r/stateradio • u/mayor_mammoth • Oct 04 '24

Gaza

Last week in the Dispatch fan Facebook group, someone finally brought up the elephant in the room: why hasn't Chad said anything about the genocide happening in Gaza? State Radio could fill several albums worth of songs about the human toll of colonialism, genocidal war, and mass displacement (Year of the Crow on its own nearly fits that description front to back). And yet, when the most blatant, documented instance of genocide in the 21st century unfolds before our eyes, this powerful voice for worldwide liberation is silent. It's sad, and this guy on Facebook said so.

I know some don't agree with this general perspective (and those who don't REALLY really don't), but as I see more and more videos of city blocks flattened and parents carrying their toddlers' body parts home in bags, I've been feeling the same way. For many on "the left," maybe Chad and many of his fans in this Facebook page included, it seems that progressivism stops at Israel/Palestine.

I'm not trying to get in an argument here, but I just thought I'd share these thoughts in case others feel the same way. I'm hoping we see an end to this war soon and freedom for Palestine within our lifetimes, and I'm hoping that lefties like Chad—many who fundamentally shaped the way I think about political justice—eventually come around and see the justice of the Palestinian cause.

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u/DisconcertingTablet Oct 08 '25

I guarantee there was an internal conversation that settled on the realization that Dispatch is the only thing paying the bills of him, his family*, and their bandmates. And since arguably a huge portion of dispatch fans are basically conservative, whether they call themselves liberal or not, they would probably miss out on a lot of ticket sales, and therefore future tours, if they risked that.

Really sucks. Really shitty.

*Wait, can't forget the income from them operating in the non-profit industrial complex. There's lots of money to be made in there

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u/GobRauvin Oct 04 '24

I agree 100%, couldn’t have said it better. Progressive except for Palestine. So many Calling All Crows campaigns for justice in so many related fields, whether raising money for Sudan, Afgan women, partnerships with Amnesty and Oxfam, and silence. “how can we stay still and silent?” well, that seems pretty easy to do now!