AITA for really liking this Merle Haggard song?

You won’t BELIEVE how this story ends! It all started with a simple song, but it led to a controversy that’s still being talked about today. Get ready for a wild ride!

It’s racist as hell. I recognize that. It’s from a different time, I recognize that. Hell, it’s basically just a song protesting affirmative action. Merle was never the most forward thinking man, but damn if it isn’t the catchiest song I’ve ever heard.

I’m a huge Merle Haggard fan and I love this song, but people keep trying to point out to me that I can’t love this song without being a racist. Thoughts?

Here’s how people reacted:

laspero

Lot’s of musicians have beliefs that are extreme or that I disagree with. Listening to their music, however, does not mean you agree with those beliefs. So you’re definitely not the asshole.

SpoopsThePalindrome

No, liking a song doesn’t make you an asshole. That’s like saying I enjoy incest, patricide, and gratuitous nudity ^^ok ^^I ^^do ^^like ^^that ^^last ^^one just because I enjoy *Game of Thrones.*

The_R4ke

No, you’re allowed to like something that’s bad as long as you don’t like it for the thing that’s bad.

paulacaley

You can like it, but if you want to be like a good person about it, you should acknowledge that the song is racist and say you don’t agree with the lyrics when you say you like it.

broken-instincts12

You are not the asshole. Similar example- 90% of hiphop which os currently one of the most popular genres of music

Nqmy

If you agree you’re the asshole, if you just like the song who cares.

i_am_average_AMA

I like a lot of songs whose lyrics I don’t agree with on an ideological level. Most of what’s great about music is the music. Don’t let people dictate what you enjoy, as long as you don’t agree with the lyrical content you are certainly not the asshole.

Conclusion

And that’s how this song, with its controversial lyrics, sparked a debate that continues to this day. Some say it’s a masterpiece, others a relic of the past. You decide!