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Yogi here from House of Targ (self.ottawa)

houseoftarg が 投稿

I'm one of the owners of House of TARG. I've been doing a whole lot of reading, listening and learning/unlearning over the past 3 weeks - I've been meeting with many people in our community who have been kind enough to share their feelings with me along with ideas/suggestions. I have been working very hard to gain understanding - this takes time and patience and I'd like to communicate my gratitude to everyone that has come forward and shared their feelings with me - the people that make up our city/community never cease to amaze me with their acts of generosity and kindness - thank you from the bottom of my heart - I would not have been able to get through this time without your help.

I have always thought of TARG as a safe and inclusive space - there has been much discussion of late on what that actually means. I have learned that part of my responsibility as an owner/booker at TARG is to listen to the voices in our community and ALWAYS work on helping/improving our space in anyway possible. Here are some initiatives I'm working on for TARG - I encourage everyone to get together with friends and participate in constructive/peaceful discussion. I will make myself available for meetings, phone calls or email and ask (respectfully) that we work together on these issues in person, not on Facebook.

  1. There are alot of great resources in Ottawa that could ultimately help us make TARG more accessible. One of our ideas is to host a monthly series of (free) community workshops/seminars led and co-organized by experienced facilitators. We are especially interested in topics like consent, anti-black racism, decolonization, harm reduction and community accountability processes. WHY? We learned ALOT these past few weeks and it's already impacted our space in a good way. We hope to encourage a learning culture both for ourselves and our community.

  2. In response to feedback around disclosing and safety we are working on creating a safer space on our website where people can communicate issues anonymously. WHY? Our hope is that this initiative would provide a comfortable/safer internet space where people can communicate negative experiences they may have had while at TARG in an anonymous manner.

  3. We are working on a mission statement/core values with the help of community suggestions that are being made along with our own set of beliefs/values. These will be posted throughout the venue as well as our website. WHY? Safety is co-created by both patrons and staff.

  4. We will moderate our social media to reflect the values outlined in our mission statement. WHY? We meant it when we said that TARG is a community space and this includes our social media.

  5. We will be more thorough and intentional in our future bookings when it comes to vetting/researching acts. WHY? We want to be absolutely sure that TARG is a socially responsible venue where more people feel safe and comfortable.

  6. We will actively seek out and support more POC bands/shows and those who promote them/have access to them. WHY? We love music/bands and we want our bands to better reflect the community. Please get in touch - we want to hear from you.

  7. We will be offering/encouraging safe space training (Carleton University) to everyone on staff at TARG (including owners) WHY? It is important for us to understand. Listening has already given us so much insight - thank you for your generous suggestions and guidance.

  8. We will continue with our mandate with space, time and charitable fundraising efforts within our community. WHY? We are in a position to help.

We live in complicated times and it is important to change/adapt/grow in a responsible/positive manner. Ottawa is my home - always has been, always will be. I've lived/worked here for over 40 years and always been very active in our music community - I have experienced some of the best moments of my life working with others and helping it grow/expand. I am committed to positive action on issues that involve us all - let's work together and make this world safer for EVERYONE.

Yours always, Yogi

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[–]SebachCoin Flip Champ 6ポイント7ポイント  (0子コメント)

A bit of context I think.

[–]Batsignal_on_mars 5ポイント6ポイント  (0子コメント)

I personally think the issue brought up in the previous thread is a bit silly and overblown, but seeing this response and ideas is pretty fantastic, especially about creating a space for community workshops.

Never been to Targ but now I might check you guys out, cheers!

[–]abcdeline 6ポイント7ポイント  (3子コメント)

What happened? Did you accidentally host a Klan rally or something? I saw this same thing on the Union 613 Facebook page but had no idea what it was in response to.

[–]lenderonabender 8ポイント9ポイント  (1子コメント)

A promoter they work with booked a band called BLACK PUSSY. There was a backlash from a bunch of people who took it upon themselves to boycott the venue, spread propaganda via a "zine" throughout Ottawa (including postering/distributing in Centretown), and went so far as to contacting the media and the mayor (lol). I can't tell anyone how they should feel about the name at all, but frankly this Social Justice Warrior bullshit went too far. It was an attack on a venue that is one of the most inclusive places in Ottawa and one of the best things to happen to the music (and pinball) scenes in the city (even the country!). The owners are stand up people and they owe apologies to no one for a bands name - the lengths they are going to address this charged issue head on goes to show how much they care about the community. Full disclosure - I promote events at Targ.

[–]dougieman6Vanier 3ポイント4ポイント  (0子コメント)

Just a note, but the 'full disclosure' part usually comes at the start of the comment :)

[–]CybertronianBukkakeSandy Hill 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

Saw it on Targ's Facebook page without context either. From the comments I started to get the idea that maybe one of the bands was a bit too colorful for some of the audience.

[–]GrimsbeardKanata 8ポイント9ポイント  (0子コメント)

Our world is overly sensitive and charged up on those feelings to the point we want to lash out against everything. So much so that even I wanted to reply to this thread with a "are you fucking kidding me?" sort of response. Fortunately, I went and did some research, read some quotes from the band mates that sparked this controversy and sighed.

It's one thing to say or so something in the context of freedoms, or good humour, but totally another to go out of your way to piss people off and cause controversy. Comedians crack jokes about mores and tropes that would, in different context, would offend people, but we laugh ... It's not mean to offend, but to shed light on the absurdity of the situation. The band in question, however, isn't trying to press a specific angle to freedom of speech. They're just trying to be "cool and funny" for their own sake and because they believe everyone needs to "lighten up." Well, they're right about that last part, but they're going about it in such a way that is obnoxious. Claiming that, "if it were a band of black women, this wouldn't be an issue" (their words) is kind of amusing. You're right it wouldn't be an issue. Why? I doubt they'd be so brash as to degrade themselves so meaninglessly and there really isn't any marketability to the name anyway. Instead, I suggest that the band call themselves Unwashed White Cocks as an alternative. Judging by the promo shots, I'm spot on with their theory.

Anyway, short of getting myself into a heap of shit, Yogi, you learned that we indeed live in a sensitive era where people's feelings are easily hurt and people are willing to go to war over words. That part sucks. A lot of your response is well natured, comes from a good place, but I just wished it didn't have to come at all. Some of it is over-response. House of Targ is a cool joint. It means well. It wants to be a community gathering spot. It's equally going to now pay a little better attention to bookings and hostings that don't piss off people to the extreme. Just ... don't end up turning it into a hyper-politically correct place ... else you might need to unload some sweet games because someone's not happy about a misogynistic pinup painted on a pinball table, or something else. Self-interest groups want to be championed, but sometimes you need to go "okay guys, I hear you... I respect what you want and have to say. But you now have to respect that I don't agree."

Stay classy, Yogi.

[–]TheTallestGnomeAlta Vista 2ポイント3ポイント  (1子コメント)

Can someone give me the recap on what happened here?

or at least what triggered this?

[–]Batsignal_on_mars 6ポイント7ポイント  (0子コメント)

A band with a distasteful name played at Targ, some people got upset, overreacted a bit, the usual tasteful and calm discussions surrounded race and feminism followed.

[–]SG-Byward Market 2ポイント3ポイント  (1子コメント)

talk about overblowing things, I guess you have to cater to your customers and not really do the right thing tho.

[–]Majimanidoo 4ポイント5ポイント  (0子コメント)

But are they actually catering to customers? Because most SJWs that would raise a stink like this dont actually have the energy and time to leave their house.

[–]maeby_today -3ポイント-2ポイント  (9子コメント)

I get that this is a business and they need to keep from alienating any customer base but shit... talking about bowing down to the sjws. Damn...

[–]JSophiAG 6ポイント7ポイント  (8子コメント)

I agree...they did nothing wrong and should stand up for the right to book whatever band they feel like, not bow to the critics.

[–]BaconwichCentretown 8ポイント9ポイント  (7子コメント)

They're also allowed to do whatever they want, and if being more socially conscious is what they want to do then having people jump down their throats for bowing to the sjws accomplishes nothing, and is worse than the "harrassment" the anti-sjw sjws are perceiving.

[–]Batsignal_on_mars 4ポイント5ポイント  (1子コメント)

Agreed, kinda silly that a response of 'hey we heard complaints, thought about it and want to make an effort to change' is seen as 'bowing down' when it could well be exactly how the owners feel. Just because they made a decision some posters here disagree with doesn't mean they're giving in. Hell, considering most of the posts are in favour of Targ hosting that band, I would say this 'sjw' response is exactly the 'standing up for how they want to run their business'.

The whole polarization is silly, Targ wants to be a cool place for everyone and that's commendable. I really liked this post and the effort Yogi seems to be putting in, even if the origins are kinda shitty.

[–]CndConnection -2ポイント-1ポイント  (0子コメント)

It's not silly when you compare today to the scene in the 80s of which a lot of the older patrons of the bar were part of.

They see this shit and think wow you fucking cry babies.

Think about it, in the 80s mainstream America was pretty much at war with this type of music and they struggled to keep from being censored. Now they are facing backlash not from prudish catholic bible thumper types but from ultra progressive social conscious folk...kinda funny.

[–]areyounew -3ポイント-2ポイント  (4子コメント)

They sure can do whatever they want, but as a customer I am not sure I want to fund a business that will cower and essentially encourage SJW behaviour. There is no shortage of bars in Ottawa.

We'll see if TARG leaves it a this.

[–]BaconwichCentretown 1ポイント2ポイント  (3子コメント)

We need a new word for Anti-SJW crusaders, because they're starting to get out of hand.

[–]areyounew 0ポイント1ポイント  (2子コメント)

Are you calling me an "Anti-SJW crusader" for thinking that taking outrageous offense and victimhood over a band named "BLACK PUSSY" is quite simply silly?

Was I getting out of hand by doing that?

[–]BaconwichCentretown 0ポイント1ポイント  (1子コメント)

Not you specifically, but the number of people jumping to the defense of people perceived to be bowing to the pressure of SJWs when it's just a decision that they've personally made has been higher than average the past few months and I'm seeing more of it than I'm seeing people bowing to the pressure of SJWs.

People are allowed to take negative criticism and change something without needing to be protected by a horde of Internet White Knights. The same thing happened after Joss Whedon tried to take a break from social media after Avengers came out and it was absurd. He had to come back and tell people to stop.

[–]areyounew 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

People are allowed to take negative criticism and change something without needing to be protected by a horde of Internet White Knights.

Certainly, and what TARG has done thus far may not be cowering but simply stating what I expect most businesses feel, the basics of not tolerating any real hate. In that light, I think they may have done the most reasonable thing, publicly stating their opinions without really giving into the complaints.

[–]Fisgig 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

So I looked up Black Pussy on Youtube and their music is actually pretty rad. Some seriously good exposure going on here. I can see why TARG booked them. Check it out.

[–]areyounew -1ポイント0ポイント  (0子コメント)

For anyone unaware, this is ENTIRELY due to them hosting a band entitled "BLACK PUSSY".

The feminists came out of the wood works spouting misogyny and racism.

The irony is that BLACK PUSSY has gained many more fans and sales due to all the exposure.

I hope House of TARG does not cower any more to the SJW types, they are few but vocal.

[–]snorlax-The Glebe -1ポイント0ポイント  (1子コメント)

Caving to a vocal minority whose lifeblood is latching onto non-issues and turning them into shitstorms. How are you going to handle complaints from religious groups that find the metal acts/band names offensive due to their very nature? Metal, Punk and Alternative music exist on the fringe for a reason. I'll continue going to shows at TARG and supporting the venue, but I'm disappointed that you felt the need to apologize for hosting a band with what some people think is an objectionable name. Get a spine.

Edit: Social engagement is good, doing it because people were offended about a band's name that happened to play at your bar, not so much. From my perspective, all you've done is open yourselves up to more of the same next time someone has an axe to grind.

[–]areyounew 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

SJW victimhood to perceived racism (from whites only) and misogyny is the popular mainstream narrative at the moment - despite what they'd like you to believe, there is no bravery involved in partaking. The same cannot be said for religious victimhood and the like, TARG would never have to consider that.

[–]CndConnection -1ポイント0ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yogi you are smart to make some changes in hopes of avoiding future bullshit situations....

Just gotta say how much the future fucking sucks when Punk, Stoner, Metal, Alt bands cant even have disturbing names anymore lest they hurt the feelings of the permanently butt-hurt.

A Stoner rock band called Black Pussy gets booked and people think that creates a hateful environment...just fuckin' wow.

They acted so fucking offended and sanctimonious over a non-issue.

What's next... they're going to start a campaign against the volume level because if they can't talk about their fucking feelings when the music is playing that too contributes to this invented un-safe environment?

It makes me extra angry that you can pretty much bet your ass the people who complained were not even there that night and barely ever visit House of Targ. They just found their next target and unloaded their bullshit on your FB page so they could feel proud that they "caught" the "racists".