Learned today that Sinead O'Connor has passed. She was 56. Which seems so young to me. Only 3 years older than I am. Which means she was barely 20 when she exploded onto the charts. She was only 25 when she became infamous for her stand against the Pope and the Catholic Church on SNL The record companies wanted her to be a cute pop princess and write songs about boys and she shaved her head and said 'fuck that and fuck you' and sang what spoke to her heart and made her sing. What an absolute badass. I wasn't that brave or sure of myself at 20 or 25. maybe not even now, honestly.
I have a vague, wierd memory of somehow being included in Sinead's online stuff a while back..maybe a few years ago? Like... a fan group or something on facebook but Sinead herself actually posted there. And her posts were so ....raw, angry, sad, dangerously mentally ill....terrible...I got out of the group. I couldn't stand to see or hear it. And I'm so fucking sorry for that, for my cowardice and denial. For the callousness of it all.
We, everyone who loved her music....we appreciated her music and her voice and her performances. But we didn't listen to her pain and her lived experiences, we didn't support her in the way she needed or wanted to be supported. The world took from her, enjoyed her, and ultimately we failed her. She was decades ahead of the 'me too' movement, she had no one standing with her, no one had her back,and she stood in righteous fury alone, against abuse and exploitation, against wealth and power, against Man and God alike. What an absolute Mother Warrior Goddess.
May her memory be a revolution.
I have a vague, wierd memory of somehow being included in Sinead's online stuff a while back..maybe a few years ago? Like... a fan group or something on facebook but Sinead herself actually posted there. And her posts were so ....raw, angry, sad, dangerously mentally ill....terrible...I got out of the group. I couldn't stand to see or hear it. And I'm so fucking sorry for that, for my cowardice and denial. For the callousness of it all.
We, everyone who loved her music....we appreciated her music and her voice and her performances. But we didn't listen to her pain and her lived experiences, we didn't support her in the way she needed or wanted to be supported. The world took from her, enjoyed her, and ultimately we failed her. She was decades ahead of the 'me too' movement, she had no one standing with her, no one had her back,and she stood in righteous fury alone, against abuse and exploitation, against wealth and power, against Man and God alike. What an absolute Mother Warrior Goddess.
May her memory be a revolution.