Roots, Toots n' Hoots Blog

Hank Jr. puts ignorance on display

Jeffrey Remz  |  July 12, 2012

Hank Williams Jr. has never been one to mince words, and he sure didn't in an interview published in Rolling Stone where he goes off once again against President Obama.

The big mouth follows up last year's comparison of the Obama golf game with House Speaker John Boehner as akin to Hitler hanging with Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu. That earned Williams a ticket straight off of ESPN.

Unbowed, Williams doesn't let up in the new interview either, saying Obama "hates America in the first place."

Williams, of course, has no real evidence of that in the interview conducted by Patrick Doyle.

But Williams may have once again done himself in with his anti-Muslim jib jab. Doyle asks Williams about the song Keep the Change, where Williams talks about freedom, guns, money and religion. "I will keep my Christian name and you all can keep the change," he sings.

Doyle queried Williams about the Christian name line. "You know, we've got a President that does a call to the Koran or Mecca or whatever. That's what I meant. That's exactly what I meant. I won't be changing my name to whatever. That's exactly what I meant," Williams said.

So, I guess Williams is one of the Americans playing without a full deck who think Obama is Muslim. What ignorance. Of course, he also is trying to incite anti-Muslim feelings and draw even more support from the types of folks who typically back him.

Williams just goes on and on. Who needs these kinds of comments? Interestingly, when the Dixie Chicks went after President George Bush about the Iraq war years ago, they got tremendous flak for making the comments in London where they were touring instead of having the courage to do so on these shores. The Chicks fan base plummeted, and their career has never quite been the same.

It will be interesting to see if Williams gets any pushback of negativity. He certainly deserves it. I will also say that while I disagree with just about everything Williams stands for, he obviously has the right to say it. He sure isn't afraid to do so either.