A reader writes:
I always find it amusing that Johnny Cash can sing lines like "Early one morning while making the rounds, I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down" or "I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die" and everyone pretty much accepts that he's in character telling a story. But a rapper has gotta be squeaky clean if he or she doesn't want to be labeled a "thug". Even more amusing is to consider the legacy of Cash's famous appearances at Folsom and San Quentin prisons. Can you imagine such an event happening today with a rapper, even one as milquetoast as Common?
Another writes:
Given the furor from conservative corners about Common's invitation to the White House, I feel compelled to remind folks about some past films of prominent Republican icons: Clint Eastwood was the celebrated hero of at least two movies where he guns down corrupt police officers ("Magnum Force," "Unforgiven") and Arnold Schwarzenegger became a star in "The Terminator" which features a "gee whiz, ain't it cool" shoot-out/massacre at a police precinct.
Mary Elizabeth Williams is on the same page:
The Daily Caller was quick to register its fury at Common's presence on the bill, with writer Neil Munro singling out "Letter to the Law," which dares to include lines like "Tell the law, my Uzi weighs a ton" and "Burn a Bush cos' for peace he no push no button/Killing over oil and grease/no weapons of destruction." This, according to the Caller, is tantamount to "threats to shoot police and … calling for the "burn[ing]" of George W. Bush."
Yes, and when William Blake wrote, "I am black," he literally meant he was black. And when Sylvia Plath wrote, "Daddy, I have had to kill you," she really killed her father. And when T.S. Eliot wrote, "We are the hollow men," he was in fact a chocolate Easter bunny. Because there's no room for metaphor or imagery or drama in poetry.
The Dish 