The White Stripes singer Jack White called Donald Trump’s campaign “fascists” and threatened to sue after an aide apparently used a clip of the band’s hit Seven Nation Army on a pro-Trump social media post.
Trump’s deputy director of communications, Margo Martin, shared a brief 10-second video clip of Trump boarding a plane to campaign events with the music as a background soundtrack.
The move clearly angered White, who rapidly became the latest in a long line of musicians to take umbrage at their art being used as a soundtrack to Trump’s bid to retake the White House.
On Instagram White wrote: “Don’t even think about using my music you fascists. Law suit coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your 5 thousand others.) Have a great day at work today Margo Martin.’
I know that you can’t just assume things, but I’ve always found it telling that 95% of the people who make all the beautiful, and even just amusing, art in the world all seem to be left of center in their particular countries.
If the most sensitive among us, attuned to the human condition, almost universally trend one way, and so do the teachers and the scientists, maybe, I dunno, they’re onto something.
I forget where I read this (Jonathan Haidt maybe?) but someone said that conservatism is focused on in-groups whereas liberalism is broader, which requires more empathy. Empathy is also very useful when creating art, which is why there are so few conservative artists and the few who do exist tend to do very literal/realistic works.
Left = good for people
Right = good for the really rich
At the end of the day, the left is good people and right is full of fear and hate.
The best art requires empathy
The right has very little aesthetic. Their primary symbol looks like it took 14 seconds to make on a hat at RiteAid.
I imagine most artist being seen as dead-weight weirdos for a regular fascist unless they already achieved their respect or\and came from the right background. Excluding the effect of what consuming and making art for decades makes to a person, the one who does it is rarely seen and appreciated as a part of the machine. Taking the funny political compass meme as a framework, we see that from a capitalistic angle good art is the one that sells, and from an authoritarian - it’s the one that serves some utilitarian purpose. These limits are too tight for self expression and they don’t inspire creativity, but reproduction and continuation of something that works in either direction. Innovation and provocation that make art get written into history books are threats to what fascism implies, and it fears it unless it’s something on Wagner or Riefenstahl level they can coopt. Artists themselves can start or become fascists easily, and channel their hatred into words and strokes, but they are mostly either too ‘normal’ to be really invested in art and got somehow remembered (see nazi punks) or too weird to fit in the world they themselves wish (see Lovecraft and his dog).
I think its mostly that the other side is just so much More radical. I still refuse to believe half the americans would vote for Trump again after all that has happened
Never discount the religious right in the USA. They do what they are told. Zero critical thinking. None whatsoever. Cognitive dissonance be damned.
Don’t worry, your realization has a very simple explanation: tHeIr aLl BrAiNwAsHeD!