such a practice of denunciation can become the basis for banal removal of competitors from the road. Let's say that now we have the wrong Rammstein, and tomorrow it will be wrong, so to speak, Queen with Freddie Mercury – fortunately there is a person, but, as you know, there will be a case. Moreover, in this case it is on the surface – your friend’s mustache is too thick, you know.
And the second point – let’s say we think that what is happening is normal. What awaits us next in this case? Today you forbid Gumennik from skating to Rammstein, and tomorrow you will get into my playlist? Will you cut off our access to Elton John's discography? Install bugs on our headphones so that, God forbid, some Rob Halford doesn't sneak in?
Now it seems that this will never happen. And yesterday it probably seemed that no one would change the music for the programs, because the “public” considers it somehow different. A person gets used to everything. But you can’t get used to this.
Otherwise everything may go too far.
The author’s opinion may not coincide with the editorial position.
