Yoko Love vs. Yoko Hate

This is an issue that's been going on since the late 60s and 'I've got a feeling' that the debate will never end. I want to make very clear right away that, in this entry, I am not taking a side. I've got opinions, but I'm more curious to look at the two sides in this entry than to state my personal thoughts.

There are racist people in the world. There are people who do not understand and/or appreciate non-traditional art such as Yoko's art. There are many non-personal reasons that people might dislike Yoko Ono...but are there any good reasons to?

This entry was inspired by remarks recently made on Twitter to Sean. First of all, it definitely doesn't make sense to attack Sean. Even if Yoko did the worst thing in the world, it's not Sean...so that doesn't make sense to me.

Okay...the only "good reason" to hate Yoko has nothing to do with her race, the quality of her art, etc., but John fans should be concerned IF they believe she could be abusing her Lennon connection. This is what has caused so much outrage. This is not the first time fans have been angered by John's talents being used commercially, but for some reason, this new car ad has been extremely controversial.

The most intriguing part to me is that Sean himself said: "Having just seen ad I realize why people are mad." This is particularly interesting to me because I have NOT seen the ad. [This is why I'm not sharing any personal opinions. I want to be very fair!] Now...are her motivations financial? Is her intention actually to keep John in the world and to keep exposing his music to new ears? She's done non-music things like this too, for example turning personal art he did for Sean into an entire theme of child products. Is this good? Is this bad? What do you think?

Arguments in favor of Yoko:
She wants to keep John in the world and expose him to potential future fans.
She wants to support a cause in a big way.
She wants to share good things with the world, whether it's his music in a commercial or other things that he did.

Arguments against Yoko:
She using her ex-husband's property without his consent.
She's using John for financial gain.
She's turning his talents into something commercial.

There are many other arguments to be made, but that's a general summary. What do you think? Does she have the right to use him in this way? Do you think he would approve of these sorts of things that she's done? Do you think he would be happy for her because he loved her and she was his wife? Do you think he would have done these things if he were still here? Do you think it's good to make him into something commercial for purposes of exposure and/or promotion? Doesn't his widow and son deserve to benefit from him since he isn't here and they are his family? Do you think it's bad to turn him into something cheap and meaningless? Do you think it's great to hear John during commercial breaks and see his art come to life as child products in stores? I've got my thoughts, but that's not the point...I want to get you thinking! I don't care what you conclude because everyone has their opinions, but I think everyone should be thinking about this in one way or the other.

To Sean: I openly love you, support you, and defend you...
To Yoko: I'm sorry that I'm not taking a side in this blog entry, but I feel it is more important to get people thinking than it is to push my opinions onto others.