Would someone's extreme political views prevent you being in a band with them, or working with them?

[Grooverjr]

I was in a band, many moons ago, where the singer professed himself to be racist. His best mate was black, our drummer was Indian. Guitarists were both in relationships with women born abroad as well. He got along with them all fine. We pointed out the obvious but he said "no they're alright, though". In other words, he wasn't really a racist he just kind of thought he was or he was a 'social bigot' who just aped what his family thought. If he had

[TimR]

2 hours ago, SimonK said:

 

The thing that ruined facebook for me was when they switched to more "intelligent" algorithms rather than just putting in sequence whatever your friends happened to be posting. Straight away this destroyed what originally made facebook a good idea, which for me was getting in touch with people I hadn't seen or heard from for ages. Now it's just bland rubbish (albeit quite bass focussed for me). Sadly most people I found interesting to be in touch with left facebook many years ago.

 

You can switch your feed to Friends. 

 

It still has adverts, but not all the other nonsense. 

[Cat Burrito]

I'm not ignoring the original post but I do worry that with algorithms, we are fed our own narrative and this has in some way contributed to a huge divide amongst people. I have friends who hold the polar opposite of my views and I genuinely value the banter we have. 

 

In terms of somebody being racist, sexist, homophobic (& I would add prejudice against the disabled), I couldn't be in a group with them. Especially as extreme views often come with the "everyone is entitled to my opinion" view. Given the lyrical themes of my originals band, I think it's unlikely those sorts of people would be knocking down the door to work with me. 

 

I have made music with people who vote very differently to me and I have focused on the overall person, their musicianship, enthusiasm, passion and whether they are good company. Generally though, most of my band mates seem to hold similar views to me. 

[SimonK]

 

It's a nice sentiment that social media makes people sound more extreme, but I made the mistake of listening to a LBC radio phone in yesterday while driving... breathtaking both the views of the presenter and the people who called in. If anyone needs an argument against democracy a radio phone in provides it.

Edited 3 hours ago by SimonK

[tegs07]

42 minutes ago, SimonK said:

 

It's a nice sentiment but I made the mistake of listening to a LBC radio phone in yesterday while driving... breathtaking both the views of the presenter and the people who called in. If anyone needs an argument against democracy a radio phone in provides it.

Democracy does appear to be in its death throes. For much of history there were basically two political parties in most democratic nations. As a gross simplification one party supported the needs of the working majority and sought to level the playing field and re-allocate resources. The other was motivated by the concept of deregulation, free trade and represented the interests of the owners of production.

 

The sorry state of politics now is largely down to these peripheral ideological differences that do nothing to address the problems that most of us are experiencing. Wake up people you’re being manipulated and your pockets are being picked. The circumstances that are conspiring against you are not caused by anyones gender, religion, passport or sexuality and likewise focusing on these things will not pay for your groceries or pay your rent.

Edited 3 hours ago by tegs07

[Cat Burrito]

40 minutes ago, SimonK said:

 

It's a nice sentiment that social media makes people sound more extreme, but I made the mistake of listening to a LBC radio phone in yesterday while driving... breathtaking both the views of the presenter and the people who called in.

I agree. To be clear, I was referring to everything online, not just social media. It stands to reason that if someone only watches GB News or only reads the Guardian, they are getting that one perspective. Whilst I am sure that most intelligent people get their information from a range of sources, there are plenty that only get fed stuff from Facebook or the Daily Mail. 

[Leonard Smalls]

There is the other side of the coin though...

A few years ago I was in a funk-metal band (!), and the guitarist was what you would call an ordinary geezer. Great player, but liked to make risqué jokes about "birds". Nothing to off-colour, or Bernard Manning but some might find it a touch offensive.

Which our drummer did...

However, he was considerably more right-on than yow, had virtually zero sense of humour and took offence at absolutely anything, especially if he thought there might be some sort of imagined slight against the Welsh. And he'd constantly have a go at guitarman as well as telling us both what we should be thinking.

Eventually Mr Guitar left, and that was the end of the band.

Which was a shame as he was good to play with , but drummerboy had a poor sense of timing and kept doing overblown and out-of-place fills that he insisted were from "The Rudiments" but always ended at least a beat late and usually much more...

[knirirr]

There have been some interesting answers here.

 

One thing that keeps cropping up (or so it seemed to me) is the difference between whether you're meeting friends to do a thing, or going to do a thing which happens to need other people (e.g. work). If it's like work then I can work with unpleasant sorts if they can manage to behave in a cordial manner when at any work related event. As it happens, I recall a colleague who did once make some dodgy remarks to another colleague about racial purity when he'd had a free drink too many in during the social at a conference, but he had the good sense to keep his mouth shut about that sort of thing. He only let it slip that once and I heard about it second hand. Luckily he found a better opportunity elsewhere.

 

So far I have avoided any of this in bands (fingers crossed), though it has cropped up from time to time when running a martial arts club. Normally having "the talk" with anyone who says anything naughty and explaining to them what's required of them whilst they're training (or having a quick pint with colleagues afterwards) does the trick. That sort often move on when they realise that they won't be accepted if they speak divisively. I do know of a chap who was chucked out of a club run by a friend of mine in another city, but that was because the ejected member turned out to be one of the leaders of an extremely dodgy neo-nazi organisation. He was unmasked when he agreed to be interviewed by a journalist and gave them his mobile number. This was on his work website, and the journalist simply searched for the number on Google...

 

One other thing - there's a player on the scene here who is notorious for making unfunny woke jokes during gigs. I saw him play in the theatre near where I live; he made such a "joke", and was heckled from the balcony until he shut up and played the next tune. 

[neepheid]

8 minutes ago, knirirr said:

One other thing - there's a player on the scene here who is notorious for making unfunny woke jokes during gigs. I saw him play in the theatre near where I live; he made such a "joke", and was heckled from the balcony until he shut up and played the next tune. 

 

What's an "unfunny woke joke"?  Not trying to stir the pot, genuinely want to be educated here - got an example?

[tauzero]

23 hours ago, Misdee said:

You can post whatever you like. Others can respond.

 

Have a lot of people out there had a problem with band mates joining the throng outside asylum hotels with the aim of intimidating the residents? Has anyone, and what if they did?

 

But at least now we know we have a prescribed position on  this matter.

 

Good to know that you're comfortable with bandmates who are racist or any of the other forms of bigotry which the Grauniad disapproves of. Presumably you would be unhappy with Grauniad-reading bandmates though.

[EssexBuccaneer]

I play for fun, that’s the beginning and end of it. If I’m not enjoying it then I’ll pack it in.

 

Spending time in the company of someone who’s openly espouses views that I find abhorrent would be a deal-breaker for me. 
 

Yes, they’re entitled to their views, and I’m entitled to call them out on it, or leave their presence (most likely both).

[knirirr]

8 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

What's an "unfunny woke joke"?  Not trying to stir the pot, genuinely want to be educated here - got an example?

 

When I wrote that I was paraphrasing something someone said to me at a recent jam: "I was at so-and-so's gig during the week and he made another of his unfunny woke jokes [eyeroll]". I should perhaps have quoted the phrase, as you have done. 
What I heard was an announcement between tunes which was something like (from memory): "There's this bloke I know who says he's a woman now! What's anyone supposed to do about that sort of thing, then, eh? What am I even supposed to call him? Him? Her? It?" 

I got the impression this was supposed to be amusing, but didn't find it so.

 

[silverfoxnik]

On 03/09/2025 at 15:11, Steve Browning said:

I'll just say 'yes' without further explanation.

^^^

This.... 

[EssexBuccaneer]

On 04/09/2025 at 01:52, Misdee said:

 

 

 

Extremism and "bigotry" is then defined as anyone who doesn't concur with certain groups of people in society's idea of themselves, or anything that challenges and questions those ideas. 

 

 

Extremism and bigotry both have definitions which are easily found with a quick search.

[Misdee]

22 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

Good to know that you're comfortable with bandmates who are racist or any of the other forms of bigotry which the Grauniad disapproves of. Presumably you would be unhappy with Grauniad-reading bandmates though.

This is exactly the kind of self-righteous indignation I'm talking about. So now the benchmark of racism is non-adherence to the doctrine of the Guardian newspaper..

 

It's not within your gift to decide on my behalf what is and what isn't racist. I'll make my own mind up, thank you very much. I'm perfectly capable of doing so. And if I did enjoy the company of people who didn't fulfil your expectations of what's acceptable, it really wouldnt be any of your business. Moreover, you do me a great disservice in implying that by associating with people who have whatever opinions that I would be endorsing those views or be susceptible to them.

[Misdee]

Just now, EssexBuccaneer said:

Extremism and bigotry both have definitions which are easily found with a quick search.

So what?

[EssexBuccaneer]

Just now, Misdee said:

 

It's not within your gift to decide on my behalf what is and what isn't racist. I'll make my own mind up, thank you very much.

It’s demonstrably not in your gift to decide for yourself what is or isn’t racist. 

[EssexBuccaneer]

8 minutes ago, Misdee said:

So what?

Just pointing it out because your definition was incorrect. 

[Misdee]

2 minutes ago, EssexBuccaneer said:

It’s demonstrably not in your gift to decide for yourself what is or isn’t racist. 

Okay, thanks for putting me straight. I'll submit to your jurisdiction in future, then. 

[EssexBuccaneer]

Just now, Misdee said:

Okay, thanks for putting me straight. I'll submit to your jurisdiction in future, then. 

It’s not my jurisdiction, as I’m sure you’re aware. But it applies to me just as it does you. 

[Misdee]

Just now, EssexBuccaneer said:

Just pointing it out because your definition was incorrect. 

What makes you think your definition is definitive? My definition was in relation to the post I was referring to, nothing else.

 

[EssexBuccaneer]

Just now, Misdee said:

What makes you think your definition is definitive? My definition was in relation to the post I was referring to, nothing else.

 

I didn’t say my definition, did I?

 

I used the Oxford definition, available online. I find that’s better than inventing my own. 

[neepheid]

Hmm, in before the lock?

 

🍿

[EssexBuccaneer]

1 minute ago, neepheid said:

Hmm, in before the lock?

 

🍿

Oh no, I’ll back out gracefully. People who think they’re entitled to define something like racism themselves are not going to get me walking into a ban 😃

[prowla]

I wouldn't want to be in a band whose music/lyrics or image was of some disposition which really didn't align with mine.

Whether or not I could be in a band or associate with someone with opposing or extreme views would depend upon how forcefully they were inclined to forward their views and how accepting they were that mine were different.

Another consideration is whether their views expressed or known elsewhere led to any repercussions/issues.

Essentially if anyone made me feel uncomfortable or threatened then I'd move on.