Mixtapemotions

"I Know a Place" by MUNA, Wednesday, February 16, 2022

In 2015 when marriage equality was signed into law across the nation, Americans reacted in several ways. There was overt homophobia and blatant hatred often disguised as religion. One of the last Adventist sermons I listened to was Dwight Nelson arguing that just because a nation can say something is legal doesn’t make it moral. There were examples of civil disobedience in the courtrooms by the likes of Kim Davis refusing to perform same-sex weddings. There were businesses that refused service to same-sex couples getting married. Many took the law as a win for human rights. Statistics showed in 2015 that support for marriage equality was largely bi-partisan, meaning that people of all backgrounds, liberal or conservative, supported the right to marry.

support for the victims following the 
Pulse shooting in Orlando

YOU TRIED TO SHRUG IT OFF WHEN I ASKED WHY SOMEBODY HURT YOU. Then came June 12, 2016. When I heard the news, it was my 29th birthday-Korean Standard Time June 13th. There had been many mass shootings before Pulse, and many since, targeting schools, churches, concerts, shopping centers, and other places where unsuspecting people go on the last day of their lives. But something felt different about this attack. In the middle of a hellish election cycle in which Republican candidates had been lambasting the Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality, Donald Trump had just become the Republican nominee. While the most conservative former candidates were mostly silent about this attack, future president Donald Trump hoped to use this tragedy as an opportunity to spread Islamophobia, calling for more stringent immigration policies which would later be implemented in his “Muslim ban.” He pledged to: “do everything in [his] power to protect our LGBT citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology.” Like with most of Trump’s campaign promises, though, he did not protect the LGBTQ+ community. Instead he pushed policies that targeted the Trans community and appointed conservative Supreme Court justices who are making it easier and easier to erode LGBTQ+ protections under the law. 


DON’T BE AFRAID OF LOVE AND AFFECTION. Inspired by the tragedy of the Orlando Pulse night club shooting, MUNA released “I Know a Place” on their debut LP, About U. You can hear MUNA performing “I Know a Place” in the 2018 Netflix original film, Alex Strangelove, a coming-of-age comedy about a high school senior realizing his sexuality. Sounding like a forgotten ’90s female-fronted rock anthem, “I Know a Place” is a message of hope for all people, particularly the disenfranchised. In concerts, lead singer Katie Gavin sings additional lyrics in the bridge:

       Even if our skin or our gods look different,
        I believe all human life is significant.
        I throw my arms open wide in resistance,
        He’s not my leader even if he’s my president. No!

MUNA performed this song with the alternate lyrics and “Crying on the Bathroom Floor” on Jimmy Kimmel as a statement against how the former president fueled homophobia. “I Know a Place” is still a staple LGBTQ+ anthem of acceptance, though the band continues to release inclusive anthems. 

Music Video:


Live at the Honda Center:



Scene from Alex Strangelove: