Good Musicians Attend Protests

It turns out there’s another qualification for being “good” other than playing your instrument well! Who would have thought! Of course, this is all my personal opinion, and there’s no way to objectively apply qualitative descriptions, especially in art. However, I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently: To consider yourself a musician, I believe you need to do more than just make music - you need to fight for it.

Now, this “fight” can look different from person to person. Not everyone is able to go out and attend every protest. I understand that. This is a mindset. It’s about caring for those around you, seeing music as a community rather than a competition, and working to build a world art can thrive in. It’s about speaking up when you see that world being threatened.

This post is for those few folks who are on the fence about attending the protests tomorrow. If you’re able, I encourage you to go! Read on for an explanation as to why.
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Musicianship as a Responsibility:

We owe the ability to make art to our environment - to politics. Anyone who thinks they are a musician as a result of their personal effort alone is kidding themselves. We have little say in whether or not we get to do this for a living, regardless of how “talented” we may be. It may be hard to hear, but I’m not going to sugar coat the situation. The largest factors of “success” in the arts is familial wealth and where you were born - both things that you have very little say in! Is this bad? I certainly think so, but it’s reality. We do not live in a meritocracy despite what many people insist. We owe our freedom to pursue the arts to our environment and circumstances almost entirely. Therefore this freedom, in my opinion, comes with a responsibility - a responsibility to fix this mess of a system.

As I've stated before on this blog, all artists have a vested interest in ensuring political progress. Why? The more freedoms and protections in place for the population, the more diverse and open a society is, then the more people can access art - both as consumers and creators. When people aren’t focused on surviving, they will inevitably participate in the arts community. This benefits everyone involved in that community.
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The Current Climate and Narrative:

We are currently witnessing as our government actively turns this country into one which is hostile to the arts - to everyday people - as a whole. It is our responsibility to resist this transformation. Calling representatives and attending protests are good ways of doing that, but also simply checking in with your friends/colleagues and supporting them whenever you can makes a big difference. Hold your community close and support them. Find ways to organize and protect each other. Those acts of solidarity can be just as effective as any other.

The ongoing protests are in response to the Trump administration's deployment of the National Guard and ICE to cities across the U.S. In a shocking disregard of constitutional rights, community members are being violently kidnapped by plainclothes agents, detained, and thrown in concentration camps. Many interactions between these illegal agents and the public have been violent. Those people bravely, and peacefully protesting these unconstitutional detentions are being beaten, teargassed, shot at, and even killed.

To some of you, this may seem outrageously inaccurate. This is because the government is actively lying about the situation on the ground. One simple google search will demonstrate just how hard they are trying to push their own narrative of events. They are actively attempting to portray peaceful protests as violent insurrections - which is laughable considering their personal pardoning of violent insurrectionists from January 6th. Don't get it wrong, they love violence, despite what you hear them claim publicly.

Why are they doing this? Because they want a violent response. They’re going to try to get it even if people don’t give it to them. They are waiting for an opportunity to justify their final revocation of the dwindling rights that remain for people in this country (most of which are being violated already). Sending heavily armed battalions to zip tie children in the night? Helicopter support? I think we found the invasion happening in this country, and it’s not the fake one Trump was talking about.

Image Source: (nbcnews.com)

This is why peaceful protest at this moment is crucial. We need to make it as obvious as possible that it is the government that is committing violent illegal acts. We need to document it, and give those few handfuls of resisting judges, lawyers, and representatives the evidence they need to fight this blatant power grab. We are running out of time to resist the real invasion.
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Attend a Protest:

I want to reiterate again that it is not possible for everyone to attend protests. For most people, work is not optional. Everybody needs to find a way to make enough to make ends meet. Having to work is not a flaw, it’s a reality. Everyone has their own capacity to contribute, and whatever that is for you, it is meaningful. Just because you can’t attend a protest, doesn’t mean you don’t support the broader cause it represents. 

My main argument in this post is to advocate for a perspective shift in those who feel it is unnatural to get involved, that it would interfere with their branding or image as a musician. I want to let you know that staying out of this effort is what is interfering. Ignoring these problems is directly impeding you as a musician. If you get to pursue your passion while others are being thrown into camps, while others have to give it up to feed their families or pay off debt, and you do nothing to resist the current administration - you’re a hypocrite. Especially for those who have the privilege of doing art full time, staying silent and standing on the sidelines is not an option. That freedom comes with a responsibility to spread it for others. That freedom is fading quickly.

So don’t let it fade! Attend the protest tomorrow, October 18th! There are No Kings events in almost every city across the country. Get your friends together and make a day out of it! The more, the merrier. You can find all the information applicable to the event near you here:
(https://www.nokings.org/).

No Kings offers a great guide on your rights as a protester, what to bring, and how to attend. You can learn more here:
​(https://www.nokings.org/kyr).

​I’ll see you all tomorrow! Have fun, stay safe, bring water, and until next time: Thank you for reading. Happy jamming!