26 Comments
User's avatar
Evans W's avatar

Thank you Winston. You are one of the honest ones out there in the entertainment arena and many of us appreciate your bravery.

Expand full comment
Brenda from Flatbush's avatar

Win, please use a hawk-eyed copy editot/proofreader for your worthy writing, to avoid wince-inducing typos like "trash" for "trans." I'm a career editor and would be honored to volunteer as a thank you for 25% of the joy of M&S.

Expand full comment
Winston Marshall's avatar

Good spot! how embarrassing. Thank you for letting me know. A cancellable offence!

Expand full comment
Brenda from Flatbush's avatar

Hey, I had a typo in my finger-wagging comment. Mortified! Let us cancel one another at once!

Expand full comment
ThoughSheBeButLittle's avatar

You two have made me smile. And why writing, passing that to another to read and discuss, then passing back and having another look is so important. I read things five times but only spot things after the sixth and coming back for a fresh look. And I'm reading what's in my head that I think I wrote...

Expand full comment
man of aran's avatar

Poetry is all but lost to the right-think of the age. The president of the Poetry Foundation was forced to resign post George Floyd via a petition of over 1500 poets because his apology for past institutional wrongs and his promise to work hard to rid the foundation of 'systemic racism' and 'white supremacy' did 'not go far enough'. Nothing short of burning it all down ever satisfies the woke zealots.

Expand full comment
Kirby Cox's avatar

Thank you for sharing these words. It’s really hard navigating working in the creative industry right now - I’ve also found that many people in the fashion industry are also self censoring. I pray the pendulum will swing back.

Expand full comment
Meagan Nicholson's avatar

Win - I will FOREVER respect you and follow your works, whatever they may be. I appreciate your honesty and bravery so much. I was a die hard, ridiculous fan girl of M&S. When you left I had no choice but to leave with you as the entire situation didn’t sit right with me. I thank you for being a light in the darkness.

Expand full comment
Michellepollino's avatar

Winston your writing is so insightful and this piece hit so many notes in the industry that have left me discouraged and bewildered. But you leave me with such hope and inspiration, thank you. Also agree the people that I've met in the ideas space are so friendly and engaging it's encouraging for the future.

Expand full comment
Chuong Nguyen's avatar

Guess the Seven Nation Army really couldn’t hold back Jack White. But seriously, wonderful speech Winston! Artists should have been at the forefront of the anti-censorship brigade, but many of them have shamefully capitulated.

Expand full comment
Scott Levine's avatar

Bravo! This is a brilliant and important speech. Thank you.

Expand full comment
JJ's avatar

As someone in the creative world--and seeing how bleak it is--I'm glad to see someone boldly speaking out. I'm not sure what the way forward is, but I hope we can find it for the sake of beauty, truth, and goodness.

Expand full comment
Donna Harriman's avatar

Amazing writing And so much truth! Just so you know the Mumford Mums are listening and we support you.

Expand full comment
The SunStack's avatar

Great job! Is this speech available on YouTube?

Expand full comment
Beeswax's avatar

It should be

Expand full comment
Brandy's avatar

This is all a part of why is now seen as wokeness. And, wokeness is Christianity without forgiveness or grace.

Expand full comment
Ruthless Mike's avatar

♥️ ♥️ ♥️ thank you, friend ♥️ ♥️ ♥️

Here's a freedom song called "Make Pretend" for you wonderful people.

https://youtu.be/rS5BmqFF7OE

Expand full comment
Beeswax's avatar

Let's hear more from you, Mike. This old hippie knows a good protest song when she hears one.

Expand full comment
Ruthless Mike's avatar

Thank you for the kind note —that means a lot. It's been a challenge to find my footing (and new audience) in this new world. Winston and his journey has been a big part of my finding ballast within the folk music community. There are very, very few of us. You can find the brunt of my musical work at www.themammals.love and more recent thoughts pertaining to health and worldview at www.ruthlessmike.substack.com and www.terraintheory.net

Expand full comment
Beeswax's avatar

Hey Mike, Thanks for your numerous links, which I will check out. You guys have a lot going on! I had no idea that there currently exists a political folk music scene that hasn't been corrupted by woke ideology. I understand how challenging it must be to find a place for yourself in this "new world," which I might also describe as this "upside down, authoritarian world." Who could have predicted it?

The fact that you exist and you're on a new trail that you're helping to blaze, gives me hope. Best of luck to you and yours.

Expand full comment
Ruthless Mike's avatar

Thank you for this. Yes, one of my favorite t-shirts of the past three years is simply the word EVERYTHING printed upside down lol

Another excellent young "freedom singer" (for lack of a better term) is the young Brendan Daniel of Town Meeting who is just stepping out on his own. We featured his incredible song "The Hills We Die On" towards the end of Terrain Theory episode 75. There's definitely a movement starting to coalesce. Keep in touch.

Expand full comment
Mark Christensen's avatar

Hey, Winston. Have you thought about the possibility that censorship is about something more than censorship? Could it - as with woke in general - be pointing to what lies beyond reason and language? Artists are into this stuff because they easily relate to the transcendent. That's what makes them artists. And they don't argue about it as arguing plays into the non-artist's (ie overly rationalist) hands. See here for more details https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/open-letter-to-peterson-carlsonand-co--the-world-is-done-with-your-groupthink,18818

Expand full comment
GenX Anecdotes's avatar

Hi Winston, thank you for everything that you are doing. I am a singer/songwriter and have just released my new song and video which touches on the culture war. I hope you get a chance to hear it. https://open.substack.com/pub/genxanecdotes/p/the-warriors-are-here?r=1rnqlr&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Expand full comment
Mika Pearson's avatar

I wish I could have been in the audience supporting you 🥹🙏🕊💗

Expand full comment