Henry Rollins likes to talk, we all know that. And he loves to talk about politics and revolution. This goes back to his days when he was frontman for Black Flag and continues now he is a well established writer, public speaker, and radio show host.
Now in an interview with Pheonix Sun Times in USA the former punk rocker has spoken out in support of the ‘occupy protest movement’ around the world. The cynic within you could point out that Rollins hass just released a book called Occupants and is trying to shore up interest, although it must be pointed out that the book has nothing to do with the protests seen around the world and the name is simply a coincidence.
When asked about his thoughts on Occupy Wall Street, Rollins replied “I’ve been to Occupy DC, Occupy Wall Street, and Occupy Chicago. I’m reading the signs, and I’m talking with people, and their beef, and I’m not trying to distance myself from them by saying “their thing,” but, finally, real issues are being addressed: campaign finance reform, the destruction of Glass-Steagall, bank deregulation, loopholes, the wacky high jinks of credit-default swaps, and all of that -where America got taken to the cleaners, [as did] other good people of the world. A lot of people – say, 99 percent or so – who say, “Screw this.” Finally.”
“[President Barack Obama] should have been calling out – by name – some of these bank people. He gives a lot of bad people a pass, in my opinion. That’s the frustration a lot of people have with Barack Obama. They like the guy, but he doesn’t bring his foot down. You’re like, “Really? Not even on this one?” He won’t get in there and throw his shoulder against any door. You know, you arrest 700 kids on the Brooklyn Bridge, but no bankers have gone to jail for defrauding millions of people? That’s a little odd.”
“So the good part is, people are addressing real issues. The [bad] part – and I want to be wrong about this, but it makes me dismayed – is that, thanks to Fox News and the press and lots of outlets, this protest has been ghettoized and marginalized and turned into a “lefty, left-wing, hippie, patchouli, liberal, progressive thang,” when in my opinion, this is a non-partisan concern. It’s about as partisan as baseball and beer, you know what I mean?”
Rollins also had a few thoughts on the future of the protest saying “Someone asked me, “What do you think?” But, to make this thing really rock, it should be shoulder to shoulder, no room to move, to Midtown. It should be 4 million people, to where Bloomberg can not leave his building. Not for fear of bodily harm, but just because of the humanity on the street. Literally, he can’t get the door open. To where no cars can drive in lower Manhattan. Where’s there’s not enough cops to arrest them, there’s not enough flex ties to cart these people off.”
“The cops, in my opinion, they’ve been breaking the rules. They’ve been violating the First Amendment. People do have the right to peaceably assemble… The cops’ job is to protect and maintain the general welfare of the people, not arrest them… But they are taking orders; they are just kind of the infantry. I’m hoping in 2012, when the snow melts, this thing goes 10 times.”
“American law enforcement is not going to fire on protesters, and protesters aren’t going to be firing Kalashnikovs at law enforcement. It’s not going to come to that. I think you’re going to see some serious tear gas next summer, but someone is going to lose some temper, and something is going to boil over. I think this is really going to rock next year. The snow is going to melt, and everyone is going to bring a friend.”
“I think, around July or August – out of the heat or sheer proximity – the cops are going to act out somewhere, and there will be a massive macing. Or, they might bring out some of that new technology. There’s a new article in Harper’s – five or seven months ago – about the new technology for crowd dispersal. You know, microwaving people… It doesn’t kill you, but like all the sudden you feel like you are cooking alive, and you will go home. These piercing tones – you lose your balance you fall on the ground, you piss your pants. All this is available right now. Made in America.”
