Rage Against The Machine displayed a protest message during one of their recent shows in which they condemned violence against Indiginous people in Canada.
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At last Friday’s (July 15) set at Bluesfest in Ottawa, the band posted a message on a screen behind their stage set-up. “An Indigenous person in Canada is over 10 times more likely to be shot and killed by a police officer than a white person is,” one screen read in reference to a CTV News investigation.
“In Canada, Indigenous women and girls are 16 times more likely to be murdered or to disappear than white women are,” another text displayed.
At other points the screen showed “Settler-colonialism is murder” and “Land Back”.
— Eli D. M. (@eli_d_m) July 16, 2022
Rage Against The Machine are a famously outspoken political band. When they kicked off their first live show in 11 years on their reunion tour this month in Wisconsin, they shared a video stating their opposition to the overturning of abortion rights in some US states.
“Forced birth in a country that is the only wealthy country in the world without any guaranteed paid parental leave at the national level,” part of the message read.
“Forced birth in a country where Black birth-givers experience maternal mortality two to three times higher than that of white birth-givers,” the messages continued.
It added: “Forced birth in a country where gun violence is the number one cause of death among children and teenagers,” before ending with the statement: “Abort the Supreme Court.”
Meanwhile, last week RATM singer Zack de la Rocha appeared to injure his leg mid-concert.
According to reports on social media, de la Rocha sustained the injury during the band’s fourth song, ‘Bullet In The Head’.
Returning to the stage after a short break, de la Rocha said: “I don’t know what happened to my leg right now. Straight up, but you know what? We’re gonna keep this fucking shit going. I can crawl across this stage. We’re gonna play for you all tonight.”
He then performed the rest of the set while sitting on an onstage monitor. When he did stand, it looked like he couldn’t put any weight on his leg.