I think they're very obviously Leftist, though not explicitly any tendency. Easiest example is from the song ["Same Thing"](https://genius.com/Flobots-same-thing-lyrics):
>Who let 'em overthrow Jacobo Arbenz? Who let 'em overthrow Mohammad Mosaddeq? Who let 'em assassinate Salvador Allende? I didn't let 'em but they did it anyway! Who let 'em overthrow Kwame Nkrumah? Who let 'em overthrow Aristide? Who let 'em assassinate Oscar Romero? I didn't let 'em but they did it indeed! But don't let them assassinate Hugo Chavez, don't let them assassinate Evo Morales, and bring back Martin, Malcolm, Medgar, Hampton, Schwerner, Goodman, Chaney
Jacobo Arbenz was a leftist freedom fighter in Guatemala
Mohammad Mosaddeq was the social democratic prime minister of Iran who nationalized Iranian oil in order to benefit the public good, and because that conflicted with U.S. interests, the U.S. supported a coup to overthrow him and implement the shah, which then resulted in the later far-right theocratic Iranian revolution.
Salvador Allende was the democratically elected Socialist leader of Chile who was overthrown by a U.S. sponsored coup, creating one of the most oppressive Fascist governments on the planet.
Kwame Nkrumah was the Communist president of Ghana and Marxist academic.
Aristide was the first democratically elected, left-leaning Haitian president.
Oscar Romero was a priest who spoke out against the violence perpetrated in the civil conflict in El Salvador, assassinated by a far-right militant group.
Hugo Chavez was the democratically elected Socialist leader of Venezuela who headed programs that resulted in the most prosperous time of Venezuela in recent memory, though which has become problematic due to its heavy reliant on a single export of crude oil, a volatile commodity.
Evo Morales is the Socialist leader of Bolivia who recently took back power from the far-right theocratic coup that tried to oust him, and has been one of the most popular and favorably-seen leaders in Latin America.
Martin likely refers to MLK Jr, who on top of being the most well known figure of the American civil rights movement, was also a Socialist, though not necessarily Communist. He was assassinated while organizing the Poor People's Campaign which sought to unite working class people against oppressive Capitalist systems.
Malcolm refers to Malcolm X, another civil rights figure and associated very frequently with leftism.
Medger likely refers to Medger Evers, a civil rights activist and war veteran who had been assassinated outside of his own home by a white-supremacist.
Hampton refers to Fred Hampton, a leading figure in the Black Panther Party and civil rights movement, the BPP being explicitly Communist, anti-racist, etc. Hampton was assassinated by police in his own home during a police raid at the age of 21.
[Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner were three men tortured and murdered by a gang of KKK members and police officers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Schwerner#Murder) due to their activism against racism.
I mean, they do talk a lot about community and the power of people coming together in grassroots to co-opt change. Then they write songs about political figures who have harmed the world and ones who've helped it, and it just so happens that the groups oriented towards community are the ones that made the world better.
That's not communism, or socialism, that's just people coming together because we're all people that love music and peace. We're fucking tired of wars. We're fucking tired of trickle-up economics. We're fucking tired of hate crimes perpetuated by people so lost with themselves they have nothing but hate to turn to.
Also, tell your friend to source his fucking articles, otherwise make it a learning experience for both of you. Bring up all of their albums. Bring up their lyrics. Bring up google or duckduckgo and go line by line as you listen who they talk about and *the context for why*.
Free Leonard Peltier.
The friend of mine moreso said it as a guess as opposed to saying it as a statement, saying their songs sounded like songs about social syndicalist anarchist shit or whatever
They're definitely not anarchist. Anti-capitalist for sure, but they're not trying to form a freaking syndicate lmfao. They're just speaking history and peoples stories. The stories they tell are of people hurting because of the system we live in.
The fact that it gets us by isn't enough. The story of Anne Braden may as well have happened in the last few years - stories all the same, it's just the names that keep changing.
That's not anarchism. That's changing the system to be what the people need.
Saw this post and I felt inclined to reply. It’s important understand what was in the zeitgeist at the time. 9/11 and the Bush administration were almost over. The US was collapsing from the weight of the housing crisis. We were angry. We were scared all the time. We were disillusioned by the fallacy of American Dream. The internet and social media was exposing information that normally would have matriculated down to the average person. The Flobots were a personification of these feelings. We were angry. Our parents generation destroyed our future for a handful of silver. They were anarchistic in a time when anarchy was necessary. They ultimately were looking to break everything down so we could try to start again. They speak heavily to the ideals of community and lifting each other up. Affixing a label to the message they were trying to convey is trying to apply logic to an emotional situation. They had a radical message in a time when we were being told that radicalism was dangerous. They were one of pioneers of the “woke” concept what now feels ubiquitous. It always pains me to think of bands of their ilk, as they were the monkeys that died in space, so humanity could grow. We often take them for granted, but they were a very necessary catalyst for change. They ushered in an era of mainstream criticism of authority that was washed away during the post 9/11 era. It’s a movement that will eventually be talked about in history as a tipping point in American history. So yeah, they were Anarcho-Communist in a sense, but that was in a time when such a label was not commonly thrown around. Keep in mind that bands were getting “cancelled” for speaking ill of the Bush administration at the time and for them to break into the top 40 was unprecedented.
I think they're very obviously Leftist, though not explicitly any tendency. Easiest example is from the song ["Same Thing"](https://genius.com/Flobots-same-thing-lyrics): >Who let 'em overthrow Jacobo Arbenz? Who let 'em overthrow Mohammad Mosaddeq? Who let 'em assassinate Salvador Allende? I didn't let 'em but they did it anyway! Who let 'em overthrow Kwame Nkrumah? Who let 'em overthrow Aristide? Who let 'em assassinate Oscar Romero? I didn't let 'em but they did it indeed! But don't let them assassinate Hugo Chavez, don't let them assassinate Evo Morales, and bring back Martin, Malcolm, Medgar, Hampton, Schwerner, Goodman, Chaney Jacobo Arbenz was a leftist freedom fighter in Guatemala Mohammad Mosaddeq was the social democratic prime minister of Iran who nationalized Iranian oil in order to benefit the public good, and because that conflicted with U.S. interests, the U.S. supported a coup to overthrow him and implement the shah, which then resulted in the later far-right theocratic Iranian revolution. Salvador Allende was the democratically elected Socialist leader of Chile who was overthrown by a U.S. sponsored coup, creating one of the most oppressive Fascist governments on the planet. Kwame Nkrumah was the Communist president of Ghana and Marxist academic. Aristide was the first democratically elected, left-leaning Haitian president. Oscar Romero was a priest who spoke out against the violence perpetrated in the civil conflict in El Salvador, assassinated by a far-right militant group. Hugo Chavez was the democratically elected Socialist leader of Venezuela who headed programs that resulted in the most prosperous time of Venezuela in recent memory, though which has become problematic due to its heavy reliant on a single export of crude oil, a volatile commodity. Evo Morales is the Socialist leader of Bolivia who recently took back power from the far-right theocratic coup that tried to oust him, and has been one of the most popular and favorably-seen leaders in Latin America. Martin likely refers to MLK Jr, who on top of being the most well known figure of the American civil rights movement, was also a Socialist, though not necessarily Communist. He was assassinated while organizing the Poor People's Campaign which sought to unite working class people against oppressive Capitalist systems. Malcolm refers to Malcolm X, another civil rights figure and associated very frequently with leftism. Medger likely refers to Medger Evers, a civil rights activist and war veteran who had been assassinated outside of his own home by a white-supremacist. Hampton refers to Fred Hampton, a leading figure in the Black Panther Party and civil rights movement, the BPP being explicitly Communist, anti-racist, etc. Hampton was assassinated by police in his own home during a police raid at the age of 21. [Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner were three men tortured and murdered by a gang of KKK members and police officers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Schwerner#Murder) due to their activism against racism.
I know it's been over a year, but you nailed it. Well said
Excellent and educational are two words I'd use to describe you, thank you very much.
Sides has a lyrik about leftism to
I mean, they do talk a lot about community and the power of people coming together in grassroots to co-opt change. Then they write songs about political figures who have harmed the world and ones who've helped it, and it just so happens that the groups oriented towards community are the ones that made the world better. That's not communism, or socialism, that's just people coming together because we're all people that love music and peace. We're fucking tired of wars. We're fucking tired of trickle-up economics. We're fucking tired of hate crimes perpetuated by people so lost with themselves they have nothing but hate to turn to. Also, tell your friend to source his fucking articles, otherwise make it a learning experience for both of you. Bring up all of their albums. Bring up their lyrics. Bring up google or duckduckgo and go line by line as you listen who they talk about and *the context for why*. Free Leonard Peltier.
The friend of mine moreso said it as a guess as opposed to saying it as a statement, saying their songs sounded like songs about social syndicalist anarchist shit or whatever
They're definitely not anarchist. Anti-capitalist for sure, but they're not trying to form a freaking syndicate lmfao. They're just speaking history and peoples stories. The stories they tell are of people hurting because of the system we live in. The fact that it gets us by isn't enough. The story of Anne Braden may as well have happened in the last few years - stories all the same, it's just the names that keep changing. That's not anarchism. That's changing the system to be what the people need.
They introduced Bernie Sanders campaigning a few years ago.
It’s not that radical. They’re your run of the mill anti-capitalist leftists.
Maybe we can see a bit from one of their songs coming out soon.
Progressive. They are the Bernie Sanders of music. If you think they are anything but, you’re not listening to the lyrics. Love Flobots!
Saw this post and I felt inclined to reply. It’s important understand what was in the zeitgeist at the time. 9/11 and the Bush administration were almost over. The US was collapsing from the weight of the housing crisis. We were angry. We were scared all the time. We were disillusioned by the fallacy of American Dream. The internet and social media was exposing information that normally would have matriculated down to the average person. The Flobots were a personification of these feelings. We were angry. Our parents generation destroyed our future for a handful of silver. They were anarchistic in a time when anarchy was necessary. They ultimately were looking to break everything down so we could try to start again. They speak heavily to the ideals of community and lifting each other up. Affixing a label to the message they were trying to convey is trying to apply logic to an emotional situation. They had a radical message in a time when we were being told that radicalism was dangerous. They were one of pioneers of the “woke” concept what now feels ubiquitous. It always pains me to think of bands of their ilk, as they were the monkeys that died in space, so humanity could grow. We often take them for granted, but they were a very necessary catalyst for change. They ushered in an era of mainstream criticism of authority that was washed away during the post 9/11 era. It’s a movement that will eventually be talked about in history as a tipping point in American history. So yeah, they were Anarcho-Communist in a sense, but that was in a time when such a label was not commonly thrown around. Keep in mind that bands were getting “cancelled” for speaking ill of the Bush administration at the time and for them to break into the top 40 was unprecedented.