[at Alpine Valley, 2007] 'A couple of months back when we played this show at Coachella, Valley, that was our first show back, I said a few things from the stage that the next day, Fox News ran this whole piece about us saying that the President should be assassinated. But those fascists always get it wrong when it's from a band in the corner standing up. What we said was that the whole Bush Administration should be put on trial for war crimes, and then hung, and then shot. But this made me think about something: It made me think about what the fuck they're so afraid of. It made me think about what scares them. Is it really four of us from Los Angeles that have a point of view? Is it really just this music, and these rhythms, and these words? Is that what they're scared of? I started to think about it and you know, my conclusion is this: naw, they ain't scared of us. They're scared of you. They're scared of you. They're scared that you might, come election time, throw Bush, and Cheney, and all their fascists out of power. That's what they're scared of. And let me say this: that the Democrats are scared of you too, because they know that you see through their bullshit too. Because when Bush was wiretappin', spying on citizens, torturing innocent people, they were supposed to be the people to defend us from them. And they didn't do shit. So the Democrats are scared of you too. Why? Because they know they're coming to power. But they're scared because they know that if they don't fuckin' start pulling troops out of Iraq, then we're gonna go and burn down every office, of every Senator that doesn't do their jobs. All we're saying is that the world is watching us right now. The whole world is watching us. The brothers and sisters in South America that are dealing with this imperialist violence have their eyes on us. Our brothers and sisters in Iraq got their eyes on us because we are the ones who are gonna have to put an end to this nonsense. So wake up! Come on, wake up! Wake up...'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker argues that authorities fear the power of music and collective voice more than the band itself.
- In plain terms
- They are not afraid of us, but of what our art represents.
- What can you take from it?
- Art and music can threaten powerful systems by awakening people.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What does your art threaten?
- Who benefits when you stay silent?
Another view
Focusing solely on cultural fear may overlook direct material threats from state violence.
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