The XX Factor: What women really think.

Putting His Money Where His Mouth Is

Thank you for sharing the news about Shepard Fairey and his famous Obama artwork. One thing that struck me right away was how he handled his displeasure that Obama selected Rick Warren to give the invocation. Instead of throwing a tantrum, he's going to take some of the earnings he's getting for an inaugural poster and donate them to the movement to overturn Prop 8 in California. It's a targeted response, and very smart and level-headed.

Which strikes me as a great contrast to the way some other artists—pop and rock musicians—behaved during the election. Heart, John Mellancamp, and others, upon learning that the McCain campaign had licensed their music to use at campaign rallies, stomped their feet and whined and sent cease-and-desist letters. Wouldn't it have been more appropriate, especially from these wealthy celebrities, had they said to themselves, "Wow. I'm not comfortable having made money from a politician whose views I don't share. Let me take that money and give it to a cause I believe in." It would have been more appropriate, but a cease-and-desist letter is free AND attracts attention.

Fairey's gesture, on the other hand, seems far more meaningful.