Limp Bizkit Guitarist Wes Borland Asks Trump Supporters to Stop Following Him on Social Media
I’m about to say some very nice things about Wes Borland. I hope Satan is enjoying his ice skating.
First, read this:
Now let’s talk about why this is so great:
Because who you associate with says something about you.
I know that concept seems obvious. And yet, it’s a concept which we see ignored on a regular basis: when people buy products they know were made in a sweatshop, or accept a job — even a low-level job — at a company known for lying about the health risks of their product, or when they choose to ignore a friend’s racist rhetoric instead of saying, “Hey dude, NOT COOL.”
In the metal world, it’s a concept we’ve seen ignored most recently by Slipknot’s Chris Fehn, who proudly posed for a photo with Donald Trump, but claimed said wasn’t a political endorsement. But there he is, smiling with a man whose entire campaign is built on fear of, and hatred for, The Other. If, tomorrow, someone suddenly unearthed a photo of Frank Sinatra smiling with Adolf Hitler, taken right around the time Hitler was rising to power in Germany, would anyone go, “Wow, crazy, but that’s not an endorsement!”? No. We’d all go, “Wow, that’s fucked.” Trump’s bigotry transcends politics; to vote for him is to vote against human rights and equality. Why would you ever want your picture taken with him?
Borland represents the extreme opposite of Chris Fehn.
Sure, one could argue that Borland is taking the matter too far — after all, it’s not like he’s been asked to pose for a photo with Trump. But Borland understands that Trump trades in scapegoatism. He understands that if, twenty years from now, Trump has imprisoned or murdered scores of Mexicans and Muslims and whomever else rubs him the wrong way, then Americans who did nothing to prevent it will be as bad as the Germans who disingenuously claimed they didn’t know the Nazis were killing Jews, blacks, homosexuals, and the handicapped. Borland understands that this is a moral issue, and that even though it might be easier to just go with the flow, he doesn’t want to be on the wrong side of history.
And if his actions demonstrate this concept to even one of his fans… well, all the more worth it.
I hope more metal musicians follow suit. Truly.
[via The PRP]