KMFDM Conclude 2nd Decade Together! - Page 5

SK - Right. No, it’s a good thing, but it’s happening rather slow still. I hope it picks up a little more steam soon.

PITRIFF - Yeah. Well, they have those Rock Against Bush comps, so that’s a start, and yourself, you’re doing very strong protest music, which leads into my next question. KMFDM might be considered fringe music and its fans fringe culture. I guess together they may be viewed as enemies of the state in the eyes of the right wing, but could we say maybe that the right wing is the true enemy of the state, if the state is comprised of the common people? Particularly with your stance against war, fascism and brute violence?

SK - Well, I mean, the true enemy of the state is the fascist junta that is running this country, I mean fascism, as defined by Mussolini, who invented the thing, is the quickening of state and money, corporations and power. This is essentially what’s going on in this country and this is what divides the American people. I mean, the middle class is eroding really quick; the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting much poorer. This divide is, in essence, a real problem, because people…their positions are so far apart they don’t even talk to each other anymore. I see it all the time on discussions on KMFDM or related kind of newsgroups, blogs and stuff, you know, the level of forum is very low, and the level of hatred and lashing out and that kind of stuff is very, very high.

PITRIFF - You’re right.

SK - This is divide and rule, the old Roman principle. You divide your people and you rule them. Bush has learned this lesson from his daddy really well.

PITRIFF - (laughs) That’s right, and unfortunately, there’s too many people in my opinion that feel it’s inconvenient to seek truth or seek an alternative, so they just blindly follow what’s in the lead, you know?

SK - Yeah, well the setup for this whole thing was definitely a tricky one. I mean, 9-11 completely charged the country emotionally. That really gave Bush the grounds on which to seize even more power and release things like the Patriot Act, cementing himself and his government into the oddest position America ever had, you know?

PITRIFF - Exactly. A damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.

SK - Exactly, and you just wait, you know? He’s going to get re-elected and he’s going to stay in power, and then the next thing is Iran, and then the mess will be really fucking complete.

Article Author: Chris Akin

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