Reflection

Rob Flynn from Machine Head (and Vio-Lence, for those of you old enough to remember) is an intelligent man with interesting opinions about things. A few days ago he posted a blog article touching on the film Selma, and worked it into a thinkpiece about the state of race in America in 2015, among other things.

Have a read. Don't worry, I'll wait.

http://www.metalsucks.net/2015/01/21/machine-heads-robb-flynn-speaks-selma-racism-phil-labonte/

This makes me like Flynn that much more. Metal can be a tricky place for politics. A wide swath of it is pure escapism, and there is a real conservative streak running through some aspects of the heavy metal community. Now, I don't wanna get all Carducci on you and make everything you listen to about politics. Sometimes music is just music, and that's a big part of why its able to unite people. I'm a progressive, and if you're not, that's fine. We can argue about issues and still both like Slayer. But this stuff is worth talking about, and kudos to Flynn for sticking his neck out.

For any kind of public figure, having an opinion about something controversial is a no-win situation. You can't keep everyone happy. So it takes integrity to talk about issues like this, and hard work to maintain credibility. Fact is, we have a lot of problems in this world. And metal has always been a voice for the disaffected and the disadvantaged. I'm glad to see some people aren't afraid to use that voice.