Henderson: Kid Rock opener at Little Caesars Arena is middle finger to Detroiters [View all]

[safeinOhio]

This is a musician who got rich off crass cultural appropriation of black music, who used to wrap his brand in the Confederate flag — a symbol inextricably linked to racism, no matter what its defenders say — and who has repeatedly issued profane denouncements of the very idea of African Americans pushing back against American inequality. Just last week, he trashed Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who's jobless right now because he dared challenge the nation's racism with a silent, kneeling protest during the pre-football game singing of the national anthem.

Having Kid Rock open this arena is erecting a sturdy middle finger to Detroiters — nothing less. And the Ilitches, who've done so much for this city and also taken so much from it, should be the last to embrace that kind of signaling.

http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/columnists/stephen-henderson/2017/09/02/kid-rock-caesars-ilitch-arena/623154001/