Let’s say, in an extreme hypothetical, tomorrow everyone came together and people with power suddenly saw their role in our present moment of unprecedented inequality and iniquity—that everyone understood intersectionality, and people’s capacity for empathy reached new heights. Would it really be equal? Would all the violence—sexual, emotional, physical, financial, and psychological—be forgiven? Is immediate unity a resolution for centuries of unimaginable pain? No, but it is a common political ploy. And, Durham, NC punks The Muslims see white—I mean right—through it.
The band that recently signed to Epitaph Records is releasing a new album FUCK THESE FUCKIN FASCISTS on September 24 and they’ve just shared their second single. “Unity” is a sucker punch to Band-Aid rhetoric: “We will never forget what the fuck you did to us,” vocalist QADR sings during the chorus. “Crammed in the back of the bus / Now you’re screaming ‘Live laugh love,'” goes another line. In the video, a fascist gets punched and then wakes up the next morning as a Biden supporter. He cheers for BLM signs and then touches a Black person’s hair. The video’s a satire on what happens when personal political shifts allow for white supremacy to survive in disguise.
In a statement, QADR explained, “Love is an action word that demands of us to speak up and fight, passionately, for the future we all deserve. I’m so tired of their belligerent screams for ‘unity,’ corny dances, and symbolic gestures. We don’t want Harriet Tubman on a fuckin’ $20 bill, we want reparations and no more racist police.”
See for yourself below (and check out the polarizing comment section for a thrill). Pre-order their album here.
