At the conclusion of his November 1 opening monologue on Saturday Night Live, Chris Rock joked that after taking a public stand in favor of gun control, he received so many hate-filled messages that he realized he needed a gun. America tends to be quite nasty towards celebrities who weigh in on cultural and political issues–just as the Dixie Chicks–so two thumbs up to Bob Seger for giving a very public thumbs-down to carbon polluters.
What made you decide it was time to write about political issues?
There’s a [recent] U.N. report saying that climate change isn’t coming – it’s here right now. It stuns me that people like Marco Rubio, who seems fairly bright, would say climate change isn’t caused by humans.
A lot of your fans probably agree with Rubio.
I’ve been told a good deal of my fan base is Republican. But I don’t think they all deny global warming. I think with a lot of them, cash is king and they want the jobs. I can understand that, but not if it’s gonna wreck the future for our kids.
It’s a shame that Seger didn’t say flat-out that there are only two types of people in this world who deny climate change: oil billionaires and the folks Bill Maher once called “smart stupid people.” If you’re going to hit people with truth, Bob, use a bare fist, not a padded glove!
I’m sure the folks who just finished assaulting Gwyneth Paltrow for her kind words about President Obama are ready to subject Seger to the usual half-witted harassment. I’m also sure Seger couldn’t care less:
“People are going to be mad at me. There may be a lot of people that won’t come to the shows because of it,” he says. “But I just feel it’s something I’ve got to say.”
I still remember hearing about Linda Ronstadt being harassed at concerts when she expressed support for Michael Moore. I expect the same to happen to Seger. Best of luck to him as he runs against the wind of right-wing idiocy.
