In an interview with "Good Morning Britain" on Monday, Sex Pistols alum Johnny Rotten said a bunch of dumb things. First, he said he was glad Brexit passed, because it's what the working class wanted and he's "one of them." Then he said that he felt that Donald Trump isn't a racist, and that it was unfair of the "left-wing media" to suggest that he is.
After suggesting that he might be "The Political Sex Pistol" -- which I guess would mean he was a pre-fab entity created more for the purpose of projecting a particular image rather than actually being skilled at what he does -- Rotten told host Piers Morgan, “There are many, many problems with him as a human being but he’s not that [racist] and there just might be a chance something good will come out of that situation because he terrifies politicians.”
Then everyone agreed that Donald Trump, a super rich dude, was super punk rock because he is so anti-establishment. And, again, totally not racist.
This would be despite the fact that Donald Trump has done and said many, many, many things that would be interpreted by most people to be racist. Like that time he got sued for refusing to rent to black people (twice) (we mean he was sued twice) (by the NIXON Justice Department), or the time he said that a Mexican-American judge couldn't give him a fair ruling because he's said so many bad things about Mexicans. Or that time he hosted a special breakfast meeting for black people on Martin Luther King Day so they could all go around in a circle and compliment him, and then thought Frederick Douglass was still alive.
But perhaps the fella who wrote (or at least takes credit for writing) "Belsen Was A Gas" knows better than us?
The incident has resulted in utter inanity from both sides of the aisle -- from the left going "Oh man, I can't believe this, punk is dead!" to conservatives desperately announcing that they're totally punk rock now.
First of all, if you can't believe that Johnny Rotten said a dumb thing and are aghast at this, or think Johnny Rotten is some kind of official spokesperson of punk rock... I don't know what to tell you. Obviously the only appropriate response to anything concerning Johnny Rotten is "Something something, rip off of Richard Hell," Clearly.
Richard Hell, by the way, considers Trump a "simple loudmouth fool."
Also, I'm gonna need to point out, for reasons, this commercial featuring Johnny Rotten selling butter.
If Johnny Rotten were personally capable of murdering punk rock, which I maintain he is not, this commercial, in which he sells butter, would have been the end of it.
Prison Planet's Paul Joseph Watson, as per usual, is the one leading the "WE'RE TOTALLY PUNK ROCK NOW YOU GUYS! WE'RE COUNTER-CULTURE!" charge. Which is super sad and probably one of the most pathetic things I can imagine. He even made a video about it, in which he referred to Johnny Rotten as the ALL TIME icon of punk. Which is not something anyone who is actually punk rock or has ever listened to punk rock would ever say.
It's just so, so pathetic. It is the most pathetic thing. If you have to go around whining and demanding that people think you are cool, that is a pretty good sign that you are not cool. And I'm sorry, but having a British Alex P. Keaton screaming and whining that he's cool and rebellious and demands to be accepted as such is just about the funniest goddamned thing I've ever seen in my life. Do doucheweasel punks have a particular color of laces they wear? Or do they just wear white tassels on their wingtips.
ALSO HI THERE HAVE BEEN RIGHT WING PUNKS SINCE FOREVER, what do you think this song was about?
If Watson knew fuck all about punk rock, which it is abundantly clear he does not, he would be aware of this, as well as the existence of Skrewdriver. Also, skinheads (the racist kind, not the "but it was originally a working class reaction to the mods!" kind, although a lot of them are also often kind of right-wing).
I do not personally care what Johnny Rotten, or anyone who has ever punched a woman in the face, thinks. But it is particularly foolish and silly to take anything he, or anyone else says, as the official opinion of fans of any musical genre, especially one that has always played host to a variety of political viewpoints.
Ah, no. Definitely no. You are thinking Second Wave Punk / Hardcore. Original Recipe Punks did everything.
*shrug* He always seemed like a worthless person to me. Contain your shock.