Phil Anselmo’s racism…an Asian perspective

It’s hard not to get emotional, or at least have some sort of emotional response, to someone that is well adored in the Asian metal world, someone who we’ve looked up to for the majority of our lives because of the band he fronted and the music that basically accompanied many of us through some intense shit in our adolescence. It is hard not to be completely flabbergasted that this said person could stand on stage, sieg hiel and then scream the words “white power” without any care in the world of the repercussions of his actions and the power of his words. This same person whose lyrics and music unites worldwide metalheads anywhere on this planet who will head bang arm-in-arm in unison regardless of gender, religion, language and RACE.

Most Asian metal heads may not be aware that this moron actually has a history of mouthing off white power bullshit and so his antics from a few days ago which, unfortunate for him, was caught on tape, has sent the metal world into an obvious mode of disgust, as it should. This time though – there is no way of him being able to crawl back into the hearts of metalheads.

Why? Because this time, within the context of Donald Trump and his white supremacist ideas and the thousands of lowlifes who have come out in droves to support his racist rhetoric, Phil’s on stage antics could not be held more under the microscope. Instead of using his pedigree to spread a positive message and image about America to the rest of the world who for the past few months have been shocked and disgusted at Trump’s huge appeal to Americans, he chose to do the exact opposite. And this was not at some Trump rally of closet KKK members, this was a metal show. You know, the place where all of us on the fringes of society should be felt welcome.

In the US, guess which groups of people have always been on the fringe of society? That’s right – non-whites. And this person that we have all looked up to, bought records of, memorized words, gotten on stage and covered the music thousands of times…this person who leads the underground world of “acceptance of all people” who live alternate lifestyles, who look different, think different, dress different, speak different languages, have different belief systems, is now telling us that he supports the idea of a supreme race. This particular race that anywhere in the world ALREADY gets preferential treatment. The race that doesn’t get racially profiled at airports, or by the police, or looked at with fear when boarding a plane. The race that gets better service then the rest of us regardless of their actual financial standing or work status. The race that can go into a church kill worshippers and STILL not be labeled a “terrorist”.

This was our dude. And now it turns out that all along he was just another Donald Trunp dressed up as one of us – a metalhead.

There is no excuse for his bullshit – not in the past, certainly not now. His excuse (“It was a joke! We were drinking white wine back stage!”) even further proves how little he cares for those of us who are not white and our history of being oppressed, manipulated, ridiculed, humiliated at the hands of the almighty “white race” who came to exploit our lands, culture, language, and once they had raped all they could, got up and left but not before throwing our countries into complete chaos by redrawing borders or destabilizing our governments and lives (See: Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Palestine, the list goes on and on) from which many of us are still fighting and dying for every day.

The one silver lining to all this is that NOW is the time for us Asians to redefine who our heroes are. It’s 2016 and we can no longer continue to put America on a pedestal high above any of the rest of us. It’s time to look within our own regions, cities and communities to find people who WE can revere that hold up the ethics and beliefs that make sense to our traditions and cultures and where we’re from. Why DO we put Americans or bands from the West on such a high pedestal to bow down to and adore anyway? Of course, there is also an argument to be had for why do we need heroes at all? Fuck heroes and blind idol-worship. This fool is case in point.

Anyway.

He is done in my eyes – but what does it matter to him? I’m brown and Pakistani. Hey guess what Phil? I’m fucking PROUD to be.

PEACE. Namaste. ??. Allah-hafiz. Saynora. Selamat tinggal. Paalam.

All Shall Perish’s statement:

“We consider Pantera to be the single greatest metal band of all time, but we should never be afraid to call out our heroes. Seeing Phil’s actions and his cowardly justification is not only disgusting and inexcusable but antithetical to the punk, metal, underground ethos to which we subscribe. No gods, No masters, and certainly no master race. Any justifications or cries of “reverse racism”, BET, Double standards, PC Police, Or general white whining are just profoundly ignorant of history, systemic effects, and the lasting impact of state sponsored racism, Jim crow, segregation and slavery. Talk with your black friends, if you have any, and try to gain some perspective. There has never, nor will ever, be a true incarnation of “reverse racism” until white people are swinging from trees en mass, sold into torture, defined in the constitution as 3/5th’s a person, denied from public institutions and forcibly segregated from society. In the face of what an actual tit for tat reprisal would look like, affirmative action and understanding the significance and context of displaying black pride seem the least the multi-generational benefactors of being the master race can muster. Racism and its institutions are a stain on American culture; likewise, Phil’s actions are a stain on the legacy of Pantera, Dime’s memory and the metal community as a whole.

“Nazi punks, fuck off.” – Dead Kennedys”