Art, as an ethereal and undefinable thing, has long been defended and defeated, ad nauseam, throughout history.
That is to say that we find and redefine the limits of what we consider “art” on a near-constant basis. It’s a medium where you can both take it too far and not take it far enough, all in the same piece sometimes. Or, more frequently, a single piece of expression can shapeshift through the ages, gaining or losing its value and glean along the way.
This may very well be the case with “We’re Not Going to Take It” – a rather obtuse protest song by Dee Snider-fronted Twisted Sister.
The song was a prominent and poignant piece of that anti-censorship movement of the 1980’s, and was at the time considered a profound endorsement of the First Amendment. Snider himself made headlines during his testimony to Congress about the power of free speech.
But now Snider is weaponizing the tune to put pressure on the Second Amendment, much to the disappointment of Americans everywhere.
Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider okayed the use of the band’s music by gun control groups who are organizing a push to ban “assault weapons.”
On Tuesday, Snider gave the okay in response to a Twitter user who is organizing the gun control push.
He also gave the okay to a Twitter user who wants to use the song in conjunction with a Moms Demand Action gun control push:
These tweets come one day after transgender shooter Aubrey Hale killed six people at a Christian school in Nashville.
Of course, Snider’s staunch defense of the Constitution during Tipper Gore’s push to censor American music doesn’t seem to jibe with this new twist to the tale.
Art is certainly subjective, but this major flip-flop on freedom is disappointing to say the least.
