News > Rage Against The Machine
Sound Strike: Rage, Kanye, Sonic Youth Join Anti-Arizona Movement
By Johnny Firecloud
Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Arizona immigration bill SB 1070 is an aggressive piece of legislation that’s drawn a firestorm of criticism in recent weeks for its xenophobic, anti-immigrant overtones, and now some big music names are organizing in protest of the law.
Rage Against The Machine frontman and spitfire political activist Zack De La Rocha is leading several fellow high-profile musicians in a boycott of Arizona in the form of The Sound Strike.
Standing with him in the boycott are Rage side projects One Day As A Lion and Street Sweeper Social Club, as well as Sonic Youth, Massive Attack, Serj Tankian, Kanye West, Conor Oberst, Cypress Hill, Cafe Tacuba, Tenacious D, Rise Against and several others. Oscar winning filmmaker and activist Michael Moore has signed on as well.
A press release written by De La Rocha on The Sound Strike’s website says the law “must be stopped:”
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.
When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, they arrested her. As a result, people got together and said we are not going to ride the bus until they change the law. It was this courageous action that sparked the Montgomery bus boycott. What if we got together, signed a collective letter saying, “we’re not going to ride the bus,” saying we are not going to comply. We are not going to play in Arizona. We are going to boycott Arizona?!
Guitar legend Joe Satriani recounted his own Italian-American grandparents’ experiences with persecution during World War II, after being approached to join the boycott by Tom Morello and subsequently contacted De La Rocha. “It’s a tough issue,” he says, “because I understand, if you live down there in one of those border town, you feel like you’re under siege. But I think more brain power has to go into the solution to this. SB 1070 just doesn’t have enough in it to make it a good law. In the last 15 years the erosion of rights of American citizens has put us close to a police state. We teeter back and forth; that’s what you have to be vigilant about. You can’t just jump on something like this and stop thinking about better ways to solve problems.”
The Sound Strike also has a petition for fans to sign, which implores the President to take action to stop the law to “ensure the safety of targeted minorities.”
To learn more and join the movement, head to TheSoundStrike.net.
Yes, let's take SB1070 and turn it into a huge "racial profiling" issue and not give two shits about the massive problem in AZ. Kudos to the state I live in for having a set of balls and doing something the FED (ever see their law?) can't.
And I thought antiquiet would be the last place I'd have to hear about this bullshit. Your "overtones" suggest nothing should have been done about the flux of illegal immigration. Why don't you stick to reporting music instead of infusing your political bias in another hollywood circle jerk.
"It’s a tough issue,” he says, “because I understand, if you live down there in one of those border town, you feel like you’re under siege. But I think more brain power has to go into the solution to this. SB 1070 just doesn’t have enough in it to make it a good law."
no one's suggesting that nothing should be done, including us. but stopping brown people on the street and demanding papers is fucked up. there are plenty of other ways to address the problems, which go far beyond the fact that there are more brown people around.
i bet you guys are both white. if there was a law like this to address a problem with illegal swiss immigration, maybe you'd be a little more understanding.
Agreed. Satriani's further clarification is precisely why the quote is included.
As Jack White once said, "White Americans, what, nothing beter to do? Why don't you kick yourself out? You're an immigrant too".
Where is Pearl Jam ? They like all political stuff they don't know shit about , they should be all over that issue. Maybe they got bored with that ? Who knows…
That's a really interesting statement, Piotr. I don't suppose you're referring to their political action on Ticketmaster, which found them on Capitol Hill testifying before Congress while other acts sat and complained, are you? Or would it be their work to get more recognition for Crohn's disease, which their lead guitarist suffers from? Or perhaps the Save Trestles campaign they were actively involved with to prevent a toll road running through protected wetland and beach areas? No, probably not. My mind then goes to the West Memphis Three, with which Vedder and other band members became intimately familiar through not only research and activism, but getting to know the accused, their families, friends and loved ones and taking an active part in the mission to have their convictions overturned. On a side note, Vedder's unreleased 'Satellite' song, sung from the perspective of one of the WM3's wives, is heartbreaking and gorgeous. Meanwhile, there are plenty more examples to offer, but suffice to say you're talking out your ass Piotr. It's unbecoming.
The problem is, nothing HAS been done. Sitting around talking about the issue gets nowhere. Should folks be stopped for absolutely no reason but color…no way. BUT, when my "brown friends" defend this decision as well, you know it's completely and utterly beyond that now. Maybe this law, good, bad or indifferent, will finally make people pay more attention and work towards an acceptable answer.
Let's remember that Switzerland does not have a corrupt system of government that forces good people to migrate illegally. If these artists need to make a stand, maybe their energy is better spent helping the country that can't help itself.
I didn't see Satriani or Tenacious D protesting the passage of the Patriot Act in solidarity! Yet they ate this up like knob gobblers! They're opportunists riding the media's anti-Arizona wave and nothing more. I'm sure less auto-fellatiatic bands will enjoy filling in their tour dates. Kudos for playing the race card btw.
actions about Crohn disease or ecological issues that's cool but tons of bands do similar actions and they talk about ecology and then go on with massive tour using trucks etc which are all about pollution. I was referring to political statements ? What the fuck can multimillionaires know about political problems of ordinary people ? They sit in their expensive mansions and then rant about Bush or whoever else. Ok you U2 can pull out that shit because they saw their brothers killed on streets and were brought up in such conditions but Pearl Jam decided to go political without facing it in reality , WTF Vedder know about U.S foreign policy ? He has degree about that or is an expert?
I mean all charity work is great because in nutshell it helps people who need help but I was talking about strictly political actions by Pearl Jam which in my opinion were act of complete hypocrisy.
I disagree totally with your comments about Vedder. Read an interview that someone did with him at length about the Chimp administration. He is conversant with international politics. One does not need a poli sci major to be familiar with such things.
The only political thing that Pearl Jam does with which I disagree utterly is when Mike McCready plays the Star Spangled Banner riff at the end of their concert.
Fuck that shit. Nationalism has no business being in a baseball game or a concert.
But, believe it or not, even though my car was raped in northern California on the basis of "you look nervous" (and as you can see, I'm white) and I identify with people who are abused by moronic, over-zealous police bastards, I support this new AZ law for the most part.
The boycotts are beyond moronic. To me, it's like someone boycotting California because he thinks that Manson has been locked up too long.
yes, I totally get the comparison between stopping people on the street for the color of their skin and wanting to set free a murderous psychopath. that's an absolutely brilliant comparison and holds logic in the palm of its giant, unimpeachable hand of wisdom.
jesus christ.
They are criminals who are incurring a massive pecuniary debt to the middle classs– like a massive regressive tax. I couldn't give a fuck if they were hot pink, puce or mauve. I see the color of money when this issue is discussed. California didn't go under before all of the other states by sheer coincidence. A slave trade is most beneficial to the wealthiest among us.
Also, there is a reason why it has 65% support. If it were more moderate it would have 80% support. Amreicans think– crazy as it might seem– that borders mean something.
Maybe some people think that we are equal to Mexico in every regard except GDP so ithe border is meaningless and people who believe in protectionism are racist. I'm not one of those people.
You tell 'em, whitey.
Not really I know Vedder comments about foreign policy , he is just another anti-Bush guy who doesn't know much how foreign policy works, ok wars were pretty bad decisions but Bush had a smart policy concerning anything else, Obama is doing much more harm but I can't see Vedder writing songs about him. He has little knowledge how it works he can't have proper judgement with millions on bank account , he can be critic but mixing music and politics is stupid as he has never experienced living under Bush administration as ordinary citizen did. He's fucking rich guy who isn't authentic singing such stuff. Mixing politics with music isn't easy when one hasn't experienced such things , it is fine with U2 they know what they are singing about, Pear Jam not so much.
And therein lies your problem. The grand irony is that you punks can't see beyond the color of our skin when we are imparting logic.
You. Are. Racist.
I have asked myself, "If they were Irish people (MY peeps) who were invading the east coast would I feel the same way?" And quite honestly after 20+ million my answer would be HELL. YES.
"I'm not saying illegal immigration is not an important issue, that it does not need to be addressed, but this Arizona law is the wrong damn way. Fill up my inbox. Berate me. But I reach many more people than you do. And I reach a tiny fraction of the souls Zach's and his pack do. That's the power of music. Use it not only to your own benefit, but everybody's." -lefsetz
my god your mixture of arrogance and ignorance is astounding. I feel like I might be feeding a troll, but just in case im not…
When you say "They are criminals", THAT is where you are fucking wrong. In that one statement you instantly assume that all "brown" people in these areas are criminals, and therefore should be dealt with. The assumption of guilt is not only explicitly against the constitution but its also against basic humanity.
Now, are you really, HONESTLY telling me, that if irish people were the problem, and one day you, a law-abiding, documented citizen, was stopped on the street for no reason, and was deported for not having your forms on your person, you'd be ok with that? If you really think that would be alright that you are fucking lying to yourself to adjust your brain to a policy that you've blindly adopted as acceptable, I'm guessing because it falls under whatever arbitrary political banner you follow (read: republican).
This isn't a matter of the policy getting the job done and its really not a matter of race either, its a matter of treating people with dignity, and hell if you really wanna get patriotic for some reason, its a matter of holding up what basic principals the country was founded on. jesus christ
As a comment to balance out the opinions here, I'm going to say kudos for putting this up. I sincerely hope the comments here aren't a very good display of the readership of this website, because its getting quite pathetic. Not to mention the anti-vedder rants are just silly. Since when does having money make your opinions less relevant? And the assertion that artists should keep their politics to themselves is fucking shameful, it doesn't matter how much money someone makes, what matters is how well they are informed and if they can use that to voice an opinion. I f you listen to any of vedder's rants he's obviously knowledgeable on the subject, and typically chooses to speak out on topics that are beyond what the media is squabbling over at the time. Also, when you say shit like "but Bush had a smart policy concerning anything else," you have no fucking basis to assault anyone's understanding of politics.
i'm going to eat a little crow here. i finally got around to actually reading the bill, all seventeen pages of it. it's really not that aggressive. it's not xenophobic. it's not evil.
all it really does is enable the arizona state government to enforce immigration laws that the federal government has arguably been failing to properly enforce. you can challenge the constitutionality of that power being given to the state, but it's not sending all brown people to internment camps.
it still scares me because i don't trust the less educated and less thoroughly vetted state authorities to use this power responsibly. as a man harassed by just about every level of us law enforcement there is, i'll tell you i'll face 6 trained fbi agents with guns drawn over a single state cop, any day of the week.
but after much thought and some homework, i will concede that at its core, taken at face value (even if this isn't the perfect world in which that would be possible), this law doesn't introduce anything that we don't already take for granted: if you sneak into another country, the authorities have the right to ask you for documentation, and if you can not provide it, you can be deported. the argument for me then becomes simply: can we trust state authorities to do the federal authorities' job?
perhaps this idea that every brown person will be stopped in the street and interrogated is left wing rhetoric a la the right wing's death panel tales. but i wouldn't put it past a state cop.
First, skwerl stated everything that I believe. Read his statement. It's all there.
If it violated the provisions of The Constitution they would have overturned it by now.
During the last three times I was pulled over for not wearing my seatbelt and speeding in the last twelve years the pigs have called back-up and interrogated me as if I was a potential serial killer. The last time they did it– in Yreka, California– they searched my car and excused their behavior as "you know…9/11" (seriously). I've been there and done that. I've famously stated, "I fear the police more than I fear violent criminals." After the Yreka incident I considered suing someone, but I was intimidated by the lawsuit process. Now I have sued a host of people successfully and would have sued the shit out of them.
So like skwerl wrote, I have little faith in local pigs, and if an hispanic thinks that a pig is going outside the boundaries of the AZ law (i.e.: "stopped on the street for no reason, and was deported for not having your forms on your person"), then by all means he should sue the shit out of them.
Thanks for taking the time to read it. I wonder how many of these artists actually took the time to read it as well, instead of just screaming "racism!" and grabbing the nearest torch to wave for the spotlight.
It’s great to see activisim and passion back in rock n roll. BUT I don’t understand why people can’t see that Arizona is only ENFORCING laws that are already on the books. I’ve read SB 1070, anyone can. It’s online, stop downloading illegally for a moment and check it out. Arizona needs federal help. Texas is now beginning to see the same violence on it’s boarders. Read the news stories today about mexican pirates attacking FISHING BOATS near the Texas border. Someone has to start somewhere! Good Luck Arizona. According to lots of news stories from several sources, illegals are leaving in droves from Arizona. Sounds like SB 1070 is working. Now lets use Arizona’s spirit and do something about the ILLEGAL immigration. Or how about we just do like Arizona and ENFORCE THE CURRENT LAWS!! Just the opinion of an honest hard working American taxpayer.
Fuck AZ. If you really want to fix the immigration issue, start with the companies that hire undocumented workers. The AZ law is crap. Funny, there was little in the way of a “problem” until a black Democrat wins the WH, then all hell breaks loose.
Thank you Zack, Tony and the rest of the artists standing up to say the laws is wrong.
It’s great that people of public stature are using their clout to do something positive. Too many ‘celebrities’ waste their cultural currency on tabloid nonsense, but they could make a difference, and I hope they can all follow these brave people’s example.
Susan, I urge you to consider the history of a place like America. We all come from immigrant stock in one way or another, so indicting people for attempting to join in our proud cultural tradition is simply ignorant (and I don’t mean to insult you, but such indictment usually implies racism as well).
Besides, we immigrants- we WHITE political refugees and pioneers- took the land and the lives of America’s native population in one of the worst calculated attacks on a culture in history. Google ‘trail of tears’, I implore you, and tell yourself that that’s not an invading population committing genocide. Immigrants to America seem to want nothing today but to be welcome and to find peace in America, yearning for rights us ‘non-native Americans’ often take for granted.
SB 1070 is racist, ignorant, hypocritical, and wrong. I applaud those willing to vocally oppose it in the public eye.
America is odd. Gays can’t marry, but let’s get upset when people who don’t have any right to be here break the law and get sent home. Perhaps if Gays worked for below minimun wage – they could get married?
Seems pretty stupid if you ask me. I mean who’s really getting hurt by them not touring in Arizona? I guess economically the state would suffer a little bit, but it really hurts all of the fans of any and all bands that participate, who I would assume would be against the bill in the first place.
Actually, states take these boycotts very seriously. Concerts, conventions, and tourism make up a decent chunk of their economy. That’s why the mayor of Phoenix has been so public in his opposition to the new law. He has a lot to lose from boycotts like this one!
And don’t be so sure about the fans of these musicians. I’ve heard support of this law from some unlikely places.. Especially among people who live near the border.
I just read the little snippet in Rolling Stone about your Sound Strike in AZ. I agree you should stay out of Arizona, but I think you should go a step further and call every radio station in AZ and tell them to stop playing any music by any bands on your list. Oh, and call every Walmart and every other retail outlet in AZ and tell them to stop selling your CD’s. And tell iTunes to not let anyone buy your music that has an AZ address on their credit card. Really, if you are serious about this then you will do this. Of course you are not THAT serious about it, so I won’t hold my breath. Just like Los Angles shut the fuck up after AZ asked if they wanted to boycott the power from AZ, every one of the bands on your list should SHUT THE FUCK UP. You can also boycott Las Vegas as I have this list of bands and I will not be buying or listening to any of them ever again. How’s that for a boycott? Oh and if you’re saying “Big deal, who gives a shit what this guy from Vegas thinks…” well, then, you know exactly what I think about your stupid little boycott.
Brent Cobb in Las Vegas, NV USA – An AMERICAN Citizen
Not that this law should be on the books, but boycotting the state is hardly the right way to get it repealed. I’d be willing to bet most of Rage’s fans probably aren’t supporters of the bill either. Why punish them for something they probably opposed?
RATM is shit. Forward to 4:00 mark on here and it will change your life: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S01SuU4aiKk&feature=related