Machine Head’s Robb Flynn has voiced his support for the Black Lives Matter campaign.
The frontman says he was nearly scared into silence after he and his family received death threats following his criticism of Phil Anselmo’s ‘white power’ outburst earlier this year.
But Flynn has taken aim at the ‘Big Money’ elites, institutional racism and inequality in modern society and also praises Slipknot’s Corey Taylor and Lamb of God’s Mark Morton for publicly engaging with those issues.
Flynn says: “There is a poisonous mantra being repeated endlessly that #alllivesmatter, that black-on-black crime happens more than cops kill black people – and yes, the same holds true that most white people are killed by white people. Black-on-black crime, white-on-white crime – we kill where we nest. It’s that simple.
“But police killing black people who are posing no threat has got to stop. And even the police are fed with up it.
“This is way bigger than black and white. This is about the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’. This is about Big Money having too much of a say in Congress. This is about the game being rigged against us.
“This is about a country that has a staggering level of income inequality, no safety net, and an extremely profitable privatised prison system full of people with addictions rather than full of real criminals.
“The rich and powerful have gone to great lengths to keep the money in their pockets – and out of our schools, our parks, our roads, our hospitals, our water supplies, our small businesses, and our incredibly under-staffed and over-stressed police forces.”
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Flynn continues: “People are livid. People are frustrated. People are angry. And this is what humans do when they feel that way. They protest – and it is perfectly legal to do. In fact, this very country was founded on it.
“Props to a very, very small handful metal musicians who have chosen to voice or tweet an opinion on this. My respect goes out to Corey Taylor and Mark Morton both of whom have had engaging online conversations with fans about this complicated and frightening moment in history.”
His statement can be viewed in full below.
Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach recently expressed his hopes to be an “instrument of light” by using his music to educate fans on the current social and political landscape.
