I don’t often find myself not liking something radio host Gregg Henson, but this time I think he’s not only wrong, he’s clueless…

Have you been following the Dixie Chick saga? They are the country group who is STILL under fire for their negative comments about George Bush in London the night before the Iraq invasion started. You may know the story, the jingoists amongst us went nuts and they were banned from country radio. They have been gone for a few years to raise their families but they are back and even as a conservative, I LOVE THE NEW SONG.

Country stations across the country are not playing their new song “Not Ready to Make Nice” because the chicks have decided to stick to their guns and fight back. The song basically tells the “establishment” to “suck it.” Bravo! I love it. Not only is the song great but the fact that they are telling Bush and his cronies to “eat it” is outstanding.

Maybe that is outstanding, but let’s make no mistake here. This isn’t some corporate punishment handed down by Clearchannel and others. This is the result of the fans (you know, the people who put them where they are?) banding together and saying, “screw you for turning your back on us.”

What do I mean by turning their back on their fans?

Well, first, their reaction when their “we’re embarassed too” comments were originally played back to the US was basically, “We don’t care what our fans think, we have to be us.” That’s all well and good, but how badly can you bag on the people who put you where you are and expect them to come back with open arms? You surely do have the right to tell everyone in the world to F off and hit the road, but when you do that, you risk people not wanting to buy your latest albums. It’s just a consequence you have to live with.

Secondly, from what I’ve heard from the fans that did stick around, the latest album is basically a pop album, which is a further slap in the face at the folks who liked the country sound of the Chicks. Way to abandon the fans, girls!

I never was a big Chicks fan. Frankly, I’m more of a Martina McBride / Carolyn Dawn Johnson fan. What I can’t stand, however, is the canonization of the Dixie Chicks for being brave and speaking out against an “unjust” war.

There was nothing brave about what they did. They said:

“Just so you know, we’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas.”

That’s not speaking out against the war, that’s taking a cheap personal shot at the President.

Secondly, they did it in London to a crowd that went nuts for it. Not exactly brave. Brave would’ve been standing in front of a crowd in Texas, their home state, and telling a crowd of red staters that they were embarrassed that the President most of them voted for was an embarassment to that state.

That would’ve been brave. It still would’ve been a cheap shot, but at least it would’ve taken some balls.

Not that any of it matters. When Time magazine is shilling for you, you’ll get a lot of sympathy. The myth that they spoke out against the war will continue for all enternity and a band of three women who turned their back on their fans multiple times will be canonized as heroes of free speech for the rest of time.

Technorati Tags: dixie chicks, anti-war