Johnny Stevens is, and never was, shy about giving out his opinion. The success of Highly Suspect has given him a great deal of reach when it’s time for politics. But after every political post, he’d get slammed with brutal replies from fans who just wanted them to play the tunes with no distractions. It all came to a head after the neo Nazi rally in Charlottesville, and Johnny needed to speak out. And so he did, eloquently, with a firestorm of insults from Nazi trolls following. He went to Facebook and posted a manifesto of sorts, to explain to the haters who he is, and believes in. Here it is in its entirety (With full permission from Johnny Stevens).

When, and who, the fuck decided that musician’s didn’t have the right to an opinion? Apparently I missed the memo. Musicians, like the bards of old, not only deliver entertainment, but have the power to reach a way bigger audience than word of mouth. The civil rights movement rode the backs of bands in the 1960s, and the modern bards know their power. Try to separate Bob Dylan or Bono from their politics, and you’d see how much culture goes with them.

Now, we deal with the Trump political shitshow that hit our civilization like a flying turd. The break taken since the last cultural upheaval is a generation deep, and people needed reminding that music and change are just about wound together too tightly ever to separate for too long.

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