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.
The point in not voting for Kamala is to put pressure on the democrats to stave off the authoritarian apocalypse they are delivering. It’s not just stay at home and do nothing, but make your voice heard. Make sure people know what your demands are, organize with others. The dems are holding Trump as a gun to your heads saying “vote for me or else you’ll get Trump” while bombing and killing in your name. And with your vote secured they keep sliding right, trying to appeal to people like the conservatives that aren’t voting for them. So counterbalance that. Become part of the class of people they have to appeal to, make them earn their vote. You only get one, don’t give it up for free.
Great pressure there.
How’s that going for you?
Everyone’s talking about why kamala lost and this keeps coming up, so not that bad actually
You realise you’re doing exactly what conservatives want you to do?
They know it’s not possible to win your vote, so instead just convince you not to vote, and / or criticise your own side.
Lets take a look at the requirements to get votes:
None of that seems impossible at all. It actually seems pretty easy to me. But the Democrats would rather help put Trump in power.
I don’t think I can help you. Be well.
Your help is worthless
That’s kind of what I said: you’re too mixed up and I can’t help you I’m sorry.
Which of those priorities are “mixed up”? They all seem pretty basic human-decency requirements to me.
The fact that you don’t see them that way says more about you than I think you realize.
There’s just so much to unravel in the premise of that comment, it seems impossible to have a rational discussion with you.
You think of selecting a candidate to vote for as you would select a life partner.
There are 2 viable candidates, one is an authoritarian child rapist intent who is doing incalculable harm.
The other is less-so.
Quite obviously, anything other than voting for the less-awful candidate supports the authoritarian.
It’s great that you have a solid moral compass and that you’re politically engaged and that you have empathy for your fellow man. Of course you should celebrate that by supporting worthy political objectives.
They seem entirely rational, while you’re doing a weird condescending ad hominem instead of attacking any of the arguments.
They’re actually responding to your questions and giving reasoning for their responses. You on the other hand do no such thing, instead you decide to imply the other is somehow mentally unwell, incapable of rational discussion. That is not what a reasonable - or rational - person does. It is also incredibly obvious that you do this so you can avoid the actual discussion, nobody is falling for your tired rhetorics.
What about the requirements are irrational?
Speaking of irrational you’re acting as if there’s only two candidates. There isn’t. First of all there’s not a candidate for the next election at all. Secondly there’s more than two parties.
I don’t see what’s irrational about that. And I find it ironic that you’ve spent your time defending child-killers and genocidists, but think I’m “irrational” for thinking that those things are bad.
Slightly less-so.
That’s not obvious. In fact, it’s blatantly false.
The “less-awful” candidate spends a lot of their time supporting and building out things for the authoritarian. Of course, that’s alongside the horrible things mentioned above.
I do, that’s why I oppose both the Democrats, and the Republicans.
Insane admission, get bronchitis.
People bankrolling genocide aren’t on my side.
Indeed. slow clap
The Democrats aren’t “our side”.
That seems obvious.