At the height of the Black Lives Matter protests that swept through America last summer, Rage Against the Machine guitarist and political activist Tom Morello made headlines by publicly schooling a fan of his band who had expressed disappointment at their “political opinions” on Twitter. The internet had a hearty laugh about it and then moved on.
Now, with the conflict between Israel and Palestinians the systematic oppression of Palestinians by the Israeli government all over the news, Rage Against the Machine have once again used their platform for politics, and scores of fans who somehow never realized the band have always been rooted in progressive values are once again upset.
Rage, unsurprisingly, support the Palestinians. Here is their initial tweet that up the latest firestorm:
The band later posted an additional tweet that read “Awaiting the ‘stay out of politics’ and ‘stick to music’” reactions, predicting what was to come.
Here are a couple of the best reactions from naïve fans:
Plenty of folks, naturally, were quick to point out the ignorance of those above:
Rage Against the Machine’s reunion tour, originally scheduled for 2020, has been rescheduled to 2022. Dates below.
3/31 El Paso, TX @ Don Haskins Center [Tickets]
4/2 Las Cruces, NM @ Pan American Center [Tickets]
4/4 Glendale, AZ @ Gila River Arena [Tickets]
4/6 Glendale, AZ @ Gila River Arena [Tickets]
4/26 Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena [Tickets]
4/28 Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena [Tickets]
4/30 Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome [Tickets]
5/2 Portland, OR @ Moda Center [Tickets]
5/5 Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum at the PNE [Tickets]
5/7 Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place [Tickets]
5/9 Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome [Tickets]
5/11 Winnipeg, MB @ Bell MTS Place [Tickets]
5/13 Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford Premier Center [Tickets]
5/15 Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center [Tickets]
5/16 Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center [Tickets]
5/18 Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center [Tickets]
5/20 St. Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center [Tickets]
5/22 Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena [Tickets]
5/23 Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena [Tickets]
6/9 East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre [Tickets]
7/11 Chicago, IL @ United Center [Tickets]
7/12 Chicago, IL @ United Center [Tickets]
7/15 Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Bluesfest [Tickets]
7/16 Quebec City, QC @ Festival d’ete de Quebec [Tickets]
7/19 Hamilton, ON @ FirstOntario Centre [Tickets]
7/21 Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena [Tickets]
7/23 Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena [Tickets]
7/25 Buffalo, NY @ KeyBank Center [Tickets]
7/27 Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse [Tickets]
7/29 Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena [Tickets]
7/31 Raleigh, NC @ PNC Arena [Tickets]
8/2 Washington DC @ Capital One Arena [Tickets]
8/3 Washington DC @ Capital One Arena [Tickets]
8/8 New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden [Tickets]
8/9 New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden [Tickets]
8/11 New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden [Tickets]
8/12 New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden[Tickets]
8/14 New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden [Tickets]
[via Kerrang!]