System of a Down’s Serj Tankian: “The Time Has Come” to “Force the Regime to Resign”
Even less surprising than the members of Guns N’ Roses slamming Trump and adding themselves to the myriad of notable metal and rock musicians who have spoken out in support of the protests inspired by George Floyd’s murder: System of a Down singer Serj Tankian doing the same.
Tankian took to social media to share a headline about Trump hiding in a bunker while protestors amassed outside the White House, along with the following message:
“Run Donny run into your bunker. You may be the first US President to do so out of fear of your own citizens. A real leader would address the nation properly and a real man would go face the protestors on the streets in person. But like other corrupt undemocratic leaders in the past, you’ve realized they are not your people as you are not really our President. These protests are not just over race but over institutional injustices beginning with the slave era electoral college that put you in power, K Street lobbying firms, superdelegates of a two party duopolistic Neo-liberal corporatocracy whose day has come. You make antifa a terrorist organization but not the KKK? The lessons of the 2018 peaceful successful revolution in Armenia can be applied in the US and elsewhere in the world. Coordinate online and block every street everywhere and force the regime to resign. The time has come. Your time has come @realdonaldtrump“
Interestingly, despite their history as an openly-liberal, outspokenly-political band, only one of Tankian’s SOAD bandmates, drummer John Dolmayan, has shared a similar message of support on social media. Dolmayan’s message, however, was more focused not just on the murder of George Floyd, but the destruction and looting of small businesses that has grown out of these protests:
“For those of you peacefully protesting please continue to do so , the only way to institute the moral change we all want is to do so peaceably and with the voices of the masses merging into a single voice that can not be denied. To the famous people lending financial support to Antifa members incarcerated during these looting sprees perhaps your efforts would be better served by helping the thousands of small businesses these people are destroying . It’s easy to be sucked in by the narrative, be more substantive , there are people out there who actually think you know something they don’t and while you hide in your secure compounds and safe places they are on the streets suffering . I pledge to help those small businesses destroyed by these awful riots , I pledge to make my voice heard to seek justice for George Floyd and to help insure this doesn’t happen again by any means necessary. I also support the tens of thousands of good intentioned police men and women nationwide who go to work everyday to help keep us safe.”
Well let you know if/when guitarist Daron Malakian and bassist Shavo Odadjian also weigh in.
