cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/9710405
a couple snippets from the interview. the first snippet is about Tom Morelloa doing some concert to promote voting in the midterms. the second snippet is him saying that he didn’t vote for Kamala because of her complicity in Gaza genocide, he doesn’t use the word genocide.
bold is interviewer, non-bold in tom
Is there an argument that people’s focus on Ed Sheeran is indeed a distraction from what they should be focusing on?
Yeah, 100 percent. It’s all right to shame him in this moment because he deserves the shame, but not the focus. The focus is your and my tax dollars are going to commit horrific war crimes in the Middle East, and that, I believe, should be the focus and what we should be doing our best to stop in its tracks.
It’s a clickbait, it’s salacious, it’s, “Oh my gosh, poor Ed Sheeran.” First of all, has Ed Sheeran never seen a Macklemore performance before in the last three years? He certainly should’ve known what he was getting into.
The one thing that’s sort of adjacent is, this is a time where speech is being vilified and is a crime, where the truth is a crime, where skin color is a crime, where immigrant status is a crime, where gender is a crime, where sexual orientation is a crime. And it’s my belief that the true crime is the rise of authoritarianism, and the true crime is the erosion of freedoms, and the true crime is an impending environmental disaster. And so my hope at each one of my shows, I deputize the audience as anti-fascist crime fighters, and that’s really the way that I think you have to look at the world right now. Like, what are the real crimes that are happening, and what is it that you and I can do to stop it?
Now that I’ve gotten you fired up — your Power to the People Festival. What is its most essential purpose?
It is not PR or hyperbole to say it is a festival of peace, love, justice, and music. In a time where war is celebrated, this is a festival of peace. In a time where hatred and division are rife, this is a festival of love. In a time where injustice is the norm, this is a festival celebrating fighting for justice. In a time where there’s a lot of shitty music, there’s gonna be a lot of great music on this stage, so we’re going for four for four.
How much were the midterms on your mind when you scheduled this?
As my dear departed mom, Mary Morello, who passed away at 102 years old, was a very political person, said, “You’ve got to fight the fascists every which way you can.” One of those ways is at the ballot box. It’s not the only way, and you should not just think that because you’ve done that. Voting is a piece on the chessboard, and that you try to create an environment where in between the voting you can fight for a more just, a more peaceful, a more equal world.
And so, is the festival three weeks before the midterms? Yeah. Does the money from the festival go to voting rights organizations? Yeah, it does, but the festival is about something much bigger than that. It’s about what kind of world do you really wanna live in, and should we fight for that world, or should we settle for the one that’s being spoon-fed for us by the oligarchs?
Returning as promised to the electoralism issue — there are some on the left who tend to argue it doesn’t matter, don’t bother voting, both sides are the same. So what would you say to someone on the left who says, “Listen, man, I listen to Rage Against the Machine, and I know everyone’s the same. It’s about tearing down the power structure. Doesn’t matter who you vote for. I’m not voting”?
On the one hand, I think that rebellion is self-care, in a way, but I answered that already. Mary Morello was 100 percent right. You have to stop the fascists every which way you can. First of all, a lot of people who I greatly respect and admire the sacrifice they’ve made to try to get people with my color skin to be able to vote in this country, and have died, been lynched for it, they’ve been shot in the back for it, and it’s very disrespectful to their memory to do that.
But that in and of itself is not going to change the levers of power in a significant way. It’s not. It’s not. You should do it. But it would be like, okay, great, you vote, and on the next day you start working. You start working harder for the world you really want without compromise and without apology. And not just putting in the hands of whatever corporate Democrat you choke down your vote for in that particular election, that it’s your job to make the world the way that you think it could be to help those that are the most in need and to hold those accountable who are most guilty.
Do you feel that people on the left should have voted for Kamala Harris?
I’m crystal clear that people’s conscience cannot allow them to do something that they fundamentally believe is wrong. I was the scheduling secretary for United States Senator Alan Cranston. I saw how the corporate Democrat sausage is made. It is worse than you think. And there is a reason, there is a righteous fury at the corporate controlled, money controlled electoral system we have that is absolutely legitimate, and people cannot choke down — I understand it — voting for a candidate that’s responsible for what happened in Gaza, and they just can’t do it, and I’m not gonna blame them for that.
But I think that putting it on them is the most cowardly thing. Put it on the fucking Democratic Party. First of all, I don’t believe it’s their responsibility and they’re never gonna necessarily never do the right thing, but I think it’s all of our responsibility to co-create the world that we want and not point fingers at people that were just like, “Well, you know, my conscience didn’t allow me to do that, so it’s your fault.” I will not co-sign that.
Did you vote for Kamala?
I certainly did not.
You did not?
Did not. I couldn’t do it.
I didn’t realize that.
V for Vendetta — that one inch of who you are belongs to you, and they can’t have it. Now, I live in a state where it may not have moved the meter, but I just couldn’t do it. Couldn’t do it.
When’s the last time that you didn’t vote for the Democratic candidate?
Can’t remember the last time I did.
Wow, okay. I thought you were softening a little bit.
Can’t remember the last time I did.
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So, how did that turn out?
I’m sure all those dead Iranian schoolchildren appreciate it.
Tom Morello lives in California, where his vote for president doesn’t matter at all, and is literally doing work to promote voting now. It sounds like he’s not going to hold it against anyone if they can’t stomach voting for Democrats with truly abhorrent policies though. It shouldn’t be such a hard bar to pass for them not to push people to that “one last inch”.
I was always on the fence about morello seeming kind of like another faux left sheep dog but good on him for saying it plainly with such a big platform
Lol why do you have trust for the us government?
Genuine question, is English not your first language? Because you either completely misunderstood that comment or didnt even read it.
What?
I guess why do you think someone is a sheep for not voting for Harris?
How does that make someone a sheep?
Like imo, it seems American culture is part the human virus. As if it’s not simply an issue of left and right political parties and ideologies that seem to be bought and sold by anyone that can afford to.
Honestly it’s not just America, but more of a 1st world lifestyle issue. …Like transnational money owns all nations and effectively kills authentic democracy. They will abuse anybody left right or center as long as it brings them closer to whatever objective they have. It seriously seems like democracy has been dead since people realized the can just use marketing and psychology to create whatever outcome they want or need. They can use the left as needed, and the switch to using the right as needed. Or the center… Whatever group can be manipulated to meet the need.
It’s like the nations are just tools and like a middle man for the money doners that asks for favors, and the citizens are like cattle that unknowingly fund the whole slave-like scam.
It’s like regular citizens are offered illusions of freedom and escapism to stay submissive. And no poltician, left right or center, will change that because it’s part of the entire fraud-like foundation. They are all arms attached to the same monster so none of them will ever actually change the rotting corpse that is the monster to begin with.
Idk why I barely articulated anything in my original post.
Like imo, it seems American culture is part the human virus. As if it’s not simply an issue of left and right political parties and ideologies that seem to be bought and sold by anyone that can afford to.
Nevermind you’re just a reactionary if you think there are any left parties with any power in the US.
I’m saying the Tom Morello seemed like a type of faux leftist that was defanging revolutionary sentiment through proliferating liberal ideals masked as leftist ones. Him saying not to vote for Harris because she is complicit is great and I support it and am giving him credit
I was the scheduling secretary for United States Senator Alan Cranston.
Oh well that’d do it.
On November 20, 1991, Cranston was reprimanded by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics for “improper conduct” after Lincoln Savings head Charles Keating’s companies contributed $850,000 to voter registration groups closely affiliated with Cranston. Keating had wanted federal regulators to stop “hounding” his savings and loan association. Although the committee found that “no evidence was presented to the Committee that Senator Cranston ever agreed to help Mr. Keating in return for a contribution”, the committee deemed Cranston’s misconduct the worst among the Keating Five.
voting for a candidate that’s responsible for what happened in Gaza,
How THE FUCK does he think Harris is responsible for what happened in Gaza?!
Voting doesn’t matter. 2nd amendment does
I wish I understood … the second amendment has been completely defanged as it was intended for militia groups. since the government is so effective at squashing solidarity at scale, we’re left with idiot kids shooting up our schools lone-wolf style … and that doesn’t take into consideration the gap in technological prowess vis a vis the US military. I suppose it’s effective propaganda to have such a narrow perspective.
Let’s just focus on not letting fascist insurrectionists who give even less of a fuck about Gaza win again this time, shall we?
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me!
