Should Joan Baez, or any other anti-war activist be prohibited from performing at military installations?

Question

Folk Singer Joan Baez Banned at Walter Reed
'We Shall Overcome' Star Was to Play for Injured Troops
AP
WASHINGTON (May 3) - Folk singer and anti-war activist Joan Baez says she doesn't know why she was not allowed to perform for recovering soldiers recently at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as she planned.

In a letter to The Washington Post published Wednesday, she said rocker John Mellencamp had asked her to perform with him last Friday and that she accepted his invitation.

"I have always been an advocate for nonviolence and I have stood as firmly against the Iraq war as I did the Vietnam War 40 years ago," she wrote. "I realize now that I might have contributed to a better welcome home for those soldiers fresh from Vietnam. Maybe that's why I didn't hesitate to accept the invitation to sing for those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. In the end, four days before the concert, I was not 'approved' by the Army to take part. Strange irony."

Baez, 66, told the Post in a telephone interview Tuesday that she was not told why she was left off the program by the Army. "There might have been one, there might have been 50 (soldiers) that thought I was a traitor," she told the paper.

The Post reported that Walter Reed officials did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday, but that in an e-mailed statement published Monday on RollingStone.com, spokesman Steve Sanderson said the medical center received the request for participation by Baez just two days before the concert.

"These additional requirements were not in the agreement/contract and would have required a modification," Sanderson told the magazine's Web site.

Baez's manager, Mark Spector, told the Post that Mellencamp's management invited Baez to perform in March and handled all the arrangements. The Post said Mellencamp's manager, Randy Hoffman, did not return calls requesting comment and that Mellencamp's publicist said the singer was ill Tuesday and unavailable.

But Mellencamp earlier told RollingStone.com: "They didn't give me a reason why she couldn't come. We asked why and they said, 'She can't fit here, period.' "

This wasn't the first time a performer has been banned from the hospital. In 2004, officials denied access to actress Patty Duke, who was scheduled to visit troops as part of Arts Advocacy Day in Washington. USO officials said they didn't have enough time to alert patients that a celebrity was coming, but later that day Michael Jackson was spotted in the same ward that Duke was to visit.

Answer 1

Joan Baez was vehemetly anti-war during the Vietnam era, even dedicating an entire album to her draft dodging husband who fled to Canada (Songs for David). She went to North Vietnam with Jane Fonda, and gave aid & comfort to the enemy.
Why she thought that any military personnel would want to hear her perform now is absolutely beyond me.

Answer 2

She may not have had a security clearance, was denied one or there was not time to attain one - all the above are reasons to be denied access to any military base or hospital.
Baez stated "I realize now that I might have contributed to a better welcome home for those soldiers fresh from Vietnam. Maybe that's why I didn't hesitate to accept the invitation to sing for those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. In the end, four days before the concert, I was not 'approved' by the Army to take part. Strange irony." She further states her request was denied 4 days prior to the concert, spokesman for Walter Reed, Steve Sanderson, said the medical center received the request for participation by Baez just two days before the concert
Thus in her own words she states that past behaviour in her own mind was inappropriate, she further states that she wished to make some kind of "ammends" for that past behavior, that she chose do so by appearing with Mellencamp - what she fails to mention is that again she was attempting to skirt established protocols. Who does she think she is???

Answer 3

There are not many soldiers that will forget what Joan Baez did during Vietnam. She was involved in the same treasonous "Peace Christmas" visits to North Vietnam that Jane Fonda was famous for.

She may regret her past behavior, but there is no need to subject wounded soldiers to someone with her history of shenanigans.

Inviting her to play Walter Reed is like inviting a Klansman to be keynote speaker at an NAACP convention -- just not a good fit.

Answer 4

Joan Baez is well known for her anti-Military stance from the nineteen-sixties. Her only motivation would be to generate propaganda.
I know for a fact that when Joan Baez was touring in Europe in the 1980's she refused a request to be interviewed by "Stars and Stripes." So she has no love for the US armed forces then so why would she now?
So I think it is right and proper that they keep someone like her out of Walter Reed. Her motivation would only be to crap on the US and military with little or no sympathy for the war wounded.

Answer 5

well, unless they are receiving money or some form of payment for it, i really do not think that the ban is logical or necessary.

firemen are not blamed for fires; likewise, soldiers cannot be blamed for war. they are not the ones who made the decision to go into iraq, they are merely following orders. so, there is no reason why they should be deprived of entertainment simply because the source of their entertainment disagrees with government policies.

furthermore, the singer did not show any disrespect for the soldiers. in fact, she was there to cheer them up. so really, the ban is not justified.

however, the ban should be upheld if there is information that certain soldiers are displeased with the performer, or if the performer plans to tread on sensitive issues. either one of these things could lead to a violent situation, and this is probably the reason why the idea of a ban came up in the first place.

Answer 6

Could be that since she's anti-war that maybe a percentage of the soldiers at Walter Reed wouldn't want to hear her perform?

Answer 7

When she is finished singing, Jane Fonda can give them a pep talk and John Kerry can remind them they only joined the military because they were poor or not educated. (LOL)

Answer 8

Yes.

Answer 9

As long as she sings and doesn't preach.