THE ORIGINAL BOBGOBLIN CONCEPT....PLAYING OUT

When I, Hop, started this band, I somewhat mistakenly (maybe because we should have just focused on music only) started it alongside a fictional concept that told the story of a rise in a world-wide, nationalist-based movement where a Stalin-esque demagogue fed on the angry white masses, galvanizing them against "the other," ultimately resulting in a tense dystopia. It was in that environment in which BOBGOBLIN traveled underground to try to support a rebellion of sorts. Believe me, we didn't really want to live out this reality. I will say, when we first made it up, critics - and I have even agreed with some of their opinions on the matter - dismissed the concept as "unweildy" and stupid. Yeah, unfortunately it was so stupid that it had to begin to unfold in real life. Yes, in the REAL story - that of the election in a REAL nation - democracy was at work, and people seemingly were speaking in favor of anti-establishment and what they THINK will help them economically (it won't help anyone in this band, because a Republican rubber stamp means the loss of each of our health care benefits, which had been only facilitated in recent years by the Affordable Care Act). But it was also a clear validation of ideas, words and actions that no one should pass on to their children, if they prefer that they be respectful individuals: 
"Mexicans are Rapists and Criminals" 
"A Mexican Cannot Judge Fairly." 
"I don't rent my property to black people (and I settled on this issue when the DOJ sued me for it)." 
"Black guys cannot count my money" 
"Laziness is a trait in Blacks - It's not anything they can control (exact quote)." 
"KKK Leaders are welcome to campaign for me." 
"No way a black president is a legitimate leader. He probably wasn't even born here." 
"Muslims should be banned" 
"Even when black kids are found not-guilty, they're still guilty." 
"Protesters should be roughed up." 
"It's okay to make fun of the disabled when they don't agree with you. Even when they're 12-years old and have Cerebral Palsy, go ahead and physically kick their wheelchair out of rallies if they express an opposing view (That actually did happen)." 
"Soldiers aren't heroes if they're caught and held prisoner (the opinion of a draft dodger, by the way)" 
"Jews are still to blame for most of our problems." 
"If you don't feel like it, don't pay bills to people who don't have enough money to come after you for not paying them" 
"It's okay to insinuate grab-ass with your daughter." 
"If you're emboldened enough, grab any women's pussy at will. They'll let you do it." 
"Women who are not perfectly fit are not worthy." 
"Just generally...women suck unless they want to fuck me, provided I deem them attractive enough to do so." 
"Oh....and fuck health care for people who wouldn't otherwise get it (which includes the guys in BOBGOBLIN)." 

Many will claim that the next leader of the "Free World" doesn't really believe these things, and perhaps it's true, but so many rushed out to vote FOR him because they do believe those things. From the Virginia KKK Leader: "“The reason a lot of Klan members like Donald Trump is because a lot of what he believes, we believe in.” 

This is not some sour grapes speech that I came up with just because Donald Trump - a joke candidate from a satirical, Jonathan Swift-ian world - is the next President of the United States (in fact, we as individuals in this band don't adhere lock-step to a political party, pining instead for an anti-establishment movement of a DIFFERENT sort). Nae, we have always been built upon speaking about women's issues and demographic bullying, so bringing up these implications is not some new territory for us. In fact, it's old hat. However, this IS a realization that the aforementioned, disgusting insinuations and statements have been validated tonight as OKAY by the masses. If all of those things are clearly OKAY to believe, out in the open, in the 21st Century....than, no matter what the President and his future rubber stamp government do, the people themselves are going the wrong way; a way in which they just CANNOT abide by certain groups of people, who they will statistically never meet or deal with, doing things without their permission, oversight, and punishment. And the original BOBGOBLIN concept, where the zenophobia of angry white people was legitimized and stoked by an emboldened leadership - the concept that we dumped in favor of focusing on our music - is, at least in part, unfolding in plain sight tonight. The question for the band now is - will it result in a record? Maybe we already did. I wrote "Feel No Pain" about President Bush and his banking industry buddies, I thought. But if you read the lyrics, it actually fits Donald like 10 times more appropriately.

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