What should I do? (ebay / KKK related)
BeardedD
770 Posts
Did I get your attention? Ok. So I posted this record on ebay: With this title: Johnny Rebel - Kajun Ku Klux Klan - RACIST 7" -- and a description making it abundantly clear that I consider Johnny Rebel and his record to be trash, albeit trash that should be preserved so people know what's up, just not by me.I got a bid almost instantly, then another, and then less than 24 hours after this went up, a VERO notice from ebay. I'm not going to post the whole thing but here is the gist of it:We would like to let you know that we removed your listing: 4741030368 Johnny Rebel / Kajun Ku Klux Klan / rare RACIST 50s 7" because a copyright rights owner notified us, under penalty of perjury, that your listing offers an unauthorized copy of copyrighted material.If you relist this or any other similar items on eBay, your account likely will be suspended. If you believe your listing was ended in error, or have questions regarding the removal of this listing, please contact the copyright rights owner directly at:Johnny Rebel Records [email]johnnyrebelrecords@hotmail.com[/email]eBay is available to answer questions, but since it is the copyright rights owner that requested the removal of your listings, we encourage you to contact them first. For more information on the VeRO Program, and a list of rights owner About Me pages, please visit:http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/vero-removed-listing.htmlhttp://pages.ebay.com/help/community/vero-aboutme.htmlMOTHERFUCKER! This is the second time in the last six months I've had an auction ended by an "artist" for no other reason than the fact that they don't like seeing their own record being sold. (The first was Wendy Carlos, who is offended by the fact that "The Story of Tron" is based on third generation tapes of her music.)Arguing with ebay about this does absolutely no good. As you already know if you sell and you've ever had a problem, their computer doesn't give a shit about your problem. But out of general principle I want to deal with this fucker. Any suggestions?Here is an in depth article about Johnny Rebel. 3/4s of the way down it certainly suggests that someone else may have been behind the auction being ended... I guess I'm just gonna have to just drop it, but I would like everyone to commiserate or something. Anyone else have a similar experience? Or if you'd like to criticize me for trying to sell the record in the first place, go ahead and do that.
Comments
Why don't you donate the record to some anti-racist organization... you can perhaps use it as a tax write-off (if you really need to make money off of it)?
Why?
I think I won't post audio on this.
Ebay can get my balls. I contacted them numerous times because someone was selling something I owned the copywrite to. You think they even responded to my e-mail? Fuck those bastards. Really... I can't wait for someone to sue the shit out of them and knock them around a bit
funny thing is the studio that sold, recorded, and distributed that Rebel 45's also put out quite a bit of soul, funk, and r&b by black artists. also recorded lots of zydeco which is also traditional black music from SW Louisiana. i've been to the studio and dealt with those guys... i've seen the rebel 45's in their own section and couldn't help but cringe.
cosmo-
is that a dancing dreidel?
this is a good post for a dancing dreidel.
Or Microsoft saying you can't sell, loan or use a second time, a program you bought from them.
They did.
His problem is that it is next to impossible to get ebay to hear you say that.
Try relisting it as an authorized copy? Use Authorized as many times as you can in your listing. "This is an original AUTHORIZED copy of... Released in 1967 this AUTHORIZED copy...
Hotmail account??? Right... And just a little look on google shows that the JOHNNY REBEL rights were bought in 2004 by Resistance Records. Fuck them... I would push for proof of it being "an unauthorized copy of copyrighted material". I bet it was probably someone who thought u were a racist and thought of the way to stop u from posting it.
But yeah... burn that shit. You'll feel better afterwards...
One second thought.. Don't burn it.. Donate it somewhere it can be used as a teaching tool about fucked up history.. People need to know what time it is...
Yeah Ari, it's a photo of my homegirl Dorothy Moskowitz as a dancing dreidel. Truly great.
R--h from Texas said those records are "everywhere" in the south. That astonishes me. Of course I had to buy it on my road trip since I'd never seen anything like it before. I got it in OK city by the way.
As for selling it, I'm not going to sit here and defend it. (Well maybe just a little.) If I made a habit out of trading in Johnny Rebel records that would be a definite problem. Basically I had two choices, sell it or chuck it. I'm poor as fuck right now. I wrote an ad specifically designed to insult anyone who would buy it out of some sort of fondness for the record's sentiment, so I guess my attitude what's wrong with taking those fuckers' money if they are stupid enough to give it to me?
Maybe we could do a ritual burning at the record nerd thing in San Diego this weekend?
authorized copy?
haven't forgotten about you, reciprocity takes time but i believe in it.
I have to agree here. It's one thing to collect this shit if you're serious about archiving memorabilia for the intent on education, but to buy and sell for profit is kind of the pits, no offense BeardedD. It reminds me of the old coot just outside of Philly who sells Nazi memorabilia at Quaker City. He has a sign up that says something to the degree of "What I sell doesn't reflect my personal philosophy." But I always have to question why dude feels it's okay to sell that shit for personal profit? You're profiting off of a legacy of misery.
As for my George Wallace 45 (I forget the name of the "artist) - it was found in a stack of 45s that I got in North Philly about 2 years ago, which was really odd to me considering it was in a pile of "modern soul" and "private press regional hip-hop" records. I have it around here somewhere, or maybe at my mom's crib, but I should break it out and try to do something with it.
I'm good friends with Country Joe's son, and this is on his web-page. When you click on it, it plays "Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel"
And yo doggie, no stress! I'm chilling in the cut. Whatever and whenever, you know how I get down.
not trying to come at you from an ethical higher-ground on this. i think the majority of people that buy Johnny Rebel 45s are not necessarily buying it b/c the record's sentiment appeals to them. it is the disconnect that happens in the fetishization of the object- the original meaning may be lost in this fetishization itself, it becomes a KKK related 45 that is valuable as a KKK collectible 45, thus stripping and diminishing its original intent. It's problematic. Things are still symbols, can't forget their meanings, relationships, messages- even if it's 40 years after the fact and a bunch of liberal-minded record weird-ohs are sitting around chuckling over johnny rebel. the fact is dudes were being lynched a block away.
but i'll come off as lunch digests and i return to work.
BeardedD, respond to the PM i sent this morning... wondering if ID was correct.
I would bid on dancing dreidel 45's though.
White pride mash up in effect?
I try to pass over openly racist records and anything with nazi overtones. I do pick up right wing religous conspiracy records. I had this one called the Communazi or something like that about how the civil rights and anti-war movements are communist/nazi plots. I got it home and thought what am I doing with this? I put it out for sale and the damn thing sat around for a couple of years.
Now THERE's the next ironic hipster move!
"for my next project I'm going to mash up some skrewdriver with like, southern rap or something"
Unfortunately (IMO) this is a little too fucking close to the truth as it is.
Please do not get me started.
Put some chuck d or dead prez vocals over it.
dude you're so 2K2-2K4 right now
Just as it's possible someone would buy the Johnny Rebel 45 as an anti-racist teaching tool, it's far more likely some white power cheesedick who thinks it's the funniest thing he's ever heard will be the one to outbid everybody, so he can play it and get all primed up while he beats off to photos of David Duke.
Not saying your an as*hole if you choose to sell it, just warning you that you may end up feeling kind of lousy, and corresponding with Nazi fucks that you would just as soon not have contact with.
My friends and I have shopped at old-school 45 shoppes that managed to stick around all these years, looking for mostly old soul records of course... the proprietors of these stores are often openly racist and definitely appreciate the Johnny Rebel records more than what we bought off them (and in fact they consider their records far more 'valuable' than the stuff we were buying)... are we now somehow tainted by giving money to these bastards?
Just wanted to throw this out there...
Yo,
Sell the record to one of these crazy racist dudes for $$$. Just make sure you break it good before putting it in a mailer.