Prussian Blue

September 2005. The city of Bakersfield is in an uproar again and at the center of the storm are the courageous duo of Prussian Blue. The girls were scheduled to make an appearance at the Kern County Fair this week, but the appearance had to be canceled at the last moment.
After speaking to Bill Blair, chief executive of the fair, over the phone on Monday, April Gaede learned that the performance would be canceled due to “security concerns”. Blair conceded that neither he nor his staff could find anything objectionable in the material that the girls had auditioned and performed the previous year. In fact, the girls had been cleared by the Community Act staff and had played to a substantial audience. However, social pressure from a lead story by the Bakersfield Californian was too much for Blair to withstand, and he folded under anticipated but non-existent threats of “violence or other disruptions.”

The news of the cancellation shocked many of the girls’ school friends who planned to attend the show. One girl told Lynx that her mother had called a local radio talk show to express her support of Prussian Blue and their message. The girl was one of several friends to call the girls at home to express their disappointment at the news of the shows cancellation. Many school children had made plans to watch the girls perform.

Another local talk show host tried to whip his audience into a frenzy by repeatedly squealing the words, “neo-Nazi” in an attempt to smear the girls. For nearly thirty minutes he went on, trying in vain to manufacture indignation among his listeners. Callers to the show responded by changing the subject; choosing to discuss New Orleans “looting,” “dysgenic government welfare policies” and “illegal fireworks.” The host’s tirade ended in a near “dead air” segment at the end of the show.

Apparently, the whole controversy began with a single complaint from a student who had attended school with the girls the previous year. Several school friends had taken flyers announcing the performance so that kids who wanted to see one of Prussian Blue’s concerts at the fair could make arrangements to attend. A female student, who disagreed with the Lamb and Lynx politically, had her mother alert the public censors at The Californian, who in turn, alerted the fair officials, who then sacked the performance. Despite the fact that many of the kids from their junior high school wished to attend the show, the Californian story contained only the news of the little girl who disagreed with Lynx and Lamb. And, the local radio talk show hosts started their familiar drumbeat.

They also failed to mention, but we will do so here, that both Lynx and Lamb earned the distinguished Principal’s List award for their superior grades last year. Additionally, Lynx was nominated “7th grade Princess,” and Lamb won the school “History” award.

For their part, Lamb and Lynx were disappointed that they would not be able to perform, but were pleased with all the support they received from their friends.