What has the rock-star community done to get under the collective skin of the world’s border-patrol services? It must have been something pretty bad, because the last few weeks have seen not one, not two, but three cases of talented musicians being senselessly prevented from entering a foreign land.
First, our own country’s ever-competent Homeland Security Department barred Rodrigo Sanchez of Mexican duo Rodrigo y Gabriela from visiting Texas because he shares his name with another man on our terrorist watch list. (Maybe he should have changed his name to something safe — say, Cat Stevens.) Rodrigo y Gabriela’s scheduled SXSW set was canceled, dealing a serious blow to their efforts to build buzz in the States. Luckily, that story has a happy ending: The government realized its error for once, and Rodrigo’s visa was reinstated on Friday. (Check ‘em out on Jimmy Kimmel Live on April 14.)
Then, it was reported todaythat British Home Office Minister John Reid had gotten into the act,declaring that Snoop Dogg (pictured) could not enter the UK for aseries of tour dates. This decision was presumablyrelated to the fight that Snoop was allegedlyinvolved with at London’s Heathrow Airport last spring. But let’s berealistic here — if Reid’s worried about possible air rage, does heseriously think that refusing to give the big S-N-double-O-P a visa isgoing to help keep the peace? Besides, Snoop’s UK performances werescheduled as part of a joint "One Love Peace" tour with Diddy, whosestated purpose was to promote nonviolence and understanding across theworld. Has Reid no sense of irony?
Still, misapplied border-control laws are no laughing matter. Just ask Sir Elton John, whom a local archdeacon is trying to banfrom entering Trinidad and Tobago because, the cleric claims, John’smusic might "open the country to be tempted towards pursuing hislifestyle." Ugh. That medieval mindset is actually written into Trinidadian law, which allows authorities to stop gays and lesbians from visiting the islands simply because of their sexual orientation.
So, PopWatchers: Write to your senator, Home Office Minister, ormorally stunted archdeacon today and tell them to chill out, stat. Or,if they simply must slam the door on visiting celebs, perhaps you couldsuggest that they choose a more deserving target next time? Forinstance, Posh and Becks — we have enough out-of-work D-listers of ourown without foreign ones coming over to take away their celebrealityjobs.
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Kind of makes me not want to visit Trinidad.
Trinidad’s officially anti-gay? I have a Lesbian aunt who lives in Tobago with her wife of 7 years. They speak of the island as being tolerant of all people. This is shocking to me.
Looks like I am taking my wife to a different island for our honeymoon now….
Anyway, to ban someone from the country would have to serve a greater good. How about Colin Farrell so he’d stop mekkin’ such crappy films?
Found it! Follow the link to P.12 for the full immigration laws. Pretty shocking stuff:
“entry into Trinidad and Tobago of the persons described in this subsection,
is prohibited, namely-
(a) persons who are idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded persons, persons suffering from dementia and insane persons, and who are likely to be a charge on public funds;
(e) prostitutes, homosexuals or persons living on the earnings of prostitutes or homosexuals, or persons
reasonably suspected as coming to Trinidad and Tobago for these or any other immoral purposes;
(f) persons who are reasonably suspected of attempting to bring into Trinidad and Tobago or of procuring prostitutes or other persons for the
purpose of prostitution or homosexual or other immoral purposes;
(2) The Minister may authorise in writing under his hand or under the hand of a person designated by him, entry into Trinidad and Tobago of persons passing through Trinidad and Tobago under guard to another country”
That bit from the immigration laws really is shocking. I have a feeling we’d be surprised to learn the many ways many countries discriminate against people based on sexuality, religious beliefs, etc.
On the “morals” tip, the Cia world fact book states that Trinidad and Tobago are major producers and exporters of cannabis.
Just who’s morals are going to be corrupted in a country full of marijuana cultivators?
It should be noted that most immigration laws reserve the right to deny entry to someone with a record.Someone like Snoop would have to get a special permit to enter most nations. If he has a problem with that, perhaps he should have thought about it when he was carrying a concealed weapon.
It’s a country’s right to allow in who they want and America should understand that given the fascist institution that is Homeland Security.
Blech, touché. Soon after 9/11 we barred an Indian scientist from speaking at a university tour. I can’t remember what the rationale was, but it was on fairly weak grounds that he was denied. He ended up doing the tour in Canada.
Given Snoop’s problems in Great Britain before, it would make sense that he’d be banned from the country. If a foreign singer got into a fistfight at Ohare or JFK i wouldn’t want them coming back to the US either…
But the stuff with Trinidad still bugs me.
Snoop’s music is NOT rock! Its crap…er…rap.
Can’t blame GB for banning Snoop. He’s got a police record a mile long (drugs, guns, gangs, etc.). I love his music but I wouldn’t want to be within a hundred feet of the guy.