Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider is greenlighting the use of “We’re Not Gonna Take It” for Ukrainians protesting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but anti-maskers who had hoped to use the song as a rallying anthem for their own cause are going to have to pick another track.
“People are asking me why I endorsed the use of ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ for the Ukrainian people and did not for the anti-maskers,” Snider wrote on Twitter. “Well, one use is for a righteous battle against oppression; the other is an infantile feet-stomping against an inconvenience.”
Over the weekend, the musician, who is the sole credited writer on the popular Eighties cut, wrote: “I absolutely approve of Ukrainians using ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ as their battle cry. My grandfather was Ukrainian before it was swallowed up by the USSR after WW2. This can’t happen to these people again! #FUCKRUSSIA”
It seems as though Snider has gotten more selective in the past few weeks about the song’s usage. Earlier this month, it was used at an anti-vaccination protest in New Zealand and he settled on stating that “while I may not agree with some of the things it’s used to fight, I can’t pick & choose the ones I want.”
Of the same protest scenario replicated in New York, he said: ”I’m aware many people representing many causes use ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ as their battle cry. Some I agree with & some I don’t (anti-vaxxers for example) BUT the song was designed for the listener to “fill in the blank” (what from whom?) with their own cause.”
From Rolling Stone US
