George Lynch has criticized the United States’ inability to contain the spread of COVID-19 as effectively as other countries, saying “we need some adults in the room.”
As of Thursday (August 27), there were nearly 25 million confirmed global COVID-19 cases and over 800 thousand deaths worldwide, according to the John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Nearly a quarter of those global infections have been recorded in the U.S., with many of the states recently reporting a spike in new infections.
The legendary DOKKEN and LYNCH MOB guitarist addressed America’s failed response to the pandemic while discussing how the concert industry shutdown has affected musicians in a new interview with Rock Titan TV.
“[There are] many other places in the world, including China, where this started, obviously, that have managed it very well, collectively, and are back in business, with sporting events and concerts and normal life,” George said (see video below). “And we need to get there. So we need some adults in the room. We need to go through some self-imposed restraint. We can’t be like a bunch of big babies — just we want everything, and we want it all now, and we don’t wanna feel any pain, and we just want everything we want, because we want it, because we’re Americans, and we shouldn’t have to sacrifice anything. Well, no — you do. Otherwise, this will just continue on indefinitely, and that would not be healthy on all kinds of levels — economically and mentally.”
He continued: “I’m very fortunate, and a lot of my friends are very fortunate, that we have studios and we can create music for a living. But what about the guy that brings me that my food order and has to get out there in the front line and put himself in jeopardy — him and his family? We have to care about each other and watch out for each other, not just say, ‘Well, worry about myself.’ So when we start caring about each other, I think the things will start to change, and in turn, we’ll start to get a handle on this.”
Lynch recently caught flak from some of his fans when he slammed President Donald Trump in an interview, calling the billionaire real estate mogul an “idiotic monster” and an “egotistical, self-aggrandizing, complete piece of shit” who “doesn’t know anything.” George was also criticized when told Australia’s “Scars And Guitars” podcast that “progressives are more compassionate people by nature — we’re wired to sort of be more empathetic and care about things outside of ourselves. We are about other people; it hurts us to see people in pain or suffer,” he explained. “So they call us ‘snowflakes.’ But people that are wired, on the right, the way their brains are wired, they don’t have that sense of empathy. I’m not saying it’s good or bad — I’m just saying it is. And these people are the ones that have the guns. And they’re willing to use them. And it’s becoming pretty frightening.”
Over the past four years, Lynch — one-fourth of the classic DOKKEN lineup — has appeared on recordings by THE END MACHINE, KXM, ULTRAPHONIX and SWEET & LYNCH.
