Jello Biafra spoke at the WOW Hall on Tuesday evening in support of his latest political commentary album, “In the Grip of Official Treason,” a three-CD set of scathing, sarcastic speeches that attack current American policies. Tracks include “Iraqnophobia,” “Holiday in Guantanamo,” and “Your Child Left Behind.”
“I pledge defiance to the flag of the United States of Captivity,” Biafra said.
Biafra’s pledge set the tone for the rest of his speech, which consisted of caustic criticism of most current United States policy issues, including the war in Iraq, privatization, elections, the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the “one-party system masquerading as a two-party system,” and a perceived weakness within the Democratic Party.
Biafra, born Eric Boucher, said people should avoid shopping at corporate stores because their dollars are like votes.
“No one can be as pure as the driven snow and divorce themselves from corporate rule entirely,” he said. “People should do as much as they can.”
This advice particularly inspired University student Eric Gross, who said Biafra’s spoken-word pieces partly inspired him to major in economics, which he hopes to use later in life to help create a system that works better for the common people.
Bemoaning media homogenization and censorship, he encouraged people to pay attention to news, hang up their cell phones and stop “MySpacing out” because they might miss important issues.
Sueanna Harrison, a small business owner, thought the section about media spin was the best part of the evening. “If everyone has an agenda, then who are you to believe?”
Biafra advocated requiring a media literacy class for high school students. He also advised people to vote in local elections and to support local businesses whenever possible.
Biafra is now involved in politics with the Green Party. He ran in the primary for the Greens in 2000 in hopes that he might attract young, disillusioned citizens to vote. But the former frontman of the infamous, politically-charged punk group the Dead Kennedys has been involved in political campaigning for some time. At 21, he ran in San Francisco’s 1979 mayoral election. Though the campaign started as a joke – part of his platform included requiring downtown businessmen to dress in clown suits between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. – he finished fourth, forcing a run-off.