The legions of Dave Matthews haters are reconsidering their position on our guy after his public stand against the war in Gaza.
“This has been an ongoing struggle for people that just want to have dignity and be able to live independent lives and dream of a better future,” Matthews said on Wednesday, amid a sea of protestors gathered outside the U.S. Capitol to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was invited to speak to a joint session of Congress.
The too-cool-for-school set didn’t realize that Matthews, the former Charlottesville bartender whose eponymous band has had seven albums debut at #1 on the Billboard charts and was elected this year to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, has long since put his political beliefs front and center.
Before his big break in music, Matthews, a native of South Africa, renounced his citizenship in protest of his home country’s racial apartheid policies, and refused mandatory conscription into the South African military, which was a chief instrument of the enforcement of the draconian system.
Among the multiple hits of the Dave Matthews Band, one that stands out is “Don’t Drink the Water,” a song about the genocide of Native Americans.
Matthews has repeatedly used his band’s concerts to speak out against the war in Gaza, and in May, at a concert in Jacksonville, Fla., he called for a cease-fire and the immediate return of hostages in the custody of Hamas.
Of course our Dave Matthews would be in DC to protest Netanyahu.
“This man is the pinnacle of the obstacle toward that freedom, and that we have him visiting the country is obscene. It’s disgusting to show support for someone that doesn’t deserve our support,” Matthews told Al Jazeera.
“I’m ashamed that my tax dollars are going to this, the brutalizing of an entire people. It’s, it’s shameful, and I’m ashamed that our government is welcoming him here,” Matthews said.
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Chris Graham
