Prevalence of Lack of Respect Continues in the Form of a ‘Dark Horse’

ANGELA YANG
Opinions Editor

A “dark horse” refers to something that seems unlikely to succeed, but ultimately prevails. Ironically, this wasn’t the case for Katy Perry’s song of the same name.

However, songs can often become popular for the wrong reasons. While Dark Horse is catchy, it drew attention from the Muslim community. The original music video featured Perry incinerating a man wearing a pendant spelling out “Allah” in Arabic, which many Muslims viewed as blasphemous. A Change.org petition with over 65,000 signatures led to the digital removal of the pendant from the video.

It took the attention of thousands for Perry and her producers to see what was wrong. It had to be pointed out, then protested for them to change it. Perhaps it was an oversight or it was meant to be harmless, but the fact of the matter was that it was not. It was rude and offensive to Muslims, especially in a religion that believes the point of existence is to worship God.

Unfortunately, it seems that a lack of respect has become extremely prevalent in our society. While Perry may not have meant anything by incinerating the man (given that she incinerates all of her suitors in the video or turns them into puppies), she deeply insulted many people. It is imperative that we remember how our actions affect others and to treat everyone with respect. Music artists and other influential people aren’t the only people who should be respectful about other cultures and religions; everyone should.