After Stabbing at Plies Concert, Florida Politician Wants Hip-Hop Ban

After a stabbing at a Plies concert last year, Fort Myers, Florida, Councilman Warren Wright is openly supporting a ban on hip-hop concerts in the city, blaming them for "violence and disruption."

The hilariously named local news channel WINK reports that while Wright admits such a ban would likely be impossible, he believes the concerts are bad for business. "Do I think that we could ban them? I don't think that that would be possible," said Wright. "I think we would have to ban all concerts, and I don't think anyone wants that."

What's more, Fort Myers mayor Randy Henderson has gone on record saying he believes Plies' music is "vulgar" and that, "If there's a legal way to do that [ban Plies' music], it's a worthy idea," Henderson said.

The Refined Take:

1) Let's be honest. There are some concerts you just have a higher chance of getting stabbed at, and a Plies show is one of them (not a lot of shanking going on at a Jill Scott show). The mistake, however, lies in confusing the cause and the effect. The Plies' concert didn't create violence, it simply created an opportunity for existing violence to take place. No one got stabbed because Plies did an encore of "Bust It Baby." If the stabbing didn't take place at the show it would have happened on the streets, or in a bar, or in someone's home.

2) Sorry Mayor Henderson, but no, there's not a legal way to ban Plies' music; unless Congress decides to attach a Plies-specific clause to the 1st amendment. The thing that made me laugh is that as much as I think Henderson's an idiot, when he said that Plies' music was "vulgar," I was like, "yeah, well, fair enough." There are a lot of things I'd rather do than listen to Plies talk about rubbing baby lotion on himself (I just threw up in my mouth a little bit), but the beautiful thing about this country is that everyone gets to say whatever they want. As Don King would say, "Only in America!"

3) Note to self: Cancel concert tickets to upcoming Sir Stabs-a-lot and the Knifethrowers show.