I barely remember it myself, but I do remember a machine that kills fascists. And now here’s a statement from the family of Johnny Cash.
A message from the children of Johnny Cash:
We were alerted to a video of a young man in Charlottesville, a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi, spewing hatred and bile. He was wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the name of Johnny Cash, our father. We were sickened by the association.
Johnny Cash was a man whose heart beat with the rhythm of love and social justice. He received humanitarian awards from, among others, the Jewish National Fund, B’nai Brith, and the United Nations. He championed the rights of Native Americans, protested the war in Vietnam, was a voice for the poor, the struggling and the disenfranchised, and an advocate for the rights of prisoners. Along with our sister Rosanne, he was on the advisory board of an organization solely devoted to preventing gun violence among children. His pacifism and inclusive patriotism were two of his most defining characteristics. He would be horrified at even a casual use of his name or image for an idea or a cause founded in persecution and hatred. The white supremacists and neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville are poison in our society, and an insult to every American hero who wore a uniform to fight the Nazis in WWII. Several men in the extended Cash family were among those who served with honor.
Our dad told each of us, over and over throughout our lives, ‘Children, you can choose love or hate. I choose love.’
We do not judge race, color, sexual orientation or creed. We value the capacity for love and the impulse towards kindness. We respect diversity, and cherish our shared humanity. We recognize the suffering of other human beings, and remain committed to our natural instinct for compassion and service.
To any who claim supremacy over other human beings, to any who believe in racial or religious hierarchy: we are not you. Our father, as a person, icon, or symbol, is not you. We ask that the Cash name be kept far away from destructive and hateful ideology.
We Choose Love.
Rosanne Cash
Kathy Cash
Cindy Cash
Tara Cash
John Carter Cash
August 16, 2017
‘Not one of us can rest, be happy, be at home, be at peace with ourselves, until we end hatred and division.’ Rep. John Lewis
I swear, if I hear Melvin Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA one more time, I’m gonna have to puke in someone’s face. But I can listen to Cash all the time.
The good old pre-9/11 days, when it was socially acceptable for a country music singer to be anti-war.
Lyrics to “Man in Black”, 1971:
Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there’s a reason for the things that I have on.
I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he’s a victim of the times.
I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you’d think He’s talking straight to you and me.
Well, we’re doin’ mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin’ cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we’re reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought ‘a be a Man In Black.
I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin’ for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.
And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen’ that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen’ that we all were on their side.
Well, there’s things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin’ everywhere you go,
But ’til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You’ll never see me wear a suit of white.
Ah, I’d love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything’s OK,
But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
‘Till things are brighter, I’m the Man In Black.
That was a very good thing to read in these incredibly bleak times. Thank you.
Funny isn’t it how CW music got all conservative after its performers started letting their hair grow and wearing jeans like the hippies they hated?
I thought it common knowledge that he habitually wore plain black out of solidarity to the various underclasses; so much so that he was nicknamed ‘The Man in Black.’
That was a magnificent statement from the Cash family. Thank you.
Great statement. But a nit pick: it was Woodie Guthrie’s guitar that kills fascists, not Cash’s
Linda Ronstadt has never been afraid to state her views on racism, war and human rights avuses, even when she knew it would cost her.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2014/08/16/linda-ronstadt-tucson-mexico-border/14188117/
Apologies for being OT, but did anyone else see this banner ad on P.Z.’s page this morning? this banner ad crops up: https://www.flickr.com/photos/27148801@N03/35824629453/in/dateposted/
If you can open that link, look closely: They’re advertising a game called “Happy Wheels” using bad art that shows Santa’s sleigh being drawn by a pair of elves with reins attached to collars around their necks and jingle-bell straps attached to harnesses around their waists.
What the actual F?
Just to see who created this abomination, I opened the ad’s link in another tab; “Happy Wheels” is apparently one facet of Arcaderacks (dot) com, whose pitch seems to be “please install our malware so you can play some of the crappiest ‘arcade games’ ever made.” I guess they figure that anyone who likes the idea of playing a “game” that treats elves like draft reindeer is just the sort of person who would fall for that deal. Not sure why the ad server thinks that this site’s readership would qualify, though.
Sorry about the extra “this banner ad crops up:” in the earlier post. Cut-and-paste error.
I love that statement and the comments here.
Yes, Friendly. What the Fing F? That scene sounds like some kind of nonconsensual bondage scene. These guys need rescuing! The Keebler Elves and Peter Pan will have to wait; they are clearly in it for the money.
here is something that might touch you as it did me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUMGwSN5jk4
uncle frogy
Cash played abolitionist John Brown in a brief cameo in the 1985 Civil War miniseries North and South.
John Carter Cash is the author of a lovely children’s tale, Lupus Rex. It’s a tad dark, so for older sprogs.
Johhny Cash was a great guy after he straightened his life out. And as his children say, he would be horrified by the misuse of his image. But he grew up in and was a product of the south. Which is fine.
Those tired of Melvin Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA might try this Cash number from 1983 (actually not a very good song):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvIU6VQAWpo
God Bless Robert E. Lee
When Robert E Lee surrended the Confederacy Jefferson Davis was upset about it
He said how dare that man rescind an order
Form the president of the Confederate States of America
Then somebody told him that General Lee had made the decision himself
In order to save lives because he felt that the battle comin’ up
Would cost about 20 000 lives on both sides
And he said 240 000 dead already is enough
So this song is not about the North or the South but about the bloody brother war
Brother against brother father against son the war that nobody won
And for all those lives that were saved I gotta say God bless Robert E Lee
Well the mansion where the General used to live is burning down
Cottonfields are blue with Sherman’s troups
I overheard a yankee say yesterday Nashville fell
So I’m on my way to join the fight General Lee might need my help
But look away look away Dixie I don’t want them to see
What they’re doing to my Dixie God bless Robert E Lee
Sherman’s troups burned Atlanta and the flames lit up the sky
And those of us who survived it are watchin’ my Dixie die
But today at Appamattox General Lee sat down
And surrended to the Yankees and Ulysses S Grant
So look away look away Dixie…
I won’t ever stop loving you my Dixie till they put me in the ground
And the last words they probably hear from me are God bless Robert E Lee
Johnny Cash had a real voice. With the right training, he could have done something like this:
Now I’ve seen the Cash family and the Tiki Torch Company very effectively distance themselves from these Nazi movements. Something Der Trumpenfuhror couldn’t or wouldn’t do.
To me, he’ll always be Tommy Brown.
Johnny Cash wasn’t perfect. He was a man with human failings. He was a religious man. But he was a decent person.
If your awareness of country music consists of watching Country Music Awards or CMT then you are missing out on some good music. Jason Isbell understands white privilege: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu4dupoC7EE and Tom T Hall’s “A Hero in Harlan” isn’t anti-war directly but you can’t listen to the words and feel war is worth the cost to the poor working class who take the brunt of the damage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUCWFfe2qRo
Along with Isbell, Sturgill Simpson is that sort of old school country artist. Lot of anti-military, anti-war themes on his most recent album. First verse of “Call to Arms” –
I done Syria, Afganistan, Iraq, and Iran
North Korea tell me where does it end
Well the bodies keep piling up with every day
How many more of em they gonna send
Well they send their sons and daughters off to die
For some oil
To control the heroin
Well son I hope you don’t grow up
Believing that you’ve got to be a puppet to be a man
Well they cut off your hair and put a badge on your arm
Strip you of your identity
Tell you to keep your mouth shut boy and get in the line
Meet your maker over seas
It’s good to see that there’s counter-culture country still around. I’m not gonna say I’m a huge fan of Cash, as he had his flaws (God Bless Robert E. Lee, for example), but today’s pop country has forgotten his legacy, and it’s disappointing. However, as Paul Yingst and Ganner point out, there’s still good country out there if you know where to look.