Aaron Grech June 15th, 2020 - 4:23 PM
System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan has been vocal regarding his support for US President Donald Trump, calling him the “greatest friend to minorities” before reaffirming his conservative views in a follow-up statement, where he also explained his political differences with the band’s frontman Serj Tankian (who holds much more left-leaning views and even called for Trump’s resignation). Dolmayan doubled down on his support for Trump in a new Instagram post, where he wished the President a happy birthday, while criticizing the Democratic Party, calling them the “true fascists (sic)” and “the true bigots.”
“The true fascist, the true bigots hidden in plain sight from the same party who fought to maintain slavery , Jim Crow , non voting rights for women , and who are directly responsible for 70 plus million abortions ,a large majority of whom were black,” Dolmayan wrote on Instagram.
Dolmayan’s claims about Black babies making up a majority of abortions is factually incorrect. While Black women now make up around 27 percent of the abortions documented in the most recent study provided by the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute, they do not make up a majority of those abortions (they are over represented in these studies however). In addition, abortion rates for Black and other women of color have decreased significantly over the past couple of decades, while the rates for white women have stayed relatively constant. His claims also neglect the fact that the Black community overwhelmingly supports abortion rights.
His statement also refers to a common misconception asserted by prominent right-wing figures, who claim that Democrats are somehow related to 19th and early 20th century Southern Democrats, who supported slavery and Jim Crow laws. Research shows that pro-segregationist Southern Democrats started to overwhelmingly support Republicans during the 1960s, after Democratic President Lyndon B Johnson, signed the Civil Rights Act into law.
Dolmayan also went further into his claims, stating that Democrats “can’t handle free speech” and stated that he is lucky to exercise his free speech without fears of repercussions, and particularly without fear of losing his job. While Dolmayan is best known for his work as a drummer, he also owns a high-end comic shop called Torpedo Comics in Las Vegas.
“You don’t want free speech,” Dolmayan continued, “you can’t handle free speech because you are cowards and need to be herded along with the rest of the sheep. I’m lucky , I’m in an industry where you CAN be honest about your views wherever they fall with little to no repercussions. I don’t rely on a movie studio , label , media or anyone else who will bow down to pandering political correctness and am in no danger whatsoever of ‘losing my job’ because you don’t like what I have to say . This is a dangerous time where free thought and speech is under attack but it will pass , the next generation is watching as they always do and they will overcome your insanity.”
Photo Credit: Mauricio Alvarado
