Political views and activism of Rage Against the Machine
Critics have noted Rage Against the Machine for its "fiercely political music, which brewed sloganeering left wing rants against corporate America, cultural imperialism, and government oppression into a Molotov cocktail of punk, hip-hop, and thrash.
De la Rocha explained that "I'm interested in spreading those ideas through art because music has the power to cross borders, to break military sieges, and to establish real dialogue.
"[2] The band were vocal supporters of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), especially De la Rocha, who has taken several trips to the Mexican state of Chiapas to aid their efforts.
Tom Morello described the EZLN as "a guerrilla army that represents the poor indigenous communities in southern Mexico" and praised its leader, Subcomandante Marcos, in an interview.
[4]The EZLN and De la Rocha's experiences with them inspired the songs "People of the Sun", "Wind Below," and "Without a Face" from Evil Empire,[4] and "War Within a Breath" from The Battle Of Los Angeles.
According to Morello, "RATM wanted to stand in sharp juxtaposition to a billionaire telling jokes and promoting his flat tax by making our own statement.
[6][unreliable source] On the night of the show, following the removal of the flags during the first performance, the band was approached by SNL and NBC officials and ordered to immediately leave the building.
[citation needed] Morello noted that members of the Saturday Night Live cast and crew, whom he declined to name, "[e]xpressed solidarity with our actions, and a sense of shame that their show had censored the performance".
[9] The show comprised segments and interviews featuring Michael Moore, teen rights activist Emily Hodgson, Leonard Peltier, Chuck D, Mumia Abu-Jamal, UNITE, Noam Chomsky, Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls, and Subcomandante Marcos of the Zapatistas.
Radio Free L.A. provided a musical and political gathering point for the majority of Americans—and young people especially—who rightly felt left out of the 'democratic process.
"[15] Footage of enthusiastic Wall Street employees headbanging to the music, police attempting to take Commerford's bass as he refused to quit playing, and the emergency doors of the New York Stock exchange closing were all used in the final video.
[18] Commerford was eventually coaxed down and was ultimately arrested after a brief scuffle;[18] his actions are widely believed to be the impetus for singer De la Rocha's exit and the end of Rage.
[25] The police soon declared the gathering an unlawful assembly,[22] turned off the electrical supply, interrupting performing band Ozomatli,[23] and informed the protestors that they had 15 minutes to disperse on pain of arrest.
[26] De la Rocha said of the incident, "I don't care what fucking television stations said, [that] the violence was caused by the people at the concert; those motherfuckers unloaded on this crowd.
"[27] Footage of the protest and ensuing violence, along with an MTV News report on the incident, was included in the Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium DVD.
At the Coachella 2007 performance, De la Rocha made an impassioned speech during "Wake Up", citing a statement by Noam Chomsky regarding the Nuremberg Trials and subsequent actions by US presidents,[12] as follows: A good friend of ours once said that if the same laws were applied to U.S. presidents as were applied to the Nazis after World War II [...] every single one of them, every last rich white one of them from Truman on, would have been hung to death and shot—and this current administration is no exception.
[31]Subsequently, De la Rocha added Tony Blair, the UK Prime Minister who supported George Bush's 2003 invasion of Iraq, to the list of those who ought to be tried and hanged at the Reading Festival on August 22, 2008.
[33] On September 2, 2008, during the Republican National Convention, Rage Against the Machine was scheduled to play a free show in protest of what De la Rocha called the power abusing party in St. Paul, Minnesota on the State Capital lawn for Ripple Effect.
He said: [We] showed up at exactly the time we were scheduled to perform, and as soon as we got out of our vehicle we were immediately surrounded by riot police who told us if we approached the stage we'd be arrested for playing music.
The band surprised the crowd when they silently stood on stage while wearing orange Guantanamo Bay-like prisoner suits with black hoods over their heads.
[37] Based on reports that songs by Rage and Nine Inch Nails were used in torture at the controversial facility, the group is filing for further declassification under the Freedom of Information Act.
[37] Guantanamo is known around the world as one of the places where human beings have been tortured – from water boarding, to stripping, hooding and forcing detainees into humiliating sexual acts – playing music for 72 hours in a row at volumes just below that to shatter the eardrums.
[41] The channel claimed that the broadcast was interrupted due to technical problems after the public invaded the restricted area of the shooting crew;[42][43] it has been difficult to confirm which version is true.
However, it is undisputed that the praise singer De la Rocha made of the Brazilian Landless Workers' Movement was omitted from the Multishow Channel broadcast, and censorship has occurred at least in this respect.
"[45][46] The band advocated for the release of convicted murderer, former Black Panther and life imprisonment inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, for whom they wrote and recorded the track "Voice of the Voiceless" for their 1999 album The Battle of Los Angeles.
At a 1993 Lollapalooza appearance in Philadelphia, the band stood onstage naked for 15 minutes with duct tape on their mouths and the letters PMRC painted on their chests in protest against censorship by the Parents Music Resource Center.
"[11] Some other controversial stands taken include that of the music video for the song "Bombtrack", in which RATM expresses support for the Peruvian revolutionary organization Shining Path and their incarcerated leader Abimael Guzmán, sentenced for the 1983 Lucanamarca massacre[50] and the Tarata bombing.
The band also raised funds for Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, the National Commission for Democracy in Mexico, Women Alive, and played at the Tibetan Freedom Concert on more than one occasion.
[11] Album liner notes contained promotional material for AK Press, Amnesty International, the committee to Support the Revolution in Peru, the Hollywood Sunset Free Clinic, Indymedia, Mass Mic, Parents for Rock and Rap, the Popular Resource Center, RE: GENERATION, Refuse and Resist, Revolution Books, the Rock & Rap Confidential, and Voices in the Wilderness.
[53] Paul Ryan, the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 2012 election[54] has said that his favorite musicians are Ludwig van Beethoven, Rage Against the Machine and Led Zeppelin.
