What is Metalheads Against Racism? Metalheads Against Racism is a loose association of members of the Heavy Metal scene who are sick of the infiltration of the Metal scene by racists, bigots and nazis. Though rebellious, Heavy Metal has never really been "political" in the narrow sense. But now that our Metal scene is becoming overrun by racists, it has become necessary to make a clear statement against racism. To keep the racist scum out of our scene, and to make it clear to the whole world that Heavy Metal is NOT racist, and we will NOT tolerate racism among us. Metalheads Against Racism offers a way to make this statement. By putting the Metalheads Against Racism banner on your publications, you declare that you support our anti-racist declaration. At a later stage, we may also make T-Shirts, stickers and flyers and maybe even organize street teams. But for now, this site is mainly intended as a way for Metalheads to make a clear anti-racist statement. back Why does the world need a Metalheads Against Racism? Common sense would tell you that it's not necessary for Metalheads to declare themselves anti-racist. Heavy Metal as an art form is about the love of freedom and has always been opposed to fascist ideas. But in recent years, the scene has become more and more infiltrated by racists. It's absurd that an art form like Metal should be used for the propagation of racist ideologies, but the fact is that it's happening right now, and we need to put an end to it. A clear line must be drawn between real Metalheads and bigots who are only abusing Metal to propagate their racist ideas. In a day and age where many bands use nazi symbols on their albums and on stage and then turn around and declare themselves "unpolitical", in a day and age where it has become the norm rather than the exception to see people who openly declare themselves racist at Metal shows, it's necessary to let the world know where you stand. It's unfortunate and tragic that we ever let it get to this point, but we need to face the facts and do something about them. That's why the world needs a Metalheads Against Racism. back How do I join? If you have a website, put our banner (see bottom of title page) on your site with a link to http://www.metalheadsagainstracism.cjb.net and send an e-mail to esr@eyesseered.com with your website address. Your website will then be put on our list of supporters. If you have problems putting the banner on your site, feel free to contact us for assistance. If you don't have a website but still want to voice your support, just send us your name, the name of your band, the name of your organization or whatever you want, along with your e-mail address, and you will be added to the list with an e-mail link. We used to add entries without e-mail links too, but unfortunately, there have been people trying to tamper with the site by sending in fake names. Please be patient - the webmaster gets a lot of e-mail and sometimes it takes a while for them to be answered. You will be notified via e-mail when you're added to the list. You can also put the Metalheads Against Racism banner on your flyers, in your zine, or wherever you want. The more, the better. If you find the banner visually unappealing, you can make your own. Just make sure it says "Metalheads Against Racism". You can also send your banner to us if you want to let others use it. More banners to choose from will be created in the future anyway. And if you're using the banner anywhere, let us know. A list will be compiled at some later stage to be published here. back

Use one of these banners to link to Metalheads Against Racism (www.metalheadsagainstracism.cjb.net)

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FAQ DISCLAIMER. The members of Metalheads Against Racism support the three-point declaration on our first page. This FAQ was put together by the MAR webmaster, Mike Meier, in response to questions that have come up in relation to the site. The members do not necessarily agree with every word in this FAQ. -What's with the Swastika? I thought you were against racism in general, not just Nazis. Metalheads Against Racism is against ANY form of racism. In our opinion, the crossed-out Swastika emblem has become a symbol of its own through its use by various anti-racist groups and individuals. It's just an emblem meaning that you're against racism. -Isn't the Swastika really a peace symbol that was just abused by the Nazis? Symbols can change their meaning over time. And even if the Swastika hasn't become a symbol for hate and genocide in some Asian cultures, the Nazi Swastika is still different. The original version of the symbol points counter-clockwise. The perverted version the Nazis used points clockwise, and this is the one you find on our site. -Fighting racism is all well and good, but what about sexism, homophobia, etc.? We're tackling a specific problem in the Metal scene, and that problem is racism. There are certainly also sexists and homophobes in the Metal scene, but they're nowhere near as organized as the racists, at least not in Europe. Also, there are no bands openly propagating other forms of discrimination and hate like there are openly racist bands. That's why we consider racism in the Metal scene a serious problem that must be solved. -You guys are just a bunch of left extremists, aren't you? No. The webmaster can't vouch for every single person on the members list, but Metalheads Against Racism is NOT a totalitarian movement of ANY kind. If there was a serious problem with left extremists in the Metal scene, we would be fighting them as there is no place for totalitarianism in Metal, no matter what color you paint it in. But the fact is, we have a problem with racists and Neo-Nazis in our scene, not left extremists. -I think you're abusing Metal for political goals! Technically, that's not a question... Seriously though, being against racism is not a matter of politics. It's a matter of common sense. Metalheads Against Racism isn't political, it's about stopping a development in the Metal scene that we think has to be stopped. The hate groups and the bands propagating racism are the ones abusing Metal to propagate their ideologies. If anything, we're fighting against the abuse of Metal for political goals. -What do you hope to accomplish with this movement? Running the racists out of the Metal scene. Nothing more, nothing less. Experience shows that the reason there are so many racists at Metal shows is nobody speaks out against them, so they feel comfortable. When somebody stands up to them and lets them know they're not welcome, they usually remove their fascist asses from the premises. If enough people openly speak out against racism, the racists will realize they're not wanted in the Metal scene and leave us alone. Why aren't you more specific with the bands you're talking about? You could publish a list of bands that are directly or indirectly supporting racism. Yes we could, be we won't. Compiling "black lists" of enemies and denouncing others is what totalitarianists do (left or right). It's not our place to point fingers at anyone. From the reactions we've had, it's clear that the people we're talking about know we mean them, and that's good enough.