Rage Against the Machine, Michael Moore, Kanye West swipe at Arizona in boycott
What do Massive Attack, Tenacious D, Sonic Youth and Juanes have in common?
Zach de la Rocha
Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine is leading the charge on The Sound Strike, a movement launched online for artists to boycott taking tours through Arizona in protest of the recently passed immigration law.
Rage, Cypress Hill, Juanes, Conor Oberst, Los Tigres del Norte, Kanye West, Sonic Youth and more than a dozen other notable musicians have already publicly jumped on board; notable movie-maker and activist Michael Moore has signed on as well.
Protests have been mounting overall against the controversial law, SB1070, that requires law enforcement to seek proof of a person's immigration or citizenship status if they believe that person to be undocumented.
It's what de la Rocha says "sanctions racial profiling." In a statement on The Sound Strike website:
Fans of our music, our stories, our films and our words can be pulled over and harassed every day because they are brown or black, or for the way they speak, or for the music they listen to. People who are poor like some of us used to be could be forced to live in a constant state of fear while just doing what they can to find work and survive. This law opens the door for them to be shaked down, or even worse, detained and deported while just trying to travel home from school, from home to work, or when they just roll out with their friends.
Some of us grew up dealing with racial profiling, but this law (SB 1070) takes it to a whole new low. If other states follow the direction of the Arizona government, we could be headed towards a pre-civil rights era reality. This unjust law was set into motion by the same Arizona government that refused to acknowledge Martin Luther King Jr. day as a national holiday.
Tenacious D, Massive Attack, Cafe Tacvuba, Calle 13, Joe Satriana, Serj Tankian, Rise Against, Ozomatli, Sabertooth Tiger, Street Sweeper Social Club, Spank Rock and others have also signed. The mission is to send a message to legislators that these acts will skip Arizona on their tour stops, withdrawing monetary income, in hopes the law will be battled and repealed.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupMechelle
May 26, 2010 at 2:25PM EST Reply to CommentCongratulations Arizona! If only my state could figure a way to keep these loser, pot-head musicians out.
William Haha, awesome! I totally agree, Mechelle. Having these loser bands skip my state on their tours is added incentive to try to get a law like this passed in Minnesota. - Also, am willing to bet NONE of these musicians haven't even read the law.
May 26, 2010 at 2:45PM ESTJames wow, Michelle you are one of the most ignorant and a waste of space in the planet, I may not like their music but I believe in their cause, everything rage said makes sense to someone who actually cares about humanity and the right that are being violated. You should think twice before posting a comment so dense, people are trying to make a difference and you are congratulating a state that's behaving like a scene in one of those Nazi movie where people are detain and order to show their papers or be shot. Please next time show more respect to those who are trying to make a difference because at least they are doing something about it, are you doing something about it?
May 26, 2010 at 2:56PM ESTjohn Really James? Did you just compare deporting illegals to mass genocide?
May 26, 2010 at 3:15PM ESTAnd you're telling Mechelle to think twice before posting a comment so dense? By the way....you misspelled her name....even though its posted right there.
Alex You're right James! How dare we round them up at gun point, hold them in death camps, deny them of all their civil rights, and treat them like animals! What's that? All we do is send them back to Mexico? Oh, my bad.
May 26, 2010 at 3:16PM ESTAlex
May 26, 2010 at 2:47PM EST Reply to CommentAnd yet polls show over 65% of Americans are in favor of the bill. Aren't there starving kids, refugees, or victims of genocide somewhere in the world that need their help?
James Seriously John and Alex , I never mention genocide or concentration camps the example I provided was to give an idea of how the police is free to search those who are not white, while it's true they do not get send to concentration camps or hold up at gun point, this law inflicts fear on those who are just trying to live a normal life. About the polls 65% sounds like the united states, after all it was bush who said that illegal immigrants post the biggest threat to the united states safety.
May 26, 2010 at 8:57PM ESTandrew
May 26, 2010 at 4:17PM EST Reply to Commentwouldnt holding a huge protest concert raise more awareness? i understand being angry at an unjust, racist law, but the PEOPLE didnt vote for this, and not only that, but the chances of it ever going into effect are next to nil. i'm not sure how punishing music fans changes anything. its not like joe arpaio would be going to the rage against the machine show...
May 27, 2010 at 8:56AM EST Reply to CommentDo you support SB 1070? Do you oppose SB 1070? Will the boycotts cause more problems than the bill will solve, or are they just empty threats? Make your voice heard at Arizona Immigration Reform Debate site http://immigration.civiltalks.com/
Ethan
August 17, 2010 at 6:09PM EST Reply to CommentI think they are missing the important fact, that through this boycott, they are really only punishing their fans, who likely agree with their political values in the first place. How does this in any way affect the issue at hand. It doesn't create any incentive to change policy whatsoever. It only creates incentive among fans to feel abandoned. Not much logic used in this decision.