Deerhoof call out Democrats, Donald Trump and Israel: “Mass murder”
Deerhoof have posted a lengthy polemic slamming the current political climate in America, providing their two cents on topics like Donald Trump, the two-party system, the conflict in Iran, Israel, and the likelihood of a third World War.
On March 5th, the band uploaded an all-caps post to Instagram, which began, “Democrats object to Trump not committing his war crimes through the proper channels. Sorry Democrats, there is no proper-channel way to mass murder children”.
Over the last week, the United States and Israel have begun “major combat operations” against Iran, which led to the Iranian regime launching retaliatory attacks across Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. This appears to have prompted Deerhoof’s public declaration.
The band then explained to any fans who might “misunderstand” the government that “they’re arms dealers. More than half of Congress is personally invested in arms trading. The US economy is propped up on war profiteering, regardless of who’s in power. Ongoing chaos and Civil Wars, in Iran, or anywhere, are more profitable than peace or safety.”
They added that politicians today aim to “confuse, overwhelm, and fatigue Americans so we can’t form a coherent narrative about their actions.”
A couple of slides later, Deerhoof continues, “War with Iran should be enough to discourage anyone still supporting the funding and arming of whatever deranged crimes stray into the fevered minds of the Israeli Government and military. But alas, there’s simply no reasoning with Imperialists.”
Turning their attention to Israel, who are bombing Iran alongside the United States, they added, “Israel wants to conquer Iran, Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Yemen. They feel that you owe them the money to carry it out.”
Deerhoof then insist that “politicians can’t be counted on to oppose it”. Breaking down the distinction between the two parties, Deerhoof claim that any politician can be overtaken by “a twisted version of team spirit combined with the tremendous capacity of the human mind for delusion, rationalisation and denial.”
They asked frustratedly, “Why does international law get invoked not based on the frequency or severity of the crime but on the skin tone or political party of the one committing the crime?”
While writing on their Instagram Story “At what point do we begin calling it WW3?”, they added in their post, “Since the DNC removed opposition to selective service from the party platform, it’s more likely that your kids will be drafted into WW3 to kill Iranian or Chinese people for the sake of Billionaire profits and Apartheid.”
Despite the nihilist tone of the admonition, the band suggests, as a means to make it through the bleak future, that Americans might “take a cue from UK voters and turn en masse to the Green Party”.
The prolific band has always used their platform for political means. Last year, they removed their music from Spotify after then-CEO Daniel Ek made a $600 investment in AI military tech.
They wrote at the time, “AI battle tech is clearly emerging as the hot new big ticket item for the super-rich. It’s increasingly clear that the military and police exist primarily as the security detail for the billionaire class. The more of the killing you can get computers to do, the better your bottom line.”
Most recently, they appear on the fourth Music For Iran compilation.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.