Last week, System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan shared a 13-minute Instagram video outlining how his socio-political views do not align with bandmate Serj Tankian.
Amid the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement that is unfurling across the world after the murder of unarmed black man George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, Dolmayan took to Instagram to praise Donald Trump for being “the greatest friend to minorities.” A polarising statement that was met with critic and discomfort from many System of a Down fans.
In a follow-up post, Dolmayan has offered his opinion on the push to defund and dismantle the Police Department. The post featured a photo of a Mark Twain quote —note, there is contention as to whether or not Mark Twain coined the phrase or not— that emphasized Dolmayans opinion that defunding the police was “stupidity”.
In the post, he questioned the motive behind celebrities and politicians calling for police abolition. Accusing those who have rallied for defunding the police as virtue signallers. “Any celebrity or politician who is behind the defund the police movement is doing one of two things,” he wrote.
“1. Showing you, who they consider the peasant class, how woke they are and how in tune they are with social injustice,” he continued. In other words, look like they give a shit but continue to live lavish well-protected lives while you bang your head on a wall.
“2. (Mainly politicians) Say anything to maintain their positions because the stupidity of defunding the police hasn’t fully been comprehended by the people advocating for it.”
Dolmayan has theorised that politicians will cut the budget of the police department as a performative allyship with the Black Lives Matter movement. He believes that after the movement loses steam, the government will redistribute the funds back into the police department budgets.
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“They will cut budgets to show how they agree with the “movement” and move the money into social programs,” he explained. “Later once people have forgotten about this injustice and are on to the next issue they will cut funds to those programs and funnel the money right back into police department budgets.
“In fact they will increase those budgets because at the end of the day there can be no society without them, we are not civilized enough and probably never will be.
“You are being agitated into a frenzy, divided, and then placated. No real changes will be instituted except that many of you will be even more dependent on the government you so adamantly oppose. They take away your freedoms give you a few scraps and you thank them for it, wake up and think for yourself.”
It’s a harrowing, heartbreaking thought that politicians are only going to start making systemic reparations as a way to calm civil unrest — one that probably has merit. However, the system as we know it is broken and rotten to the core. Change is necessary. No matter how untrustworthy or slimy the intentions are behind this change, it’s a change that must happen.
