A Message From Neil Young: Sadness and Compassion
To say that we are in a delicate moment here in the U.S. of A. is a bit of an understatement.
With the impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump looming, a new President Biden to be sworn in on January 20, the coming days are sure to be tense.
This weekend, Neil Young posted the following "A Message From Neil | Neil Young Archives":
1-9-21
Sadness and compassion hit me last night as I watched fellow Americans telling their stories.
A young lady in tears spoke of being maced in the Capital. She was crying because she had been attacked and all she was doing was trying to have her voice heard in this Revolution. She was one of thousands who have been carrying the feeling of being persecuted for their beliefs, their feeling that American power just didn’t care.
This, to me is beyond my own feelings that our president has betrayed the people, exaggerated and amplified the truth to foment hatred. Resentment of the Democratic party among the insurrectionists at the Capitol was rampant. We don’t need this hate. We need discussion and solutions. Respect for one another’s beliefs. Not hatred.
I was devastated to see the double standard. The way people were treated in the BLM demonstrations recently, compared to the other day. There is no place here for White Supremacy. People need each other to be truly free. Hatred will never find Freedom.
I learned that a some of the people storming the Capitol were police themselves, and gained peaceful entry by showing their badges. I was shocked to see the Confederate flag being waved inside the chamber; the destruction and disrespect. But mostly I felt bad for the people. With Social media, issues are turned to psychological weapons and used to gather hatred in support of one side or the other. That is what Donald J. Trump has as his legacy.
I still have my strong beliefs. That has not changed. But now I feel empathy for the people who have been so manipulated and had their beliefs used as political weapons. I may be among them. I wish internet news was two-sided. Both sides represented on the same programs. Social media, at the hands of powerful people - influencers, amplifying lies and untruths, is crippling our belief system, turning us against one another.
We are not enemies. We must find a way home.
ny
Yes, we must find a way home. And peacefully, with dignity, freedom and justice for all -- the children of destiny, as well as, their parents, families and friends.
We can only hope and pray that Neil's message is heard.
Neil Young: "I'm Happy To Report In. Vote Your Conscience." - January 2020
2020 began on a very optimistic note for Neil Young and rusties.
Neil became a U.S. citizen and a Crazy Horse reunion tour was in the works for the Summer of 2020. But 2020 turned out to be indisputably difficult.
We have made various comments on 2021 here and there. We certainly do not want to be alarmist, but we have been harping on the Big Shift for years now, so we do feel most of our readers are well prepared for the long days and weeks ahead. You know, winterlong meets strawberry fields -- big time, 3X.
It will become darker. And then, it will become unbelievably bright.
No, we do not have the revolution blues here at TW, as stated previously. However, we do have the "evolution blues". (see comment links above for more.)
So we repeat our 2020 mantra again here in 2021: Keep Calm, No Fear, Shut It Down, and Keep on Rockin'!
Namaste, Om Shanti, peace & love
#BeTheRain
#BigShift
#disCERNment
#NoFear
#WT1sWBW4
Labels: archives, neil young
by thrasher@PermaLink: 1/11/2021 04:11:00 PM
42 comments
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42 Comments:
I can't imagine how anyone with an honest and open mind can say that more positive than negative has come in the Social Media era. To me, places like Facebook and Twitter have turned into cesspools of anger and negativity. The bad simply outweighs the good.
Neil had a song on the Bluenotes album where he sang "Get off your couch, turn off your tv, get off your couch, turn off that MTV!". I kinda wish he would come out and say the same thing about this garbage.
totally agree w/ you Richie.
yeah, it would be great if neil did an updated "This Note's For You" 2021.
actually Fork in the Road had lyrics mocking the screen people. and he seems to have walked the talk by dropping FakeBook.
this perfect polarization of the populace which has occurred could only have been perfected by using the high tech algos which have profiled individuals to the point of predicting their daily breakfast.
as has been said by many, the algos know you better than you or your spouse.
the amount of personal data which folks publicly post is beyond shocking. and they wonder how it came about.
as with so much, one only has to look in the mirror rather than blaming the guy down the street.
well buckle up.it looks like its going to be a bumpy ride. more turbulence ahead. but we'll fly though this, make a landing and hopefully come out stronger and better than before.
well, we can only dream and hope at this point.
still wishing for that Crazy Horse Barn tour this summer. not out of the question yet.
we need the force of the Horse more than ever.
peace
Well put, Thrasher.
I'm always ready for some Horse, but maybe never more so than now. Hopefully, we get to sniff some Horse this summer!
I was devastated to see the double standard. The way people were treated in the BLM demonstrations recently, compared to the other day. There is no place here for White Supremacy. People need each other to be truly free. Hatred will never find Freedom. An extraordinary comment from Neil Young - who is pulling his strings these days ?
Social Media is a virus. I left Facebook and Twitter in 2020, through lockdown both became toxic in the extreme. Much happier leaving that crap behind.
Anyone not yet convinced of this poison needs to watch the documentary “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix. Told by the people who created it and why they are now sorry they did,
Peace 🙏
@Thrashers : Calling what’s coming “a bumpy ride” may be the understatement of the year. I can’t believe what this country has become. It’s staggering and incomprehensible, the hate that exists. I just don’t understand.
Peace 🙏
@ Andy - we agree w/ your point "Hatred will never find Freedom."
@ ANDREW - Social Media was designed as a toxic platform for polarization and isolation. working perfectly, as long observed here and elsewhere
as most know, TW was blocked from FB back in 2015. we're having major reservations about Twitter as to whether to continue.
if you scroll down the post @ http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2020/08/neil-young-i-dont-hate-trump-i-do-hate.html , you will see near the bottom the modified quote by Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945, beginning with "First they came for Thrasher's Wheat, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Neil Young fan".
all we are suggesting is to step back and see how not only does history repeat but it rhymes as well. Our choice today is whether we repeat the cycles yet again. or break free into a new paradigm.
@ Dan - well, we really are trying not to be alarmist, seriously. and it is a challenge where we sit right now about 8 miles from capitol Hill and 7 miles from White House. major troop movements in DC is always disconcerting. we also now are having heavy helicopter traffic in our neighborhoods @ night.
it seems that most of the local military reserves in DC have been activated and moving into positions.
Jan 20 @ High Noon - either phase #2 of the American Revolution ... or end of the American Revolution.
No, we do not have the revolution blues here at TW, as stated previously. However, we do have the "evolution blues".
as a bit of sidenote which we may or may not have more to say, it seems the media is really misrepresenting Neil's statement above.
Neil Young calls for empathy for Capitol attackers: 'We are not enemies'
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/jan/12/neil-young-calls-for-empathy-for-capitol-attackers-we-are-not-enemies
Neil said he "feels empathy" for them, but he did not call for empathy.
well, we continue the TW mission: Separating the wheat from the chaff since 1996.
btw, 25th anniversary here @ TW. we've been meaning to do something on that but we've been a bit distracted of late -- another understatement of the year.
seriously Dan, thanks for being here with us along w/ all of are other readers.as Andy says: " People need each other to be truly free. "
peace
@ Thrashers: Thank you for providing this safe haven for the rust community. As I have never been involved with Facebook or Twitter or any other social media sites, I only have this one. I am in total agreement with Andy Walters on the clear double standards on display Wednesday. If the mob had been black, the bloodshed would have been unbearable.
I appreciate your desire not to be alarmist, but I have seen too much this past year not to feel alarmed. To quote a phrase, “it’s always darkest just before the dawn”, but it feels like it is going to be much darker than I ever thought possible. As you are so close to the Capital, I fear for your safety. I hope I’m wrong, but there seems to be a possibility that the hate we witnessed on Wednesday is just the beginning. I pray that isn’t the case.
Peace 🙏
WTF Neil? "I feel empathy for the people who have been so manipulated and had their beliefs used as political weapons."
Forget the attackers who "had their beliefs used as political weapons." The attackers used REAL weapons. They beat a DC Capitol Policeman to death with a fire extinguisher. Another cop was beaten with a USA flag pole. https://bit.ly/2Xvjn8i
Nearly 60 other Capitol Hill cops report various injuries. The attackers had assault weapons, Molotov cocktails, flag polls used as spikes. They wanted to "hang Mike Pence," and shoot Nancy Pelosi.
It's one thing to have Trump manipulate people to believe his lies about election fraud. It's quite another for some of these people to takeover the Capitol to kill or harm politicians they disagree with. These were thugs -- not poor manipulated souls. They deserve the swift hand of justice, even though they didn't provide that to their victims.
Neil, maybe you weren't clear about empathy for Trump supporters who heard him repeat his Big Lie that the election was stolen. Your comment, however, implies empathy for the rioters because Trump manipulated their beliefs to weaponize them. Sure Trump egged them on. But its hard to have empathy for hooligans who attacked police and wanted to kill legislators.
Neil, I defended your zig zags on support Ronald Reagan to my progressive friends. But what you wrote about empathy for Trump supporters, including those who attacked the Capitol, is indefensible.
@ Dan - thank for your concerns. much appreciated.
we've heard from quite a few of our contacts around the EARTH expressing similar concerns as they are aware of our proximity to Ground Zero. well, i always said to thrashette, that whatever happens we'll always have a front row seat to history. careful what you wish for and all of that.
TW was never intended as a safe haven for the rust community. But SocMed has been designed specifically for divide and conquer. And FB, TWITTER etc are working perfectly to divide and conquer.
There are few middle grounds remaining like TW.
frankly, folks furiously liking, sharing, etc really doesn't accomplish much for the avg user. they're much better off understanding the manipulation and history. or reading -- god forbid - books like 1984 & Brave New World.
anyone who has read and understood Orwell & Huxley sees the divide and conquer strategy for what is and is less likely to be played.
here's a point we've made repeatedly over the years. not original for sure but timeless advice.
From “Rainbow of Colors” from Neil Young & Crazy Horse Album “Colorado”
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2019/09/now-streaming-rainbow-of-colors-from.html
In Neil Young's post on Times-Contrarian | NYA, he says that the idea behind the song is "that we all belong together. Separating us into races and colors is an old idea whose time has passed."
We couldn't agree more Neil.
The divide and conquer approach by leaders has been quite effective over the millennia. Only now has the technique been perfected by social media tools that allows for precise profiling in order to optimize fear, distrust and anger. A new civil war for the mind if you will.
RAINBOW OF COLORS -- on our 1st listen -- seems to be a perfect song for this anniversary date today of September 11, 2001. While many are unable to re-visit this anniversary and what those events unleashed, there are many more who will never forget and continue to seek justice. But just because the truth is ugly and very hard to handle, so it will be that the truth will ultimately prevail.
Here's a comment we made last year on "Battle of Two Songs: Anti-Trump Neil Young vs. Black Pro-Trump Lloyd Marcus"
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2020/07/battle-of-two-songs-anti-trump-neil.html
This is simply more of the same old divide and conquer rhetoric spiffed up to ride along with the latest hate vehicle of the day. The false illusion dialect of the left-right duality is just another trap you've fallen into yet again.
As we commented on another thread awhile ago, anyone with eyes wide open can see, everything seems to be going according to The Plan. Civil War 2.0
Trust us, the Powers That Be want this so bad. The desperation is so palpable that they even dragged out the same 60's script.
we go on to list all the parallels to the 1960's script vs 2020 script.
and this is what we mean about history repeating and rhyming. once you understand the narrative, you're in a better position of not being emotionally manipulated.
really nice to see Neil admit he's likely among the ones out there being manipulated by the corrupt media & big tech...
we've all been lied to for a long time...we've all had our worldview shaped by all types of media our entire lives
the most insidious power the media has is the power to ignore & we've seen that on full display recently
banning free speech is a scary tyrannical tactic - full stop
Lots of words here, whole lotta words....
Inciting violence is not free speech
It is not surprising, I don't think, that people and groups on social media warped minds and bent the truth. On "social media" the entire world is decontextualized. Individuals are targeted for recruitment according to criteria: white, male, lonely, social and economic failures: hence angry and resentful. They believe that they should succeed and that they are entitled from a history of segregation and inequity. Add the tendency to all kinds of cognitive biases into this rancid stew and you get "belief." I'm not sure empathy sits well with disgust as what these people believe is disgusting. But we better figure out how to deal with them within the boundaries of law and ethics.
Ah guess he's trying to hit some middle ground and understand those capitol hill twats, but nah-ya simply cannot get through to dumb fucks of that low level calibre....
in considering replying to this thread, it occurred to us that yep, deja vu, all over again.
From 2010, "It's A Very, Very Angry World, Indeed"
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2010/10/its-very-very-angry-world-indeed.html
On Neil Young's album "Le Noise", the song "Angry World" attempts to capture some of the rage that is coursing through the veins of the body politic today.
Some see life as a broken promise.
Some see life as an endless fight.
They think we live in the Age of Darkness.
They think we live in the Age of Light.
It’s an angry world and everything is going to be all right.
Yeah it’s an angry world.
From 2013, "It's an Angry World So Where Do We Go Now Neil Young?"
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2013/08/its-angry-world-so-where-do-we-go-now.html
From 2016, "Yes, It's Still an Angry World"
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2016/07/yes-its-angry-world-so-where-do-we-go.html
We're all on the big human planet team and we'd all better get along or we all go down together.
We are not helpless. Remember, Fear Not! We'll Always Have Paris. Forever. Actually, there is nothing to fear. It's just Winterlong ... It's all an illusion. (Yeah, yeah, it's all just one big giant conspiracy right, Thrasher? Well, maybe it really is so.) So wake up while you still can and turn off the TeeVee. Find the cost of freedom -- it's expensive but worth it.
What we saw back in 2013 left us shaking our heads in our little microcosm rustie world -- which is merely a reflection of that larger angry world. But if we can deal with our anger at the local level, then there's a chance for the big world wide web of life.
---
see? history repeating & rhyming
got to control the violent side ...
breath
breath deeply
breath
Real curious to read of Neil Young`s empathy for fascists .
I wonder if his father Scott Young as a World War II correspondent for the Canadian Press who served with the RCVNR ( Royal Canadian Naval Reserve ), would have felt the same empathy to fascism as Neil does now .
Fascism in Europe , whether Nazi or Il Duce or American Trump.... it`s all one song .
Some of you Americans have been led to believe socialism is the radical left enemy ...take a good look around the world , the G8 as an example .
When walking the bush in Canada , there is not much I fear . Have a respect for the bear and the wolf who have never done harm to me .
I will always fear a fascist and not show empathy to it , and maybe one of the reasons we wear poppies on our lapels .
You are reading a bunch of shit into Neil’s statement that is not even there. The media has also warped your mind, clearly. And that is what he was saying. And I truly despise Trump! Alan
G-day Allan
Big difference lad between " media " as you referred to and world history .
Aint a member of social media , I read books and letters and cherish pictures passed down from forefathers .
Pictures and letters , sent back .... days before they died fighting fascism .
Fascism is on your steps , I can only hope you honour all that fought those battles .
Till my last breath !
I agree.
Fort Mac,
Neil is perhaps expressing empathy for people who have had their minds twisted 1984 style, though even worse. We are facing new forms of ideological warfare. There is no question that United States citizens have to figure this out, we cannot be dealing with ongoing threats of murder and mayhem. I suspect a good place to start is with figuring out how to deal with the absolute ruin of the middle class, stagnant incomes, and zero opportunity. And I have not touched on the race issues, which inform everything.
I am Antifa also. I am sorry if I spoke unfairly. We need more Socialism badly in the US. I was mistaken to think I was doing some good with my many social media posts on Facebook. I was a big fan of Bernie Sanders. I am confused by what is happening in the US. I don’t understand how anyone can support Trump today, and yet they do.
I seem to recall you defending fossil fuels in the past. Are you IN For MacMurray? Does it resemble Hiroshima or not? Does not the fumes of oil extraction poison everything around it? Just wondering about your “handle.” I am Antifa and Anti Global Warming. Fossil Fuels will snuff out this once glorious planet. Our weather is going haywire.
I think fighting Fascism is crucial. The American intellect is rotten. Deep Racism has been revealed by Trump and the Cops in DC. Protesting while Black is not allowed. I am hideously embarrassed that Trump remains as popular as he is. I have a few Redneck relatives in Minnesota who think he is wonderful. But most are aghast at the ugliness of his character. Alan In Seattle
Indeed the middle class has been ruined here in the USA. We are bled paying the taxes while the Corporations pay nothing. FDR’s good deeds are undone. What happens next God only knows. The Rednecks have a lot more guns than the Liberals, that much is certain. The low IQ mob threatens. Some think the riot in the Legislative House was allowed to justify and perpetrate a crackdown on free speech and rights. Cops were opening doors for the rioters while some of them were being killed. Alan In Seattle
I support what Neil Young posted. The 6 Corporations that own ALL of the news will not save us. They & Social Media have pitted us against one another, its true. The American people are blind to the sins of their own political party. Some have been led so far astray about a mythical "stolen election" (with zero evidence) they would lay siege to the Legislative branch and kill a police officer. The Capital Police brass let the white Trump mob would roam freely. And some cops were in the mob, & some let the rioters into the buildings. A few rioters had zip tie handcuffs with them for hostages!
The contrast of the police stance towards Black Lives Matter protests is so blatant! Reverend (now Senator of Georgia) Warnock arrested for praying. There was an enormous police presence for the BLM peaceful protests, like with the Standing Rock Sioux who were terrorized by Militarized Police. With no badge numbers visible, the Cops shot Peaceful Water Protectors in the face with plastic bullets, lobbing flash-bang grenades into crowds of Natives and supporting protesters. One woman lost her eye. another very nearly lost her arm. Obama didn't do enough to protect them; he wanted to "wait and see how this plays out." And then Trump came into office and the Bully cops were spraying the Water Protectors with a fire hose in 20 degree weather. And to think that if the DNC hadn't rigged their own Primary Election in 2016, Bernie Sanders would have defeated Hillary and Trump both! But the Corporations could not let a Socialist into office; They might be forced to pay their fair share of the taxes, instead of leaving the bill to the disappearing Middle Class! Decades of brainwashing have conditioned Americans to be wary of words like "Socialism" or the much scarier "Communism." Bernie Sanders is a Progressive Socialist in the image of FDR. The Corporate Tax rate was up to 55% during Roosevelts time. FDR created the middle class, with Unions allowing Blue Collar workers to send their kids to college and retire with a pension.
But we can't have that anymore, with a ballooning national debt adding Trillions at an alarming rate, leaving future generations of Americans to pay the bill, just as Global Warming brings scarcity of food and water! Hell is destroying our only planet, Earth, our once-perfect home, a marvel of sustainable abundance. We have squandered the gift of our beautiful Native Planet. Only a few Billionaires and their crew will be leaving, and they won't last long. There is no new home in the sun. It is very expensive to block radiation in space and very technologically challenging. Lead is heavy and hard to bring up to there. Trump "pulled out all the stops" to hasten the demise of Earth. He has deregulated pollution and increased it in every way possible. Why NOT taint the drinking water?! People are expendable to him, clearly.
The 2-party US Oligarchy won't Save Earth. Joe Biden would need to change his stripes and embrace all-out War against Global Warming to be able to slow it to any degree. The fools in Government have been speeding up the Apocolypse. The Barons of Industry and Pollution shall bring untold misery. The Americans have been at the forefront of planetary destruction for so long and we finally have had a president to match our identity. Alan in Seattle
Lots of intelligent points being made on TW. Thanks for your words. Down with Fascism! Alan in Seattle
Time for some talk about music! Rust Bucket pre order starts Friday, first single out on NYA as of yesterday!
@harm lets hope they don't monumentally **** up the preorder again. So let's have a guess at the price for the 4LP, 2xCD, DVD box set? I am hoping no more that £150, even that is steep given the Deluxe Greendale box was £110 in the UK. Anyway thats my guess.
@Andrew. I'm not sure I will order on the UK store this time ! I'm interested by the CDs and the DVD (which should includes Cowgirl In The Sand which is out of CD due to a sound quality problem). I hope I won't have to pay for a box to get them. If I remind it was only possible to get the Blueray Return To Greendale through in the complete box at $100 ?
An I hope,it's not a limited edition...
By the way, the first Cinnamon Girl recording is also on NYA. Nice.
@phil The alt Cinnamon Girl is glorious!
I will buy through the UK despite their previous failings. I did buy the Greendale box as wanted the film, I'll buy the box again this time as want the LP and film and need the CD for Cowgirl.
The only thing I haven't bought recently was the ATG box, which quite frankly is a joke at the price. Expecting that to be discounted massively in the coming months. Think i got the A Letter Home deluxe box for £30 on amazon a few months after it went on sale, can't recall what the original price was?
Sorry Neil. They may have been misled but there is such a thing as personal responsibility.
Nobody forced these cretins to storm the capitol. There is no empathy or sympathy from me, just disgust at their attempt to destroy democracy.
Election fraud is obvious! Are you kidding? Me and the rest of Germany-except our Merkelmonster -laughs about this banana election! Trump would have been the man and Biden is going to sell the US to China! Have fun
Thanks Neil! I am German and I am and probably will be convinced more than ever that Trump would have been the better president for the US and the rest of the World in terms of economy, peace and justice. True!
Trump is a loudmouth but He is honest and today's socialism is the biggest lie there is
The way and connotation regarding the expressions "socialist", "Merkelmonster" and other language idiosyncrasies suggest that this unknown is American.
Harm ... Hey man , lets talk about music .
Four Dead in Ohio ... hows about five dead in DC ?
Better for what? Planetary destruction by way of pollution? Both the Dems & Repugs are beholden to the War machine, Big Pharma, Wall Street, and Corporations. Bernie Sanders would have been the best President. Why are you a Neil Young fan? I guess idiot Trump is too. Even a blind pig finds an acorn every once in awhile.
The only ones that incited violence are the corrupt cheeters on the election. Fighting back against a stolen election( and tyranny is in the Constitution. How you liking the Tyrant now? Signing insane amounts of executive , corrupt orders! Ruing the US as fast as he can!
Who programmed you? Sick, twisted, CNN thinking. That's just as predjudice as a White Supremecist! Sick.
So ztrue
Not one capital police was killed but a Veteran who fought for our nation ya'll hate so much was shot by ur capital police with no consequences. Must b because he was black and she was white. Another hate crime gone unpunished. You want facts go to Revolver.com and get the correct information about how ur government set up and executed actual tyranny and we have veterans in jail for a year no trial, no religion in there while ur corrupt government gets away with allowing dangers in our country that will destroy ur perfect world as well as mine, so while u wussy mf sit and bitch about real facts real problems pile up every day and u all will b affected, but u keep listening to lie after lie from abc, nbc,cnn, msnbc,and any other media, social especially as they lay out a perfect scenario of hatred u fools just keep gobbling it up. Biden will destroy everything they get their hands into. Instead of watching our border they will send our children to fight for russia's border. You people are genuinely angry over what? Genius. The only way people like u win is to cheat. We will get it back because it was stolen. And Neil Young needs to know " a real man doesn't need him around anyhow."
Oh goody. Hope I can get ur approval. That would just mean the world to me. I mean how would I ever live without it. Ha
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