Well, it's edition #4 and like I promised, this is going to be a little more serious than the previous 2 editions.

In this edition, I shall talk about a small online movement called "Metalheads Against Racism". Without reading their aims for the moment, let's focus upon the title. "Metalheads Against Racism" implies some kind of Metalhead Action Group, which on it's own is absolutely no problem, since there are alot of political themes prevalent in Metal. Infact, sometimes, it is politics that fuels the lyrics in many Metal bands.

Moving on now to the website for "Metalheads Against Racism". It is rather basic looking, but I suppose that it gets the required point across, so this can be overlooked. Upon visiting the homepage you are met with the following:

By joining Metalheads Against Racism, we declare:

1. We believe that all human beings are born equal.

Sounds fair, I have no problems with that.

2. We believe that multiculturalism is neither unnatural nor dangerous.

True, again I have no problem with this.. to a point. It's only when 1 culture starts engulfing another, that I get annoyed. Best example - Rap Culture and all the little kids from posh homes, talking like some gangster wannabe, new out from the nearest ghetto. Though my disagreement here is with culture and not race. I wonder if this site is able to tell the difference?

3. The Metal scene is not open to those propagating the idea that some people are inferior to others because of their race or culture. We will not allow Heavy Metal to become a forum for their racist views.

Not only does that invoke the reaction of - "who the hell died and made them god" but it completely contradicts points 1 & 2! Point 1 says that all human beings are equal, yet point 3 basically says that if you're racist, you're not welcome. So perhaps they should rephrase point 1 to something like: We believe that all human beings are equal, unless you don't share our views.

Point 2 says that they believe in multiculturalism and that it is neither unnatural nor dangerous, yet point 3 refuses anyone with racist views from entering the Metal scene. So perhaps point 2 should also be rephrased to something like: We believe that multiculturalism is neither unnatural nor dangerous, but if you don't share our views, you're not welcome!

Then the home page goes on to list the many members who have joined the "campaign". The best is yet to come however...

Next we shall visit the "About" section. Upon viewing this section, there are 3 paragraphs & 2 sub-headings. The first sub-heading is "What is Metalheads Against Racism?". This is the first paragraph:

Metalheads Against Racism is a loose association of members of the Heavy Metal scene who are sick of the infiltration of the Metal scene by racists, bigots and nazis. Though rebellious, Heavy Metal has never really been "political" in the narrow sense. But now that our Metal scene is becoming overrun by racists, it has become necessary to make a clear statement against racism. To keep the racist scum out of our scene, and to make it clear to the whole world that Heavy Metal is NOT racist, and we will NOT tolerate racism among us. Metalheads Against Racism offers a way to make this statement. By putting the Metalheads Against Racism banner on your publications, you declare that you support our anti-racist declaration.

Yet again, the contradictions are ever present. Metalheads sick of racists? That's fine, everybody is entitled to their opinions, I personally neither like nor dislike racists. Next it says that Heavy Metal, whilst rebellious, has never been political. Err, so the person who wrote this obviously didn't pay too much attention to Black Sabbath's lyrics. Here is an extract from the track "Wicked World" on Black Sabbath's first album:

"The world today is such a wicked place
Fighting going on between the human race
People got to work just to earn their bread
While people just across the sea
Are counting their dead

A politician's job they say is very high
'Cos he has to choose who's got to go and die
They can put a man on the moon quite easy
While people here on earth are dying of old diseases"

Not only politics being talked about there, also war, 2 things that go hand in hand. So where did this idea of Metal never being political, come from? The views shown in that track ARE political views, whether you like it or not. Yes, the lyrics are a rebellion against politics, but the rebellion against politics is political in itself, you cannot avoid that. Plus should I also state the glaringly obvious, that the views of "Metalheads Against Racism" are also political? If they feel that Metal isn't about politics, why are they using political views to try and get this point across? And so the contradictions continue...

Next they go on to state that they will NOT tolerate racists in the Metal scene. Well, if Metal is rebellious, then why the hell would anybody conform to these rules? Who are they to tell people what they can and can't do? Surely that goes against the whole point of Metal then? Not to mention it is also a political view, which they say that Metal has never been about. With contradictions this bad, is it even worth reading further?

The next sub-heading is "Why does the world need a Metalheads Against Racism?" Here is the next paragraph:

Common sense would tell you that it's not necessary for Metalheads to declare themselves anti-racist. Heavy Metal as an art form is about the love of freedom and has always been opposed to fascist ideas. But in recent years, the scene has become more and more infiltrated by racists. It's absurd that an art form like Metal should be used for the propagation of racist ideologies, but the fact is that it's happening right now, and we need to put an end to it. A clear line must be drawn between real Metalheads and bigots who are only abusing Metal to propagate their racist ideas.

Ok, so if Metal is about the "love of freedom", then why are they prohibiting people with racist views from freely expressing them? Next they are saying it is absurd that Metal should be used to propogate racist ideologies.... says who? Who gave them the right to decide what Metal SHOULD & SHOULDN'T be about? The next line goes as far as to call anybody with racist views, not a metalhead, again proving that there is no freedom in the Metal scene, if you do not share their views. Next it talks about abuse of Metal, again, who gave them the right to decide what IS and ISN'T considered abuse of the Metal genre? Hardly very "free" is it?

Here is the next & final paragraph:

In a day and age where many bands use nazi symbols on their albums and on stage and then turn around and declare themselves "unpolitical", in a day and age where it has become the norm rather than the exception to see people who openly declare themselves racist at Metal shows, it's necessary to let the world know where you stand. It's unfortunate and tragic that we ever let it get to this point, but we need to face the facts and do something about them. That's why the world needs a Metalheads Against Racism.

So they now hate people who have nazi symbols, even if they claim to be unpolitical. Ever heard of Freedom Of Speech, something which they said Metal was about in the previous paragraph. Also, what about all humans being equal? They're basically saying that you're equal, unless you have views that we disagree with, in which case you are scum.

Let's take a look now at their "News" section. The minute I came to the page, what do I see as the first news entry:

10/27/2003
Big update on the Hate Mail page today. Lots of funny people keep writing, so go check it out. I hope you have as much of a laugh reading their "thoughts" as I did.

So now they go as far as to blatantly mock & insult anybody who disagrees with them. Hardly treating everybody equal is it? Where is this freedom that you talk about? Where is this idea of multiculturalism? Does this all move aside if somebody happens to not share your views?

Let's head on over to the "Hate Mail" section, to check this out. Woah, let's hold right there, just look at that first paragraph:

As you can probably imagine, there are quite a number of people out there who don't like Metalheads Against Racism or the ideas we stand for. Every now and then, the webmaster gets e-mails from such people. They're presented here as living proof that racist metalheads do exist and we're not just a bunch of paranoid leftists.

So now they are going even further, they are calling EVERYBODY who disagrees with their views, racist. So, does that mean that I am now a racist too? What a rather slanderous comment. So, this must mean that these so-called "racists" are no longer allowed in the Metal scene. Is every word on this site intentionally a contradiction?

Lets move down further to the actual e-mails themselves. Some of the e-mails contain insults, blatant racism and arguments consisting of "your site is gay", so I suppose it is understandable why the webmaster would choose to reply as he did, to some of the comments. The first e-mail makes me wonder though, is the webmaster of this site intentionally giving out info such as the websites of those who disagree with them, with the intention of causing trouble? Infact, what IS the webmaster's stance on this? Does he support the actions of his members? His comments do not even mention the allegations being made by the band "Demonic Christ". If the band haven't made this up, then this whole "Metalheads Against Racism" looks like nothing more than a mass hate campaign, deliberately trying to incite trouble, caused by intolerance, which would further contradict what they are trying to achieve - equality!

Ok, finally I shall take a look at the FAQ. Then I see the disclaimer at the top of the page which says:

DISCLAIMER. The members of Metalheads Against Racism support the three-point declaration on our home page. This FAQ was put together by the MAR webmaster, Mike Meier, in response to questions that have come up in relation to the site. The members do not necessarily agree with every word in this FAQ.

If the members do not agree with this FAQ, then what exactly is the point of it? The way that the FAQ is worded, is as if it speaks for the entire movement as a whole, yet the disclaimer says otherwise, so it is therefore, pointless. Nevertheless, I will cover the FAQ in this column, since it's only fair that I be thorough.

To start off, I have no comments to make about the first question, the explanation for it seems fine, as does the second question. The third question isn't really about "Metalheads Against Racism" so I will not mention this either. The 4th question is where I shall begin to comment:

-You guys are just a bunch of left extremists, aren't you?

No. The webmaster can't vouch for every single person on the members list, but Metalheads Against Racism is NOT a totalitarian movement of ANY kind. If there was a serious problem with left extremists in the Metal scene, we would be fighting them as there is no place for totalitarianism in Metal, no matter what color you paint it in. But the fact is, we have a problem with racists and Neo-Nazis in our scene, not left extremists.

Fair enough, they have a problem with racists in the Metal scene, but who died and made it "their" scene, do they own it or something? Also, they claim to be against leftist extremism & totalitarianism, yet they fail to see that they are infact being very hypocritical, as their views cross into BOTH of these areas and also completely contradict eachother at the same time.

Question 5:

-I think you're abusing Metal for political goals!

Technically, that's not a question... Seriously though, being against racism is not a matter of politics. It's a matter of common sense. Metalheads Against Racism isn't political, it's about stopping a development in the Metal scene that we think has to be stopped.

The hate groups and the bands propagating racism are the ones abusing Metal to propagate their ideologies. If anything, we're fighting against the abuse of Metal for political goals.

However you try to dress it up, being anti-racist is as political as being racist, you CANNOT avoid that. They again reaffirm their belief that racism in Metal has to be stopped and in the next sentence they claim that hate groups & and bands with racist views, are abusing Metal. However "Metalheads Against Racism" itself is a hate group... they hate racists, they also propagate political intolerance. Again, this contradicts everything that they claim to believe in!

The next question:

-What do you hope to accomplish with this movement?

Running the racists out of the Metal scene. Nothing more, nothing less. Experience shows that the reason there are so many racists at Metal shows is nobody speaks out against them, so they feel comfortable. When somebody stands up to them and lets them know they're not welcome, they usually remove their fascist asses from the premises. If enough people openly speak out against racism, the racists will realize they're not wanted in the Metal scene and leave us alone.

So, they plan to run the racists out of the Metal scene, because they believe in all human beings being equal? They don't believe in intolerance based upon race eh? So to rid Metal of racial intolerance, they show an intolerance towards racists and decide not to treat people with racist views as equals. That's certainly a strange way of fighting your enemy - becoming the mirror image of your enemy.

Next and final question in the FAQ:

Why aren't you more specific with the bands you're talking about? You could publish a list of bands that are directly or indirectly supporting racism.

Yes we could, be we won't. Compiling "black lists" of enemies and denouncing others is what totalitarianists do (left or right). It's not our place to point fingers at anyone. From the reactions we've had, it's clear that the people we're talking about know we mean them, and that's good enough.

Did they forget about their "Hate Mail" section when answering this question? I shall repeat what it says on the "Hate Mail" section:

As you can probably imagine, there are quite a number of people out there who don't like Metalheads Against Racism or the ideas we stand for. Every now and then, the webmaster gets e-mails from such people. They're presented here as living proof that racist metalheads do exist and we're not just a bunch of paranoid leftists.

Yep, ANOTHER contradiction. They ARE pointing fingers at anybody who disagrees with them, they call them racists.

To round up: There are just too many contradictions for this cause to ever be taken seriously. They're against prejudice based upon race or culture, yet seemingly fail to see their own prejudices against anybody who happens to share views that they find to be unreasonable. They claim Metal to be unpolitical, rebellious & free, yet their political views deny Metal of all 3 of these qualities and they even try to deny that their views ARE political. If I supported this cause, I'd be ashamed of myself. Some of their goals are honourable, but the way in which they go about it leaves ALOT to be desired. I can't believe that so many Metal websites have been suckered into supporting such a flawed cause, if you are anti-racist, then make your own views, don't support theirs!

Now, before I end this, I have to make it absolutely clear that I am NOT a racist, though "Metalheads Against Racism" will probably call me one anyway. I do not hate anyone based upon race or culture. I may dislike some aspects of a culture, eg as I mentioned earlier, I despise Rap Culture and Rap Culture has no place in Metal, imho, as it's ideology is totally incompatible with Metal. I do NOT hate people because of their culture, though.

Note for anyone thinking about trying to call me a hypocrite: If you try to judge me based upon my "lame, tasteless, unfunny jokes of the week", then I should inform you now that when I criticise rap fans, or mallcore fans etc, in my jokes, I am merely making fun of either the music or the stereotypes. If people actually fit into those stereotypes and take offence, then that's their problem and not mine. I have friends who like Mallcore and/or Rap, doesn't mean that I hate them, but I still make fun of them.

The views expressed here are mine alone and do NOT represent the views of the Raging Metal website as a whole, the disclaimer about this is clearly present on the Columns Section index!

The Metalheads Against Racism website can be found here, in 6 different languages: http://www.metalheadsagainstracism.org/

Lame, tasteless, unfunny joke of the week:

What has a rapper, a mirror & a slit throat all got in common?

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'tis true what they say you know, bad attempts at singing will cause the glass to break!

And that's me finished for another week. #5 will be another serious edition, though probably alot more light-hearted than this one!

Bye

The Master!