This benefit concert will support the organizations fighting against the SB 1070 law. The SB 1070 bill is an unconstitutional regulation of immigration that allows police officers to partake, legally, in racial profiling as well as detaining and arresting people for perceived immigration violations. According to soundstrike.net, this benefit, along with donations raised by The Soundstrike Fund, are expected to exceed $300,000 dollars. Please go to these websites to find out more info and join the fight!
Axis of Justice is a non-profit organization formed by Tom Morello and Serj Tankian. Its purpose is to bring together musicians, fans
of music, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice. 
To RATM: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR COMING BACK TO THE UNITED STATES!!!!!!!!!!!! Also: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEEAASE come to the OTHER STATES, TOO!! How about doing all the border towns, from San Diego to Brownsville?!?!?!!? We REALLY need to hear your songs down here, spread the fire through the Latino communities, fools be hooked on Tejano- How we gonna get inspired for activism with that accordion, yo?
To The BAND: Guys, you accomplished so much with the songs you have written together, I know that years from now the albums you’ve made will get hotter and hotter, because it will always keep that fresh sound, from the burnin’ hot guitar riffs - to the perfect percussion that blends in with the poppin’ vocals, the heavy bass and the perfect mixing. Every Rage song is like a history lesson. And now, history is in the making more than ever, with PLENTY of new material. So, WILL YOU GUYS PLEEEAAASE STOP with the solo projects, and focus your energies on MAKING A NEW ALBUM TOGETHER???? RATM is destined to become the biggest metal band of all time, but you NEED TO GO GET IT!!!! Don’t let your fans down!!! Show us that you are still fresh!!!!
NEW RATM ALBUM PLEASE!!!!!!
What is this government so afraid of man!
To: Zach De La Rocha, Rage Against the Machine
CC: All other co-signers of the Sound Strike against Arizona
Re: The Sound Strike
Dear Mr. De La Rocha,
I am writing this letter in response to the musical boycott against Arizona that you have launched, to which a handful of mainstream acts have signed on to. I am addressing this letter to you, as the leader of this campaign, but also to all of the people and bands that have signed their names to this misguided attempt to strike down our law. As a college student and a citizen of Arizona, I am offended at your choice of words to describe our immigration bill, SB 1070. I respect that you might disagree with the policies of our state, but it is inappropriate to stretch reality to get others to join your boycott of Arizona.
On your website, thesoundstrike.net, you write that our bill “legalizes and sanctions racial profiling. Straight up.” While the bill does take a hard line stance against illegal immigration, the first bill in our nation’s history to do so, that accusation is just not true. To say that the bill sanctions racial profiling does not make any sense, because it, in fact, does the opposite. To quote a line from the bill, it says that “a law enforcement officer… may not consider race, color or national origin in implementing the requirements of this subsection.” In addition, Arizona’s governor, Jan Brewer, has begun working with representatives from the police departments to create a curriculum to teach officers when it is appropriate to act in response to this law. To sanction something means to openly approve it, which our bill does not do. It is this exaggeration that you use to try to prove your point that I take issue with, not the fact that you disagree with our policies.
Arizona is not out to sign racist bills into law. On April 30, a week after SB 1070 was signed into law, it was amended by HB 2162 to address concerns that 1070 was too ambiguous and might lead to racial profiling. Critics complained that the clause “[f]or any lawful contact made by a law enforcement official…” might lead to racial profiling. In order to provide clarity, the Arizona State Legislature responded by amending the controversial clause to read that “for any lawful stop, detention or arrest made by a law enforcement official … of this state in the enforcement of any other law…” This is just one example of changes to the bill that Arizona legislators have made in an effort to remove as much ambiguity as possible from this bill to prevent racial profiling.
Studies have shown that many of the drugs that enter our country come through the Arizona/Mexico border. In addition, in the year 2009 Phoenix was the kidnapping capital of the world. Not the United States, but the world. In addition, a September 2008 report on illegal immigration issued by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office states that while “Arizona’s population is comprised of approximately 9% illegal immigrants… 21.8% percent of felonies sentenced in Maricopa County Superior Court are committed by illegal immigrants.” According to a May 2010 report by the Arizona Department of Corrections, 14.8% of the men and women in Arizona prisons convicted of a felony crime are in this country illegally. There are way too many illegal immigrants committing serious crimes and these are problems that most Arizonans feel needs to be addressed. This law has nothing to do with racism- it is a response to real events happening in our communities and backyards. I would support a federal law dealing with this issue, but at this point the Obama administration has yet to address our country’s immigration problems.
I am not upset that you disagree with this law. I can assure you that if this bill is abused and there is too much profiling going on, I will join others in lobbying for this bill to be rescinded. What I take offense at is your fabrication of the meaning of the law to make Arizonans out to be racist, horrible people in order to get others to refuse to play music in our state. As an Arizonan and supporter of SB 1070, I can tell you that I am not a racist and do not want to cause anyone of any race or ethnicity any undue trouble. But I can also tell you that at some point, our border needs to be secured and the citizens of Arizona need to be safe and happy. If you disagree with strict immigration laws, I welcome debate as to which laws would improve the safety and effectiveness of our country. Spreading false statements about our law in order to mislead people into joining your cause will not help to fix our immigration problem. If you truly feel that Arizona’s law is not in our country’s best interest, take the high road and engage our leadership with constructive criticism and suggestions. As Americans, Arizonans want nothing more than the best for our state and our country and would welcome your suggestions. A musical boycott will not help to spur change but will create divides in our country. If you truly care about our country and not your personal political agenda, I would encourage you to end your unnecessary boycott of Arizona because of a difference in political opinion and to stop spreading false statements as to the goals of Arizona citizens.
Thank you
In all my years of listening to RATM I would have never of dreamed that they would take up a cause like this and I am so sadly disappointed to see it. I am 100% anti government as we know it today, I believe in the Constitution, I believe that our rights and freedoms are being stripped from us on a daily basis by an out of control Federal power that has run away from us and flatly ignores “we the people”. I think so many have tried to make AZ’s case about some type of race issue which I find absolutely baffling and imposable to comprehend from any legal or moral stand point… This is about states rights, standing up against a overly zealous Federal power that needs to be checked… Light has been shined on the 9th and 10th amendments for the first time in decades… and it is all lost on a simple media smear of the age old adage of race bating.
Wake up America… Dont be so easily distracted by the political game… There is no right or left… dont buy it… there is only “us”.
!!! Rage…. for the rights of Social Change… for the Freedom we have left…. To stop this Monetary way of living that Enslaves us all threw this growing EMPIRE…. “The Venus project” is our only way out… Follow the Zeitgeistmovement !!!!!!!!!!!
I am pleased to see RATM acting to support those who are fighting against the SB 1070 law. It’s a shame though that activists in this fight were not given a special opportunity to purchase tickets to the benefit concert. It’s great that the concert is sold out but it’s not right that many of the people who have dedicated themselves to fighting SB 1070 will not be able to attend because they couldn’t get tickets.
To: ben85253
CC: Zack De La Rocha, Rage Against the Machine, all other co-signers of Sound Strike Against Arizona petition and future co-signers
As a cosigner of the Sound Strike Arizona I feel compelled to respond to your well written address. You have opened up a serious honest dialogue and I commend you for that first and foremost. Whether Americans agree as to what should be done about immigration or not, I hope it is safe to say that we can all agree that dignity and respect should be at the forefront of whatever decision is democratically agreed upon. But the issue of immigration is a very complex issue that gets dealt with in a very short sighted and reactionary way whether it is by the democrats or republicans. The SB 1070 law is yet another example of this. Initiatives to build a wall on the border is another and there are many more. What these reactions do is ignore a history between the United States and Mexico that have contributed to the disparity between the two countries and leave people no choice but to leave there homeland in search of a better life with dignity. Noam Chomsky sites how NAFTA and agribusiness that maximizes its profits at the expense of farmers south of the border contributes to push and pull factors of immigration. Also, Reagan’s wars in Mayan communities forced people to flee these attacks and migrated north in the 1980’s. He also sites how the NAFTA treaty locks Mexico into debt and forced Mexico into structural adjustment whereby Mexico has to pay its debt before initiating or continuing public programs that help regular people in times of economic crisis. Imagine if China were to have the U.S. sign a treaty similar to this one, where all debt has to be paid back at the expense of social and public programs until so. These are but a few of the contributors to immigration to the United States that are not covered in mainstream media outlets that are convoluted by images of Lindsay Lohan being arrested and other stories that do little to contribute to the muckraker traditions of journalism. Mainstream media is another problem and a deterrent of serious dialogue. I commend Zack de la Rocha and Axis of Justice who posted your letter to allow your voice to be heard. If mainstream media were to allow voices like yours to be heard sb1070 would not exist because we would have constructive discourse about what to do rather than fear driven reactions to fear driven smear campaigns by Rupert Murdoch and his friends at Fox as well as other news media who are too cowardly to risk ratings and profit then to speak truth to power. But all too often the voices of the victims of these reactionary behaviors are not allowed to speak. If they were allowed to speak I would hope that the unintended and ignored consequences of sb1070 and other reactions would be taken into consideration with compassion and love for real people with wives and husbands, daughters and sons.
I would like to address some of the percentages that were brought up. Maricopa County Attorney’s Office you say claims that “21.8% percent of felonies sentenced are committed by illegal immigrants.” This number could be dramatically reduced if undocumented immigrants had more access to better representation while going through court processes. But even if representation was not partly involved in the percentage a more significant finding would be to gather how much of the 21.8% felonies has to do with drug trafficking. Also, we cannot ignore the demand of these drugs which is being dealt with in another reactionary way.
Essentially we suffer from historic amnesia that allows trying to put a band-aid on a symptom and not dealing with the central issue at hand. This could be another point of discourse. And in the meantime families are broken up, children are being left behind and are at greater risk of living their youth without love and guidance. Statistically these children could potentially grow into “problems” that would be dealt with in another reactionary way. It would be easy to say that their parents should have “obeyed” the law, but at that point does it matter? Should we not treat all people with dignity and respect? I definitely do not have all of the answers but profiling, whether it be racially, gendered, classed or any other form, especially state sponsored “straight up” or incidentally is not what Arizona, America or anyone should endorse and I am honored that Rage Against the Machine and other artists do not.
Hey Zach,
So glad that you are personally volunteering to house, cloth, provide jobs, health care, and eductation to 10.8 Million undocumented people here in the US illegally. With that financial and social burden removed, we can afford to take care of the millions of unemployed Americans and those who are on the path to citizenship.
I sure hope that you have a big house.
By the way, I’ve since deleted any RATM from my MP3 player. Since you’ve blurred the lines between legal and illegal, perhaps you should encourage all of those against SB 1070 to download illegal copies of your music.
Like a once wise man once yelled, “Wake up!!!”
why not hit TJ, Nogales (Sonora), Nuevo Laredo, Juarez
Its about time Carnal…! The People of the Sun have been waiting for this type of support. So glad to know your back in the fight! Like others mentioned…, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLeASE come out and do more concerts by the Border States…We WILL SHOW THE SUPPORT! We WILL UNITE! L.A. gets the Sound of Unity TONIGHT…, Lets Us out Here In Las Vegas, NV Be Next…, and to Continue on, Lets have one in Arizona.! Venimos de Tierras Lejanas Para Poder Trabajar, hi ahora el Gabacho nos quiero Sacar…Somos Una Raza Que Toma El Machete Para Luchar por Lo que Nos Pertenece…….Viva El Derecho Humano…!!! We Are THE FORCE OF ANOTHER CREATION…!!!
I have a new name for this band “Rage for the Regime”!
I would like to point out the hipocracies of RATM. They have joined this Political cause to fight separtism and mixing of the masses, yet in the release of the concet tickets for your battling of the Arizona Immigration Law, if you were not a resident of Los Angeles county or Orange County you were told specifically that your purchase of tickets would be cancelled. So the people of San Bernardino County, San Diego County, Etc… are not good enough? Are we the wrong color, do we drive the wrong car, work at the wrong jobs, OR live in the wrong area. We are not good enough to come to your wonderful LA county to see your show. What a shame that you use the same tactics the law uses. Then have the balls to complain about it. So sorry I come from the wrong place to be included.
Love the tunes, but Zack will always be a bitter Hispanic gentleman, regardless of how many open-minded white devils such as myself buy his records.
Maybe if Mexico wasn’t such a shithole, “his” people (most of whom are hard working, family oriented and honest) wouldn’t be leaving in droves.
I want them here legally. Period. This ship is sinking.
Sounds like some of these so called fans were a little mixed up about what RATM is all about.
So sad…..more misguided people not reading the law.
It does nothing but enable local law enforcement to enforce Federal Statutes. Tired of so called “enlightened” entertainers prattle on on a subject they obviously never read up on.
If you strike down SB1070 based on States rights do not usurp federal law, will you then support the prosecution of the “Sanctuary Cities? and the morons who passed the sanctuary laws?
Can you say hypocrite?
I’m not against immigration, just the illegal kind. My grandparents had to wait 6 years before they were sponsored, had jobs, and allowed to become citizens. And they were so grateful for the opportunity.
More space on my ipod now….RATM…used to be real…now propaganda puppets….
sad..
Hello!
I’m a fucking chilean fan of his band, and a fervent anti-capitalist. My name is Alex.
I do not know if you know what happens in Chile on the price of tickets for the concert called “Machinery Festival” in which you will be presented.
Did you know that the producer of the event, we lied about his presence, and the presence of other bands like Smashing Pumpkins and Tool, in the concert to sell more tickets? Using them as a possible first band to appear, put 10 000 tickets in presale, and after having sold all of these locations, confirming them, but for a different date for the concert “Festival Machinery.
I appeal to your discretion and Anti-capitalist discourse, especially because the cheapest ticket for the festival (U $ 74) have a price equivalent to one quarter of Chile’s minimum monthly wage (U.S. $ 280), while the most expensive tickets are equivalent half a minimum monthly income (U.S. $ 148). And I must say that over 60% of the Chilean population must live with U $ 260 per month.
The inequality in my country is one of the largest in the world, and many of the people who want to see them, they can not because the money is not enough. Entire families have to live on $ 8 per day!
In case you do not believe me, here is a link where tickets go on sale for prices and to check http://www.puntoticket.com/Evento.aspx?EventoID=TRAN08
I hope you have understood the message (my english sucks), and can do something about this pressure against the machine … the producers thieves “Lotus” and “Transistor”.
Thank you for standing up for the people of Arizona! It has become apparent that Jan Brewer and the political establishment are fraudulently using this law for their own gain.
They are corporate shills for the Corrections Corporation of America. They are using ethnic fear for a money/power grab in much the same way the Bush administration did during the Iraq war.
They are trying to make Arizona a prison state and if they succede the rest of the country will follow. We must stamp out this cancer and expose it for what it is.
obviously like your web-site however you need to take a look at the spelling on quite a few of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling issues and I find it very bothersome to tell the reality nevertheless I’ll definitely come again again.