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Monthly Archives: February 2014

Music, Politics

Pete Seeger refuses to provide metadata to HUAC

February 7, 2014 Ronald Weihs Leave a comment
Pete Seeger, noted folk singer entertaining at the opening of the Washington labor canteen, with Eleanor Roosevelt
Pete Seeger, noted folk singer entertaining at the opening of the Washington labor canteen, with Eleanor Roosevelt (Source: Library of Congress)

Peter Seeger was a huge influence on my life, musically, politically and spiritually. When he died at last, like so many others, I reviewed what I knew and loved about him. Thanks to Mark McNeil on Facebook, I was directed to his testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee. 

What interests me is that Pete, at the price of being sentenced to prison, refused to provide the Committee with metadata about his activities. He repeatedly says “I will be glad to tell what songs I have ever sung . . . but I decline to say who has ever listened to them, who has written them, or other people who have sung them.” . . . “I have sung that song. I am not going to go into where I have sung it. ” . . . “I believe my associations, whatever they are, are my own private affairs.”

He offers to talk about his own life and his songs, and to sing them too. But he will not provide the metadata.

In respect to Edward Snowdon’s revelations about NSA tracking, the defense is repeatedly offered that “only” metadata that is being collected. This is supposed to make it all right. The NSA (and its Canadian counterpart) is not reading your emails and phone calls, just tracking who you communicate with.

There is a remarkable interview with Edward Snowdon, on the German television station ARD, that makes it clear what metadata is and why it is being collected so comprehensively.

I’m with Pete on this. Reading the actual emails is not nearly as serious as tracking  associations through the metadata. This is truly none of their business.

ARD interviewEdward SnowdenfolksingingfolksongsHUACmetadataNSAPete Seegertestimony

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About Ronald Weihs

Ronald Weihs is a playwright and theatre director. He and his partner Judith Sandiford published an art magazine called Artword Artist’s Forum from 1989 to 1993. They created and operated a theatre in Toronto called Artword Theatre and Gallery from 1994 to 2006. In Hamilton, they produced and continue to produce theatre works as Artword Theatre. From 2009 to 2019 they ran Artword Artbar, a music and theatre venue in downtown Hamilton. In 2020. the theatre projects have been put on hold due to Covid-19.

About Judith Sandiford

Judith Sandiford has been a visual artist on-and-off since her art-school days. She also been, among other things, a typesetter, a journalist, a magazine editor, an art gallery administrator, and, since she met Ron, a theatre designer.

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