A Bit of Old News that Still Pisses Me Off...Vandals Shows in Europe Cancelled Because of Anti-War Protestors

There is probably one thing that pisses in my cornflakes more than the cartoon-violence attitude of warhawks like Donald Rumsfeld and his colleagues.

I can't stand the peace-by-jackboot attitude of some members of the anti-war movements around the world.

A long-lost friend of mine gave me a ring tonight. I sent out about a thousand e-mails to various people letting them know I finally changed my cell number, and he was calling to give me his new number in Phoenix, Arizona.

Somehow, we got on the topic of the Anti-War movement in Europe and the Vandals' cancelled shows in Europe back in February. The band had one show cancelled in Vienna by a club owner afraid of protesters and a show in Greece shut down by anti-war protesters outside a venue in Athens.

Why? Because the band played as part of a holiday event for troops stationed in Iraq.

At the Athens show, several dozen protesters, armed with a variety of weapons, demanded that the band be barred from playing before an audience for supposedly prolonging the War in Iraq. Concert goers were reportedly threatened along with the group.

Using weapons and intimidation tactics...to promote peace?

The Vandals are probably one of the least politically motivated punk bands of all time. Their catalog ranges from complete silliness ("My Girlfriend's Dead") to outright Oi! type bizarreness ("Urban Struggle" and "Mohawk Town" aren't exactly Andrew Lloyd Webber). This isn't Toby Kieth wrapping himself in the flag to sell records. This isn't Britney Spears popping gum and looking stupid on Farenheit 9-11.

Its a punk band, people. Try protesting at the American embassy. Better yet, why not fly to Washington or London and let the people who created this mess hear your rage.

Of course, the chains and knives are, in the eyes of most peace advocates, not the most appropriate tool for promoting non-violence.

The Vandals entertained some troops who really don't want to be in Iraq in the first place. There's a big difference between supporting the brave men and women who serve their country and supporting a national policy. They are not mutually inclusive. I grew up in an area where about a third of my graduating high school class ended up in the military. They joined up to help make the world a better place, to escape a life of crime, and to earn money for college.

I remember one of my high school buddies, after he finished up his time in the Marine Corps, summed it up this way:

The rich do the bitching, the poor fight the war.

The Vandals gave guys like my Jarhead friend a lot of entertainment when they were children. And they were nice enough continue to entertain them in a war zone. How stupid does one have to be to hold an apolitical punk band accountable for a whole war?

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