Despite being antithetical to the sociopolitical ideals that have long been presented in his band’s music, System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan keeps doubling and tripling down on some far-right viewpoints. Now, he has gone so far as to call Democrats the “true bigots” in his latest Instagram rant.
At this point, it may seem like Dolmayan is just trying to get a rise out of the band’s fans, but he has made it clear that he stands on the opposite end of the political spectrum than his bandmates, especially singer Serj Tankian. Already the two have expressed very different views about the ongoing protests, with Dolmayan hailing President Trump as the “greatest friend to minorities” and Tankian calling for the Trump regime to resign. Last week, Dolmayan followed up his initial comments by declaring calls to “defund the police” the “stupidest thing I’ve heard.”
In his latest Instagram post, Dolmayan calls out the Democratic Party on issues of slavery, women’s voting rights, and abortions, all while wishing President Trump a happy birthday and good luck in the November presidential election. The drummer’s full post reads as follows:
The reason I post my opinions on this forum and open myself up to attack and ridicule is for you, the silent ones who think they are alone in a world where their thoughts are alien or wrong. You’re not alone, millions are with you. For those of you who think you are coming from a morally superior position therefore any differing opinion or viewpoint is invalid think again. It’s the easy path to think like you, it’s in their best self interests for celebrities and politicians to support you but you will lose in the end because you are the very thing you pretend to fight against. The true fascist, the true bigots hidden in plain sight from the same party who fought to maintain slavery, Jim Crow, non voting rights for women, and who are directly responsible for 70 plus million abortions, a large majority of whom were black. You don’t want free speech, you can’t handle free speech because you are cowards and need to be herded along with the rest of the sheep. I’m lucky, I’m in an industry where you CAN be honest about your views wherever they fall with little to no repercussions. I don’t rely on a movie studio, label, media or anyone else who will bow down to pandering political correctness and am in no danger whatsoever of “losing my job” because you don’t like what I have to say. This is a dangerous time where free thought and speech is under attack but it will pass, the next generation is watching as they always do and they will overcome your insanity. Oh, happy birthday President Trump and good luck in November!
We spoke with Dolmayan earlier this year about his recent solo album. While discussing a guest appearance by Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, Dolmayan said, “I’ve known Tom Morello for decades now, and you will never have two guys who think more differently than me and Tom Morello on a lot of subjects … Our relationship shows that you can be completely different politically minded people and still have a lasting and great relationship. I guess the same can be said about Serj, but he’s stuck with me — I’m in his band.”
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So far, Dolmayan’s bandmates haven’t responded directly to the drummer’s recent Instagram posts. The band hasn’t released a new album in nearly 15 years, but still plays shows on occasion. System of a Down were set to perform two shows in Los Angeles last month and embark on a European tour this month, but all of their 2020 concerts have been postponed or rescheduled for 2021 due to the pandemic.
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A post shared by John Dolmayan (@johndolmayan_) on Jun 14, 2020 at 8:27am PDT
