Band of Mercy “Conquest”
This is a hardcore punk band that doesn’t sound too much unlike Agnostic Front except for the fact that their lyrics are (mostly) about being vegan. I thought that maybe the song “Hey Vegans!” would mock vegans but it’s more of a calling for vegans to unite and smash everyone who opposes them. In this day and age of diverse music, I really wish there were better things to sing about than being vegan or straight edge or whatever, but apparently there are not. I’m not sure which is worse- having music being pro-vegan or anti-vegan. Couldn’t the music just not be about politics and such?
Ultimately, it comes down to this: While the music itself isn’t necessarily bad, the lyrics are doing nothing for me because I am not a vegan and don’t want to feel badly about eating cheese (My grandparents had a dairy farm and I still have family that farms, so vegans need to chillax) Thus, one can conclude that by writing lyrics about being vegan you are, in essence, casting out your potential fan base simply because they are not vegan themselves. This does not even mean you’re casting out half of your fans because if only 30% of the hardcore punk fans who stumble across you are vegan then you’re shunning 7 out of 10 of your fans. On the reverse side of things, if you were making fun of vegans you’d be losing fewer fans but you’d be a jerk. So why not make music that can include everybody?
I’m not going to say this again, so next time I come across a band singing about being vegan I simply will not review it.
Your appeal to relativism is precisely the focal point that BOM is addressing. As animal activists, they're calling for a legitimate answer for a tortured moral question, too often cast aside.
ReplyDelete"Couldn't the music just not be about politics and such?"
Your above question contains a double negative, making it unclear as to whether you're saying that hardcore punk should or shouldn't contain political sentiment; I'll treat it as if you're saying that it should only discuss politics.
You're assuming that veganism isn't a political issue; however, the fundamental premise of BOM's music is that veganism should be a political issue. It should be something that is discussed, and something that we negotiate serious legislation over, and not simply the cheap solutions that we've attempted to patch our atrocities with.
You need to learn what a naturalistic fallacy is; "My grandparents had a dairy farm and I still have family that farms, so vegans need to chillax" is a pathetic and far cry from a valid argument. The same kind of logic can be employed to uphold something abhorrent like cannibalism and nuclear war.
Hardcore has never been about winning fans-- if you think this is the case, I feel deepest sympathy for you and the scene that fostered this belief. Hardcore is an open forum for debating, discussing, and celebrating messages and activism, not a place where free thought is hampered at the cost of our only world, and furthermore, of its breadth of species.
"I'm not going to say this again"-- that's alright, thousands have perpetuated your poor excuse for a well-constructed argument for decades, and will continue to, without your help.
I would advise you to review some of the environmental facts surrounding the issues of water consumption & contamination, and gas emissions. At least equip yourself with something more than a simple appeal to tradition-- these won't give you anything to stand behind once you've exhausted your flimsy argument.
I hope I didn't come across as someone who was looking to piss you off as much as I was looking to make you think consciously about what you do, and what you'll pass on.