Onward Texas Staff
The phrase “Fuck Ted Cruz” was shown in all its glory at a Green Day concert on July 8th. The band made it their background as they played several songs.
Senator Ted Cruz has been on many people’s bad sides for a long time, but it is more relevant than ever with his current actions regarding the mass shooting in Uvalde and his continuing to promote firearms.
He continues to place the blame solely on mental health and what he calls a “darkness” that is lurking in young American minds. He refuses to acknowledge that the shooting, which ended with 19 kids and two teachers dead, is correlated to loose gun control laws and the easy access to deadly arms like rifles.
Cruz was one of the few Republicans in power who did not back down from the annual National Rifle Association convention in Houston, mere days after the shooting had occurred. He used the shooting in his speech to promote gun use and used the families’ grief to push his own agenda.
He also pleads nonstop that the situation is not politized. He says the only remedy left is to continue praying, to have fewer doors at schools for less easy access to deadly shooters with legally purchased guns, and to arm the teachers.
Long story short, many are upset with him and his lack of action or responsibility as a political figure. And during the latest Green Day concert, the band decided to make a statement of their own and change the banner behind them on stage to one that read “Fuck Ted Cruz”.
The picture has been circulating on social media, with mostly positive responses.
People who are fans appreciate the band’s efforts to get involved in political issues, but others were skeptical, stating that they should just stick to what they know how to do and sing and that not everything has to be political.
Green Day is a punk rock band. Punk and rock have been used as tools over centuries to express unconformity, rebellion, and criticism of the traditional ways of living and oppressive institutions.
One of the band’s most well-known hits, American Idiot, is rife with criticism for the hysteria caused by the government and mass media companies:
Don’t wanna be an American idiot!
Don’t want a nation under the new media
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mind f*ck America!
So, it makes sense that a band like this one decides to take a stance. Music is also a way of protest and a way to position oneself against a certain topic. The current political climate is complicated enough and many artists try to do what they can with their craft.
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