John Carter Cash Rails Against White Nationalists Using Johnny Cash Song
"Let his actions speak for who he was: A simple, loving man who never supported hate or bigotry," singer-songwriter says
Johnny Cash's son John Carter Cash has issued a statement denouncing
white nationalists over their use of a Johnny Cash song on their radio
show.
Earlier this week, NPR reported that American Recordings and Universal Music had sent a cease-and-desist letter
to Stormfront Radio, the weekly radio show for the white supremacist
site Stormfront, over its regular use of Johnny Cash's cover of Tom
Petty's "I Won't Back Down." At the time, Rosanne Cash, the
singer-songwriter and daughter of Johnny, told Rolling Stone, "There
aren't 'two sides,' there are no 'decent' or 'fine' Nazis and we will
not tolerate any such group using our dad's work for their purposes."
Now, Cash's son and country singer-songwriter John Carter has spoken out about the letter, telling Rolling Stone
he was "unsettled and upset" after learning about the show's usage of
the song through a fan. The cease-and-desist letter, he says, was the
family's first option, adding, "They took down the song and changed it
to something else. We didn’t give them a choice. We are grateful they
complied."
In a lengthy statement, Carter Cash expounded on
the family's decision to send the letter and the need to fight back
against hate groups.
Personally (and I believe I can speak for
my sisters on this), I am against any organization or individual who
believes they are superior to and/or may wish harm upon another because
of race, ethnic background, religion, or sexual orientation. We also
believe in the potential unification of humanity as a whole.
If we are to help this to happen, we must first “imagine," and then
respond within the secure foundation of a principle of love. We must do
this upon the arising of each and every opportunity. Words are powerful,
but action rules. We do not let slip from our understanding that
America was founded on a bonding of many people, from many places and of
various color and religion.
We learned this philosophy directly
from our father. Concerning how to treat family and our fellow mankind,
the first thing I remember him teaching me was to “honor your mother and
your father." He visited his parents each day when he was home in
Tennessee. The second was a quote from H.G. Wells: "The first man to
raise a fist is the man who's run out of ideas." It was the way he lived
his life, not only words on paper or in his songs.
But setting
aside personal ethics and code, the Johnny Cash Trust does all it can to
stop the usage of Johnny Cash's image, music or likeness in conjuncture
with any group or organization that believes in separatism and
superiority — or political candidates or parties for that matter.
So
many use dad's name, saying “Johnny Cash would not like this" or
"Johnny Cash would do this" or "Johnny Cash would vote for..." Please,
let his actions speak for who he was: A simple, loving man who never
supported hate or bigotry. He was non-political, and a patriot with no
public political party affiliation.
Simply, this is how Dad lived his life and what he believed in. We try
to stay true to his morale and philosophy in every public face as if he
were still living and breathing.
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